Max Verstappen ended up fastest in FP3 of F1 Australian GP from Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon as Perez had a disaster of a session.

The weather remained dry for most of the FP3 session in F1 Australian GP with only a drizzle towards the end, but the cold conditions made it tricky for all. There were multiple yellow flag moments and a red flag to clear the debris from AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries car.

The Dutchman didn’t crash but just lost body part. At the front, Red Bull’s Verstappen kept it late to set the pace in FP3 of F1 Australian GP, with a 1m17.565s lap. He headed Aston Martin’s Alonso and Alpine’s Ocon, who surprised many with his lap.

Teammate Pierre Gasly was up there in fifth behind Mercedes’ George Russell. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was only sixth but it was a disaster for him. He spent a lot of time in the garage to start the session and when he took the track, it was not a clean one at all.

He had traffic early on and then had off at Turn 3 on his another run. Post a second off at Turn 3, Perez came on the radio regarding the inconsistency and lose rear. He had more work done on the rear end, but it continued with another off at Turn 1.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was seventh who also had an off towards the end while on a cruise run but managed to get away from the gravel. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was eighth from Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu in the Top 10.

The Chinese racer also spun at Turn 2 on the grass but managed to stay away from the barrier. Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg was 11th from Williams’ Alexander Albon, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was only 13th after his wide moment at Turn 1 too.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri ended up 14th but has been pulled up by stewards for practice start infringement where he sat third on the grid when he was supposed to start from pole when he is the first on the road to reach the spot to undertake a practice start.

Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas ended up 15th from AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, with Williams’ Logan Sargeant in 17th, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen 18th, AlphaTauri’s de Vries 19th and McLaren’s Lando Norris 20th to round out the FP3 session.

The American got some good laps in after missing whole of FP2 due to electrical issue. The Dane had an early off at Turn 13 where he escaped from a barrier touch. While everyone completed a soft tyre lap, Norris was the lone to set his best on the medium.

Here’s what was said after Friday in F1 Australian GP

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