F1 Results Today: Russell unleashes TRUE Mercedes pace as Hamilton blown away at Australian GP

George Russell, Mercedes, Bahrain, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

Australian Grand Prix

F1 Results Today: Russell unleashes TRUE Mercedes pace as Hamilton blown away at Australian GP

All the times from FP3 at the Australian Grand Prix

Chris Deeley

Saturday 7 March 2026 04:04 Updated: 11:19

A disrupted final practice session at the Australian Grand Prix saw two red flags, one Kimi Antonelli crash and a single stunning George Russell lap.

The teenage Mercedes driver emerged unharmed from the wreckage of his car after losing it on the exit of Turn 2, badly damaging all four corners and leaving his mechanics with a hefty rebuild process before qualifying.

Almost every remaining car made it out after the Antonelli-induced red flag period for a single qualifying simulation lap to end the session, with just Carlos Sainz (who caused an earlier red flag when his car stopped on pit entry) and Lance Stroll (see: Aston Martin) unable to get out of the pits.

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George Russell used that time to comprehensively kick the rest of the field's teeth in, topping the timing sheets by more than half a second from former team-mate Lewis Hamilton in second.

That single lap saw Russell unleash the pace which many around the paddock have been insisting that Mercedes have been hiding over the weekend and in pre-season testing, confirming his status as title favourite.

The session had started 20 minutes late as track officials worked to repair barriers damaged by a Formula 3 crash earlier in the day, but that extra time wasn't enough for Aston Martin to get Stroll's car up and running, suffering a suspected internal combustion engine issue.

Australian Grand Prix FP3 times

Australian Grand Prix FP3 results
Position	Driver	Team	Time
1	George Russell	Mercedes	1:19.053
2	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	+0.616s
3	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.774s
4	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+1.034s
5	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull	+1.084s
6	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	+1.144s
7	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	+1.271s
8	Lando Norris	McLaren	+1.390s
9	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	+1.406s
10	Oliver Bearman	Haas	+1.725s
11	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	+1.785s
12	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	+1.837s
13	Esteban Ocon	Haas	+1.930s
14	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	+2.014s
15	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+2.018s
16	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	+2.360s
17	Alex Albon	Williams	+2.611s
18	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+3.667s
19	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	+4.461s
20	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	+5.344s
21	Carlos Sainz	Williams	NO TIME
22	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	NO TIME