George Russell ended the third and final practice session at the Australian Grand Prix on top, the Mercedes driver going fastest in a disrupted hour that saw his team mate Kimi Antonelli suffer a hefty crash.Russell's effort of 1m 19.053s remained on top, while Hamilton moved up into second place, albeit still 0.616s behind his former team mate.
The practice session itself was a catalogue of disruptions.Kimi Antonelli had a massive shunt in the latter stages of final practice, leaving his car in pieces.The Mercedes driver's crash near turn two forced a red flag and raised serious questions about whether his car could be repaired in time for qualifying, which was scheduled for later on Saturday.
A stop-start final practice saw many gremlins pop up as teams came to terms with the new regulations, with Carlos Sainz' Williams coming to a halt just outside the pit-lane, necessitating a red-flag.Sainz ended up in 21st, having been unable to return to action following his stoppage.Lance Stroll was the only driver yet to make an appearance in the hour due to a power unit issue causing a delay to the rebuild of his Aston Martin.
Russell's dominant pace suggests Mercedes has found a significant advantage despite weeks of public caution about their competitiveness.Charles Leclerc placed third, ahead of Piastri and the Red Bulls. The performance gap underscores what remains a substantial question mark: whether Mercedes have truly unlocked pace through superior development or whether other teams are still holding back.Observers noted teams may be sandbagging ahead of qualifying.
The chaos on track reflects the genuine technical challenge ofFormula 1's biggest regulation change in its history.Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton said it is "ridiculously complex" and that "you need a degree to fully understand it all".The power balance has shifted significantly with roughly a 50-50 split between petrol and electric.
The deletion of the MGU-H, which was costly and complex to engineer, was designed to create a lower barrier to entry for new manufacturers. Yet the new systems have created unexpected difficulties.The instant power delivery offered by the MGU-K will provide rapid acceleration, but the limited battery capacity will make it incredibly easy to deplete all electrical energy before the end of a straight, making energy management a key factor in races and qualifying.
For teams and drivers, the Australian Grand Prix represents not just a race but a data-gathering exercise in an unfamiliar technological landscape. The reliability issues evident in practice suggest teams will be walking a fine line between performance and caution for weeks to come.With FP3 running late, qualifying might be delayed, but it still might not be enough time for Mercedes engineers to put Antonelli's car back together.
The opening weekend's disruptions are unlikely to be the last. Teams are navigating not only new power units and aerodynamic systems, but also unresolved regulatory questions. Earlier this week, the FIA announced a mid-season rule change would address power-unit compression ratio concerns raised by teams. The technical complexity of the 2026 regulations, intended to attract new manufacturers, has instead created a learning curve that may disadvantage some teams for months to come.