Oscar Piastri raised the expectations of his home crowd in Melbourne by setting the fastest time in final practice.
However there was little to choose between the three quickest teams at the end of the last hour of running before qualifying. George Russell, second for Mercedes, and Max Verstappen, third for Red Bull, both lapped within a tenth of a second of Piastri’s time.
Yesterday’s pace-setter Charles Leclerc made it four different cars in the top four, lapping just over a quarter of a second off Piastri. However the Ferrari driver was less happy with the change in balance he felt since yesterday, complaining his car was “understeery”.
The two drivers who were arguably most in need of extra running got almost none. Oliver Bearman, whose crash yesterday left him with just a dozen laps on the board, joined the track immediately after the pit lane exit lights turned green. To his team’s dismay, he spun into a gravel trap at turn 11 soon afterwards, causing another session stoppage.
New Red Bull driver Liam Lawson, who was only 17th yesterday, accompanied Bearman onto the circuit when the session began. However he soon returned to the pits with an apparent power unit problem and never re-emerged.
Verstappen, still running the newer front wing specification on his RB21 compared to his team mate, pressed on alone. Having lagged well off the pace yesterday, he improved his time by over a second.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli had a trouble-free run to the fifth fastest time in the Mercedes.
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Behind him, Williams underlined their status as potential midfield front runners. By the end of the session Carlos Sainz Jnr was just three-tenths of a second off the pace, with team mate Alexander Albon just six thousandths of a second behind him.
Lewis Hamilton was eighth, two-tenths of a second off Leclerc. He kept pressing race engineer Ricardo Adami for details on the gap between them, and appeared to be losing the most time in the quicker right-hander of turn six, where the gravel trap has been expanded since last year and now extends right up to the edge of the kerb.
Yuki Tsunoda put Racing Bulls in the top five. Lando Norris completed the top 10, six-tenths of a second off Piastri, after abandoning a better lap in the penultimate corner. He did, however, set the fastest time of anyone in the final sector before the session ended.
2025 Australian Grand Prix Grand Prix third practice result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL39 | 1’15.921 | 16 | |
| 2 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W16 | 1’15.960 | 0.039 | 17 |
| 3 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB21 | 1’16.002 | 0.081 | 18 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-25 | 1’16.188 | 0.267 | 22 |
| 5 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | W16 | 1’16.206 | 0.285 | 20 |
| 6 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Williams-Mercedes | FW47 | 1’16.252 | 0.331 | 23 |
| 7 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW47 | 1’16.258 | 0.337 | 4 |
| 8 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | SF-25 | 1’16.378 | 0.457 | 21 |
| 9 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 02 | 1’16.455 | 0.534 | 4 |
| 10 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL39 | 1’16.597 | 0.676 | 20 |
| 11 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber-Ferrari | C45 | 1’16.707 | 0.786 | 18 |
| 12 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | A525 | 1’16.719 | 0.798 | 22 |
| 13 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 02 | 1’16.732 | 0.811 | 18 |
| 14 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR25 | 1’16.948 | 1.027 | 22 |
| 15 | 7 | Jack Doohan | Alpine-Renault | A525 | 1’16.993 | 1.072 | 18 |
| 16 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber-Ferrari | C45 | 1’17.146 | 1.225 | 15 |
| 17 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR25 | 1’17.270 | 1.349 | 22 |
| 18 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas-Ferrari | VF-25 | 1’17.373 | 1.452 | 18 |
| 19 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas-Ferrari | VF-25 | No time | 2 | |
| 20 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB21 | No time | 2 |
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2025 Australian Grand Prix Grand Prix combined practice times
| P. | # | Driver | Team | FP1 time | FP2 time | FP3 time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’17.670 | 1’16.563 | 1’15.921 | 66 | |
| 2 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1’17.716 | 1’17.282 | 1’15.960 | 0.039 | 73 |
| 3 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 1’17.696 | 1’17.063 | 1’16.002 | 0.081 | 61 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’17.461 | 1’16.439 | 1’16.188 | 0.267 | 75 |
| 5 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1’18.390 | 1’17.634 | 1’16.206 | 0.285 | 76 |
| 6 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Williams-Mercedes | 1’17.401 | 1’17.302 | 1’16.252 | 0.331 | 78 |
| 7 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 1’17.713 | 1’17.302 | 1’16.258 | 0.337 | 50 |
| 8 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 1’18.071 | 1’16.859 | 1’16.378 | 0.457 | 72 |
| 9 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 1’18.061 | 1’16.784 | 1’16.455 | 0.534 | 56 |
| 10 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’17.252 | 1’16.580 | 1’16.597 | 0.659 | 71 |
| 11 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’18.438 | 1’17.847 | 1’16.707 | 0.786 | 69 |
| 12 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | 1’18.505 | 1’17.493 | 1’16.719 | 0.798 | 75 |
| 13 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT | 1’17.847 | 1’17.019 | 1’16.732 | 0.811 | 73 |
| 14 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’18.057 | 1’17.279 | 1’16.948 | 1.027 | 70 |
| 15 | 7 | Jack Doohan | Alpine-Renault | 1’18.232 | 1’17.394 | 1’16.993 | 1.072 | 68 |
| 16 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’18.586 | 1’17.161 | 1’17.146 | 1.225 | 57 |
| 17 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’17.736 | 1’17.330 | 1’17.270 | 1.349 | 72 |
| 18 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas-Ferrari | 1’19.139 | 1’18.034 | 1’17.373 | 1.452 | 65 |
| 19 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 1’18.455 | 1’17.640 | No time | 1.719 | 54 |
| 20 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas-Ferrari | 1’19.312 | No time | 3.391 | 14 |
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