The third practice session ahead of the Australian Grand Prix started 20 minutes later than planned as marshals had to repair the barrier at Turn 5 after a heavy crash during the previous Formula 3 Sprint race.

Franco Colapinto was the first driver to head out on track and set the opening lap of 1:24.222 on hard tyres. Shortly afterwards, Lewis Hamilton went much faster on soft tyres and moved to the top of the timesheet.

There were early problems for Aston Martin. Lance Stroll remained in the garage while the team worked on his power unit, which meant he could not join the session at the start.

The running was then interrupted when Carlos Sainz stopped his Williams at the pit lane entry after completing an installation lap. The Virtual Safety Car was briefly deployed and the session was then red-flagged so that marshals could remove the car.

Practice resumed with 40 minutes remaining. Kimi Antonelli soon set the fastest time with a 1:20.324, helped by a slipstream from Hamilton. Several drivers struggled under braking into Turn 3, including Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, both of whom locked their tyres.

Soon after, Charles Leclerc moved into first place, with Oscar Piastri and Antonelli close behind. The pace of Scuderia Ferrari, McLaren F1 Team and Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team again looked very competitive around the Albert Park circuit.

Hamilton later returned to the top of the order by a small margin over Leclerc, while Max Verstappen improved to fifth. At that stage, only three tenths of a second separated the top five drivers.

With 20 minutes remaining, Aston Martin confirmed that Stroll would not take part in the session due to a suspected engine problem.

Shortly afterwards, the session was red-flagged again following a heavy crash for Antonelli at Turn 3 during a qualifying simulation. The young Italian lost control after touching the kerb and hit the barriers on both sides of the track. Fortunately, he was able to climb out of the car without assistance.

The session restarted with only four minutes left, leaving drivers with one final chance to improve their times. George Russell made the most of it and set the fastest lap of the session, 1:19.053, using a slipstream on the straight.

Russell therefore finished first for Mercedes. Hamilton followed in second place for Ferrari, with his teammate Leclerc third. Home favourite Piastri ended the session fourth for McLaren, just ahead of Isack Hadjar in fifth and Verstappen in sixth for Red Bull. Antonelli’s earlier time was still enough for seventh, while Lando Norrisfinished eighth. Gabriel Bortoleto placed ninth, and Oliver Bearman completed the top ten.