Under cloudy Melbourne skies, the 2026 Australian GP weekend began as the F3 Free Practice sessions got underway. Notably, 17 of the 30 drivers were rookies, while Patrick Heuzenroeder made an unexpected F3 debut with Campos Racing, replacing Ernesto Rivera, who withdrew due to a vertebral injury.
Initially, PREMA Racing’s Louis Sharp set the early benchmark of 1:38.102. However, as the cold, dry track allowed faster laps, Sharp quickly improved to 1:36.078, just ahead of Van Amersfoort Racing’s Bruno del Pino. Then, with 30 minutes remaining, Campos Racing’s Ugo Ugochukwu surged to the top with a 1:34.607, followed closely by Trident’s Noah Strømsted and teammate Théophile Naël. Meanwhile, Rodin Motorsport’s Pedro Clerot drew attention for a yellow-flag infringement, which Race Control would later investigate.
As the session progressed, drivers focused on race preparation, although several struggled in the first sector, brushing grass and gravel. Then, with under seven minutes left, MP Motorsport’s Mattia Colnaghi retired with an engine fire, first triggering yellow flags and subsequently a red flag, effectively ending the session.
Consequently, Ugochukwu retained P1, 0.4 seconds clear, while Brando Badoer improved late to 1:35.034 for P2. Meanwhile, Strømsted rounded out the top three with 1:35.056. Overall, Ugochukwu dominated the session, setting a clear benchmark for the weekend. Furthermore, the Free Practice highlighted both rookie promise and technical challenges, hinting at an exciting Australian GP ahead.
2026 F3 Australian GP | Free Practice results
- U. Ugochukwu – 1:34.607
- B. Badoer – 1:35.034
- N. Strømsted – 1:35.056
- T. Naël – 1:35.070
- A. Giusti – 1:35.078
- B. Benavides – 1:35.131
- P. Clerot – 1:35.243
- N. Lacorte – 1:35.244
- C. Ho – 1:35.262
- L. Sharp – 1:35.335
- B. del Pino – 1:35.359
- T. Kato – 1:35.387
- T. Taponen – 1:35.454
- F. Slater – 1:35.456
- M. Colnaghi – 1:35.495
- M. De Palo – 1:35.586
- J. Wharton – 1:35.659
- J. Nakamura – 1:35.687
- M. Gładysz – 1:35. 692
- J. Garfias – 1:35.715
- E. Deligny – 1:35.727
- G. Xie – 1:35.821
- K. Le – 1:35.977
- F. McLaughlin – 1:36.096
- H. Yamakoshi – 1:36.239
- Y. David – 1:36.317
- M. Shin – 1:36.870
- P. Heuzenroeder – 1:37.046
- N. Bhirombhakdi – 1:37.142
- F. Barrichello – 1:37.210
