FP3: Leclerc leads Verstappen and Sainz in ultra-close final practice in Australia
Charles Leclerc kept Ferrari ahead in the final practice session for the Australian Grand Prix, narrowly beating Red Bull's Max Verstappen and his teammate Carlos Sainz in a tightly contested battle.
On a cooler and cloudier day at Albert Park compared to previous sessions, Carlos Sainz initially took the lead on medium tyres. However, a late switch to softs by both Ferrari and Red Bull drivers resulted in significant performance improvements. Despite the minimal difference between the two tyre compounds on Melbourne’s street circuit, Leclerc managed to post a fastest lap time of 1m 16.714s, mere hundredths ahead of Verstappen.
Sainz secured third place, just a few hundredths behind. Mercedes drivers, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, also showed a more competitive edge, finishing the session in fourth and fifth places, respectively.
Fernando Alonso placed sixth for Aston Martin, followed by Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was the quickest Australian driver, securing eighth position and trailing Leclerc by only 0.373 seconds.
Read next ❯ Ferrari to reveal Hamilton's debut F1 car on February 19 at MaranelloThe top ten were completed by Lance Stroll's Aston Martin in ninth and Lando Norris’s McLaren in tenth. Further down, Valtteri Bottas placed eleventh for Kick Sauber, followed by Yuki Tsunoda for Red Bull, and Alex Albon in his Williams.
Williams garnered attention on Friday after Albon’s crash in FP1 destroyed his chassis. Lacking a spare, the team made the strategic decision to put Albon into Logan Sargeant’s car for the remainder of the weekend, leaving the American sidelined.
Zhou Guanyu completed his session in 14th place in his Kick Sauber, followed by Esteban Ocon. The Haas team’s drivers, Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen, along with Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull and Pierre Gasly’s Alpine, finished further down the order. Gasly specifically struggled to put together a clean lap on soft tyres.
Following a quieter session compared to Friday’s FP1 and FP2, teams and drivers are now focused on regrouping before this afternoon’s critical qualifying session.
