F1 Australian GP live commentary and updates - FP3
All the F1 action from FP3 at the Australian Grand Prix
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Piastri headlines FP3 from Russell, Verstappen
Oscar Piastri's 1m15.921s sits as the fastest time of FP3 - and of the weekend so far - but he's just 0.039s clear of George Russell. Verstappen, Leclerc, Antonelli, Sainz, Albon, Hamilton, Tsunoda, and Norris complete the top 10.
Doohan improves - he stays 15th, but his middle-sector time is just a shade slower than Verstappen's session-best sector. If he can clean up the first sector, the Australian should be in the mix for Q3...in theory.
That's the chequered flag to bring FP3 to a close. Any last orders?
Haas is looking worryingly slow - Ocon's best lap is 1.452s slower than the fastest, and he's currently last of those who those who have set a time.
Russell does a 1m15.960s to go second, while Leclerc reports he's got a lot of oversteer in the car so far. He's asking for a "review" during the break between FP3 and qualifying.
Leclerc gets up to fourth, so Ferrari has been able to show its hand a little more. Verstappen backed out of a lap having been up by the end of the second sector, but there was a wide at Turn 11 and thus he decided not to continue.
Red Bull on Lawson: "The current issue on car 30 is a PU or PU system problem on the air side. We are working to find the problem."
Piastri raises the bar with a 1m15.921s, going fastest by just under a tenth over Verstappen.
Norris looked set to move ahead of Verstappen but backed off in the final sector, as he got unsettled by the car ahead. Sainz and Albon go fourth and fifth in the meantime.
It's a 1m16.002s for Verstappen, as Red Bull shows that it's really picked up the pace overnight. Piastri gets very close with a 1m16.077s, as Russell then does a lap to sit 0.171s off the fastest lap. It's all very fine margins at the moment.
Albon moves into second, just over a tenth shy of Russell. That Williams has got a fair bit of pace in it, which is great to see for F1's competitive order; Sainz demonstrates that by moving up to third.
Norris goes second, despite brushing the gravel on the exit of Turn 6 - this likely cost a little time in sector 2. Meanwhile, Liam Lawson is milling about in the garage as there's a wealth of work being done to his Red Bull.
It's a 1m16.402s for Russell to give us a new name at the top of the timesheets.
Leclerc sets a 1m16.676s to get closer to Verstappen's benchmark, while Hamilton is a scant 0.001s behind his Ferrari team-mate.
I asked Bearman yesterday what his plan was for FP3 to try and catch up the lack of mileage. He replied his main focus was short runs to prepare for qualifying, rather than putting all his eggs in the race set-up basket for what looks like a wet weather race. It looks like the young Briton won't be getting many one-lap flyers at all until Q1 in qualifying. He put his FP2 mistake down to a 'silly' driver error, but otherwise said he actually felt comfortable behind the wheel of the Haas.
Indication that there's more time out there, as Albon goes second on a set of hards with a 1m16.801s. Verstappen almost went faster still, but lost time in the final sector with a wag of the tail on the exit of Turn 12.
Sainz brushes the wall into Turn 3 and asks for a quick diagnostic over the radio to see if there's any damage. Doohan also has a moment there, as he seems to get unsettled by Antonelli ahead and goes wide.
Antonelli now up to second with another run on the softs, 0.224s shy of Verstappen's lap. The bulk of Verstappen's advantage so far lies in the middle sector - the reigning champion is 0.3s ahead of anyone else so far.
Bortoleto's looking a bit more comfortable than yesterday - he goes up to fifth for a brief moment before Norris moves up to second. Piastri then deposes his team-mate from P2.
Verstappen now does a 1m16.646s - the Red Bull driver almost gets to within 0.2s of Leclerc's fastest lap from yesterday.
It's a 1m17.298s for Piastri, who vaults to the top of the pile. The early times are starting to arrive thick and fast across a mix of hard and soft tyres.
Verstappen posts a 1m17.632s lap, which is a little bit closer to the right ball-park. Ocon moves back up to second with a time 0.5s slower, before Doohan does a purple middle sector to get back ahead of the Haas driver.
Liam Lawson looked to be setting a lap, but he's had to abort to diagnose a technical glitch. The Kiwi reckoned he was "too slow" yesterday, so he'll be looking to rectify that today.
Jack Doohan kicks us off with the first 'proper' time on the board - the Australian sets a 1m19.221s. There's still a couple of seconds to find on the FP2 times, so expect the track to get better over the session.
Bearman's Haas has been removed from the gravel, so the session is back on - there's still plenty of prep for the other drivers to do before qualifying later on.
Bearman dipped a wheel on the grass entering Turn 11 and lost control, and drifted into the gravel. Another rookie error for Bearman in a matter of days.
Red flag - Bearman is stuck in the gravel. Oh boy...
Green light - FP3 is go. Ollie Bearman is first up and looking to get the show on the road after his FP1 crash yesterday with a hatful of running here.
Friday practice recap
Charles Leclerc led FP2 from the two McLarens, having set a 1m16.439s lap on the soft tyre, with Yuki Tsunoda just behind the front trio.
Lando Norris headlined FP1 with a 1m17.252s having snatched the fastest time from Carlos Sainz at the close of the session.
FP3 will be under way in a little under 10 minutes, and then we'll have qualifying on the go at 5:00 GMT (plus/minus whatever to get your local time zone. Either way, it'll be 2.5 hours after FP3 finishes.
Good morning everyone - we're back, we're up, and ready to bring you FP3 as it unfolds from Albert Park.
By: Autosport Staff
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