Piastri fastest, Hamilton off pace in final Australian GP practice
The final practice session for the Australian Grand Prix saw the top teams engage in a closely contested battle for supremacy, with Oscar Piastri emerging as the fastest driver. The Australian, who is seeking to win his home race for the first time, clocked a lap time of 1:15.921, narrowly edging out George Russell of Mercedes by 0.039 seconds.
Reigning world champion Max Verstappen, who is chasing a fifth successive drivers’ title, also demonstrated strong pace, finishing just 0.081 seconds behind Piastri. However, his new teammate Liam Lawson faced a disappointing session, completing only two laps before a power unit issue forced him to abandon his run.
Ferrari, which had appeared to be McLaren’s most likely challengers on Friday, struggled to find pace, with Charles Leclerc complaining of excessive oversteer. The Monegasque driver finished fourth, 0.267 seconds off the pace, while his teammate Lewis Hamilton endured a difficult session, blowing a final qualifying simulation in the closing moments and ending up eighth, almost half a second off the pace.
Italian teenager Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who replaced Hamilton at Mercedes, produced a solid showing to claim fifth, while Williams cemented their status as the midfield squad most likely to challenge the established top four teams in qualifying. Carlos Sainz edged out teammate Alex Albon for sixth, with both drivers demonstrating strong pace.
British rookie Oliver Bearman continued to endure a nightmare start to his first full season in F1, suffering a second accident in as many days. Bearman, who missed all of second practice on Friday after damaging his car with a big crash in the opening session, spun his Haas into a gravel trap after dipping a wheel onto the grass on his approach to Turn 11. While the car appeared to avoid any major damage from the incident, Bearman has been able to participate in just 40 minutes of the three hours of practice.
The stage is now set for a thrilling qualifying session, with the top teams separated by mere fractions of a second. Piastri, Russell, and Verstappen will likely be the drivers to beat, but Ferrari and Mercedes will be seeking to bounce back from a difficult practice session.
The Australian GP qualifying session is scheduled to take place on Saturday, March 16, at 5:00 AM GMT, with the race itself set to get underway on Sunday, March 17, at 4:00 AM GMT.
