The 2026 F3 season has officially begun with the cars back on track for the opening round. Free Practice around the Albert Park Circuit was set to be filled with drama, speed, and challenges. With the 30 drivers arriving on the grid, the field was set to go racing at the F3 Australian GP weekend.
Green lights out
45 minutes were on the clock as the field made their way onto the Melbourne track. With the first of ten rounds underway, the excitement was massive. The drivers had to extract everything from this session to be prepared for the first Qualifying of 2026.
Louis Sharp warmed up around the circuit with a lap time of 1:38.102, spreading dust all over the track before he went even faster with a 1:36.078. Meanwhile, Bruno del Pino fought to try and take the top spot from him. However, Sharp remained on top for the first minutes of the session.
DAMS driver Nicola Lacorte shuffled over the kerb, dipping two wheels in the grass, as he tried to go faster in the corner. Gerrard Xie followed with a slide over another kerb. Many drivers were caught out by the low grip and ran wide.
31 minutes in, the Virtual Safety Car sign lit up before it quickly moved on and the track was clear.
Halfway point of F3 FP
As the halfway point approached, the top ten kept shifting, and the benchmark moved. The pack adapted swiftly to the dusty track as they sped up more and more. Halfway through the session, Ugo Ugochukwu took the top spot with a 1:34.859. He was followed by Noah Stromsted in second and Alessandro Giusti in third. The rest of the top ten were Benavides, Del Pino, Badoer, Taponen, Slater, Colnaghi, and Garfias.
Clerot was noted for a yellow flag infringement, but the stewards deemed it to be of no further investigation. Meanwhile, Patrick Heuzenroeder took a trip across the grass, had a massive lockup, and went airborne.
Nael and Nakamura had a small incident in Turn 6 as Nakamura was impeded. With 30 cars on track, the traffic was an inconvenience to many drivers.
Last 15 minutes of practice
With only a few minutes left to go, most drivers took to the pits before their final flying laps. The track still looked low-grip, as the drivers were sliding around. Brad Benavides was another driver who was forced to take a trip across the grass after sliding off the track.
Rookie De Palo found himself getting close to the high kerbs. Meanwhile, Freddie Slater looked to give it his all as he stormed around the track. Several drivers kept finding themselves running wide and into the grass.
It would not be Formula 3 without a dramatic end. With only six minutes left of the session, Red Bull Junior Mattia Colnaghi’s car caught fire. The young driver was forced to park on the side of the track as the yellow flags were waved. Shortly after, the track was red-flagged with four minutes left. As the pack headed back to the pits, it was announced that the session would not be resumed.
As the chequered flag was waved, the top three were Ugochukwu, Badoer, and Stromsted.
