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Formula 1 Australian GP

F1 Australian GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP3 & Qualifying

Saturday's action from the third round of the 2024 Formula 1 season.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc set the pace during Friday's practice sessions, while things were not all straightforward for Max Verstappen at Red Bull.

Meanwhile, there will be plenty of attention on Alex Albon at Williams, after the team elected to give him Logan Sargeant's car for the rest of the weekend following the Anglo-Thai driver's FP1 crash.

Final practice is due to begin at 1:30am GMT (12:30pm local time) followed by qualifying commencing at 5am GMT (4pm local time). 

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As a reminder, it was Ferrari that set the pace on Friday, with Leclerc leading the way from Sainz, who is still recovering from surgery to remove his appendix.
Sainz will shortly cross the line to register the first non-Red Bull time of the session, and he goes third with a 1m18.444s, a time not dissimilar to the opening efforts of Verstappen and Perez.
Stopwatch
The times continue to fall at the front with Perez first dipping into the 77-second window before Verstappen returns to the top with a 1m17.510s.
And Verstappen bails on his effort as he complains, "My brakes are not working. They're not biting."

Red Bull are considering replacing them, costing vital track time - but this next effort appears to show the issue has been resolved from the cockpit.
Stopwatch
A 1m19.206s for Perez gets things moving on medium tyres. The effort is roughly two seconds off the pace of Friday.
Perez and Verstappen are the first two drivers to set off on timed efforts, with the rest so far only completing installation laps.
Hard and medium tyres are the order of the day for those taking to the track so far, with both McLaren drivers putting a lap on the white-walled option.
But the quiet doesn't last for long, as Piastri, Norris and Bottas all take to the track.
Lights green
FP3 is go! And there remains quiet on the track.
As we get ready, the skies overhead are somewhat grey, with murky clouds preventing the sun from breaking through. Officially, the risk of rain is 30% for the coming hour.
Five minutes remain before the lights go green, so it's time to play the music and get ready for an hour of on-track action.
Breaking news
Albon was judged to be the better chance of a points score, so he got the nod. 

Here, team principal James Vowles explains the decision to sacrifice Sargeant. https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/vowles-defends-sargeant-sacrificing-f1-car-for-albon/10590145/
Big news broke yesterday as Williams confirmed that Sargeant would take no further part in the weekend. This comes after Albon damaged his chassis beyond immediate repair on Friday. Without a spare, the team were forced to decide which driver would have the only car available.
Good morning and welcome to Albert Park for final practice at the Australian Grand Prix.

By: Autosport Staff

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