Formula 3’s Free Practice session for the Australian Grand Prix took place at the challenging Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit. The 45 minute session marked the start of Formula Three in 2026. Across the session, drivers continually pushed and set personal bests.
PREMA were early leaders
At the very start of the session, PREMA looked strong, with Louis Sharp setting the benchmark of 1:38.102 and the other two drivers being the only to have times below 1m 40s. As the session progressed, it became clear that the F3 car in Melbourne was challenging- Sharp, Gerrard Xie and Yevan David all had minor incidents.
As the session progresses
As more drivers emerged onto the track, times started to drop but the session was briefly paused by a Virtual Safety Car. Both Brad Benavides and Patrick Heuzenroeder suffered from lock-ups. However, at the top of the field, José Garfias set the fastest time of a 1:35.715. Benavides then worked his way to the top before being replaced by Giusti and later Noah Strømsted. Ugo Ugochukwu soon moved to the top of the times with a 1:34.859.
Times get lower
As the practice progressed, the times dropped even more. Ugochukwu bested his own time, improving it by over two tenths to set a 1:34.607.
Lots of drivers seemed to be struggling with the run to Turn One, with several going off-track, including Campos’ Patrick Heuzenroeder who is replacing Ernesto Rivera for the Australian round.
A premature end
With just under seven minutes left on the clock Mattia Colnaghi emerged into the picture with a cloud of smoke behind him. His car was also releasing flames from the engine. The Argentinian driver pulled off the circuit and the yellow flag was flown.
The red flag was shown with five minutes left of the session, before it was ended two minutes prematurely.
For drivers, attention now shifts to their qualifying session, taking place at 14:00 local time. The fight for pole position is set to be thrilling, with all drivers raring to start their seasons in the best possible way.