Summary

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Live Reporting

Lorraine McKenna and Tasnim Chowdhury

  1. Get Involved

    Select the 'Get Involved' button to have your say

    Excited to be in Australia for the Grand Prix, my husband’s first race and first time in Aus! Loving all the papaya, c’mon Lando and Oscar.

    Louise, T1 grandstand, Melbourne but from Southampton

  2. Green light

    Green lights for final practice. One hour to get the cars in good shape before the qualifying session.

    The first lot of cars have already made their way on to the circuit.

  3. Drivers are getting ready to hop into their cars for the final practice session at the Australian Grand Prix before qualifying.

    A few of them are already in their cars, ready to set off.

  4. 'Practice sessions more valuable than ever before right now'

    Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    These practice sessions are so valuable, more than ever before right now because everything is so new.

    You're going to hear the words energy management, harvesting and deployment a lot more this year because of the way the new cars are constructed and how the power is delivered.

    It's about a 50-50 split now between the electric motor and battery, and the internal combustion engine.

    There's a huge amount of strategy behind how you harvest the energy and where you do it because you've got a battery now that is almost going to be empty and refilled a couple of time during the course of a single lap.

  5. 01:50 start time for FP3

    Repairs are still being done on the track at the Albert Park Circuit and there is a further five-minute delay.

    The final practice session will, hopefully, get going at 01:50 GMT.

  6. Straight mode between T6-9 stays

    The FIA has already busy in Melbourne in today.

    Earlier on, the straight-line mode between Turns Six and Nine was removed for safety reasons after some concerns were raised, however, there was a big push-back from teams and drivers, as this would've had an impact on car set-up at such short notice.

    So, the decision has now been scrapped and it's as you were for third practice and qualifying.

    In a statement, the FIA said: "Following feedback in last hour from teams and drivers, and additional analysis contributed by teams, decision to remove Straight Mode zone #4 is rescinded. Further evaluation during and after FP3."

  7. Get Involved

    Select the 'Get Involved' button to have your say

    What are your thoughts and predictions for the Australian Grand Prix?

    Send us your messages by selecting the yellow 'Get Involved' button and we will share the best ones.

  8. Honda engines risk nerve damage to drivers - Newey

    Andrew Benson
    BBC F1 correspondent in Melbourne

    Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso walk into the Melbourne paddockGetty Images

    The narrative of the weekend so far has been about Aston Martin's plight at the back of the field as much as the fight at the front, following the biggest regulation change in the sport's history.

    Team principal Adrian Newey has laid bare the team's struggles across two compelling news conferences, and revealed as well that star driver Fernando Alonso is in a "hard mental place" as a result of engine partner Honda's lack of performance and reliability.

    Newey said the current problems are rooted in vibrations from the engine affecting the batteries of the hybrid system. There are only two of those left for the rest of the weekend in Melbourne.

    He also revealed the vibrations are risking permanent nerve damage for their drivers within 25 laps of running.

    "Fernando [Alonso] is of the feeling that he can't do more than 25 laps consecutively before he will risk permanent nerve damage to his hands," he said.

    "Lance [Stroll] is of the opinion that he can't do more than 15 laps before that threshold."

  9. 01:45 start time

    There is a 15-minute delay to the start of the final practice session.

    Lights should go green at 01:45 GMT.

  10. Final Practice delayed

    The start of third practice has been delayed.

    A barrier on the track is being repaired after a crash in the F3 session earlier today.

  11. Listen to live commentary

    BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    Jennie Gow, Harry Benjamin, F1 correspondent Andrew Benson and former McLaren mechanic Marc Priestley are in position and ready to take us through this third practice session.

    You can tune in by clicking the 'listen live' tab at the top of this page, via the BBC Sounds app or by asking your smart speaker to "play BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra".

  12. Fans at Albert Park

    There is a sea of papaya orange for Australia's very own Oscar Piastri.

    Could he win it in front of his home crowd?

    But there's still a lot of support for the other drivers.

    I always love the homemade fan banners and signs!

    fans in AustraliaGetty Images
    fans at the australian grand prixGetty Images
    Fernando Alonso fansGetty Images

  13. Chequered Flag podcast: Aston Martin’s woes as 2026 cars run for first time in Australia

    Harry Benjamin, Jennie Gow, Marc Priestley and Andrew Benson look back on the first day of on-track action at the Australian Grand Prix.

    The team talk about Aston Martin's woes and they hear from team principal Adrian Newey.

    The team reflect on the first day of on-track action in Australia.

  14. What's new in F1 2026?

    • Cars - shorter, lighter, nimbler and more environmentally friendly
    • Engines - now a near 50-50 split between electric and internal combustion power - and use fully sustainable fuels
    • DRS overtaking aid gone - replaced by overtake mode, a burst of extra electrical power when a driver is within one second of the car ahead at a detection point, usually the final corner
    • Active aero - both the front and rear wings adjust angles to reduce drag on straights (straight mode) and increase downforce in corners (corner mode)
    • Recharge - cars can recover energy during braking, running the engine at high revs in corners, lifting off early and coasting at the end of straights and from not being at full throttle
    • Boost mode - at the push of a button anywhere on track, drivers can get maximum power from the battery to aid with an attack or defense

  15. Who looked quick in Friday practice?

    Andrew Benson
    BBC F1 correspondent in Melbourne

    Charles Leclerc on track in MelbourneGetty Images

    The competitive picture is still unclear after a day on which many of the teams and drivers admitted they were struggling to work out the optimum use of energy with this year's new engines. Management of the hybrid system is critical with the power split about 50-50 between internal combustion engine and electrical power.

    World champion Lando Norris, seventh fastest in his McLaren ahead of the impressive 18-year-old British rookie Arvid Lindblad in the Racing Bull, was affected by a gearbox problem in the first session.

    Mercedes, though, set highly impressive times on their race-distance runs late in the session that seemed to underline their position as pre-season favourites.

    Ferrari, also fancied by many coming into the season, spent much of the day at the top of the times, only to be usurped by McLaren and Mercedes.

  16. Hello!

    G'day everyone.

    Welcome to our live text for final practice and qualifying at the Australian Grand Prix.

    If you've just woken up or stayed awake for the session, thank you for joining us, gold star for you.

    Lights go green for third practice at 01:30 GMT.

    Qualifying will begin at 05:00 GMT.

    Before we get started, shall we recap on who looked the fastest in Friday's sessions?

    Oscar PiastriGetty Images