Summary

  • Lando Norris takes Australian GP pole

  • Oscar Piastri completes all-McLaren front row

  • Verstappen third, Russell fourth, Tsunoda fifth, Albon sixth

  • Ferraris of Leclerc and Hamilton seventh and eighth

  • Antonelli and Lawson eliminated in Q1

  • Select audio icon above for Radio 5 Live commentary (UK only)

  • Get involved: #bbcf1

Live Reporting

Lorraine McKenna

  1. Piastri goes quickest

    McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes and Williams make up the top six in the remaining five minutes of this final practice session. Oscar Piastri is gunning for a home pole position and he beats Max Verstappen's time by 0.081 seconds to become the new leader. Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari moves up to P4.

  2. Ferrari seemed to be the team to beat yesterday but the Italian team are not setting final practice alight today. Lewis Hamilton has a clean run on his next flying lap but the seven-time world champion doesn't reach the top five and has to settle for P8 behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.

    Lewis HamiltonReuters

  3. Antonelli looks quick

    The fight for the first pole position pole of the season is going to be a mouth-watering contest. Lando Norris has Max Verstappen's best time in his sights but the Briton backs off in his McLaren after going wide at the penultimate corner.

    Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, can only manage sixth fastest for Ferrari, which now changes to P7, as Kimi Antonelli slots into fourth on the timesheets.

    Andrea Kimi Antonelli goes slightly off line and throws up some dust in Australian Grand Prix third practiceGetty Images

  4. 'Verstappen looks bang on the pace'

    Andrew Benson
    BBC F1 correspondent in Melbourne

    The impression so far this session is that either Red Bull have miraculously found some pace from somewhere overnight or they've been engaging in quite some kidology. Max Verstappen looks absolutely bang on the pace.

  5. Verstappen beats Russell's time

    One Red Bull is still in working order and it's in the hands of the four-time world champion. A new set of softs have been bolted on to Max Verstapen's car and he pulls out an extra bit of pace to go 0.075 seconds quicker than the McLaren of Oscar Piastri, who now sits second.

    Max VerstappenReuters

  6. Albon goes P2

    While Liam Lawson has to watch the session unfold from the Red Bull garage, Williams are making jaws drop out on track. Both drivers have been fitted with softs and Alex Albon goes within a tenth of George Russell's best time to go P2, while Carlos Sainz is just behind in third spot.

  7. Rosanna Tennant
    5 Live F1 reporter in Melbourne

    Liam Lawson is out of the car, all of the bodywork has been taken off and put back on to the stand. The rear of the car doesn't look like the car you will see out on track, everything has been removed.

    There is a power unit or power unit system problem on the air side, so they are working to find out the problem.

  8. Top five

    1. George Russell (Mercedes) - 1:16.402

    2. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.195

    3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.244

    4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.274

    5. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.275

  9. Russell jumps to P1

    George Russell and Max Verstappen starting side-by-side on the grid at the season-opener? Yes please. The Mercedes driver goes over two-tenths faster than the four-time world champion to go top. Lando Norris is next up but the McLaren man can't beat Russell's marker and he goes second instead.

  10. Andrew Benson
    BBC F1 correspondent in Melbourne

    My mouth is just literally watering at the prospect of the battle between Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, never mind anything else that is happening this season.

  11. Alex Albon has set his fastest time on a set of the C3 hard tyres and is now joined by new team-mate Carlos Sainz on the same compound, with the Spaniard only a touch off Albon's marker of 1:16.801.

    The two Ferraris have now come out to play on the softs but still they cannot beat Max Verstapen's top time. Charles Leclerc is the closest by 0.030 seconds, and if the Monegasque driver had a tidier lap, he would've been quicker than his Red Bull rival.

  12. Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    Kimi Antonelli has put in a really strong first lap, we know he can be very quick, everyone has been talking about his raw pace.

    I think the biggest challenge and unknown is how he's going to get through a grand prix weekend.

    How is he going to learn to manage these quirky Pirelli tyres over the long race runs that are going to come at him thick and fast?

    kimi antonelliGetty Images

  13. Top five

    1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 1:16.646

    2. Alex Albon (Williams) +0.155 (hard tyre)

    3. Kimi Antonelli (Williams) +0.224

    4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.238

    5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.248

  14. Antonelli up to P2

    A rookie on pole position for the opener in Australia with rain on the horizon? We're getting ahead of ourselves. But Kimi Antonelli puts his Mercedes within 0.224 seconds of Max Verstappen's top time with his latest attempt on the softs.

    Carlos Sainz is on the phone to Williams. "I might have touched the wall a bit," says the Spaniard.

  15. 'Continuity and familiarity is going to be key here'

    Marc Priestley
    Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

    It's now really important to start focusing on getting down to that one-lap pace.

    What you don't want to do is have your driver come out of FP3 having been working on something that is different to what he is going to feel in qualifying.

    Continuity and familiarity is going to be key here, so focusing on short runs ahead of qualifying means the drivers are now ready for that session when it matters later on.

  16. Verstappen on top

    Reigning world champion Max Verstappen drops us down into the 1:16s, half a tenth quicker than the nearest challenger George Russell. Lando Norris, his title rival last season, is next to cross the line on his push lap on the softs, but the McLaren can't trump the Red Bull and has to settle for second on the board, three tenths behind.

    Max VerstappenReuters

  17. Piastri goes quickest

    Kimi Antonelli felt it was a positive opening session for him in the Mercedes yesterday and the Italian's opening flyer on the softs is a 1:17.970 to put him third on the timesheets. The big guns are out, though and the teenager is soon down to fifth place, as Charles Leclerc jumps to fourth and Melbourne boy Oscar Piastri goes fastest in the McLaren.

    Oscar PiastriReuters

  18. Rosanna Tennant
    5 Live F1 reporter in Melbourne

    It's been quite quiet in the pit lane, Kimi Antonelli has just left the Mercedes garage so he's heading out on track. The Red Bull mechanics have all come out of the pit box area waiting for Liam Lawson.

  19. Issues for Lawson

    How will Liam Lawson perform in qualifying today? The New Zealander has been thrown straight in to the deep end for his full debut season at Red Bull but yesterday he did say the car felt comfortable, he just wasn't fast enough.

    Lawson is on the team radio now highlighting a possible technical problem. He asks if it's "major", his pit wall replies just head back to base.

    His four-time world champion team-mate Max Verstappen, meanwhile, goes quickest on the softs with a 1:17.632.

  20. 'McLaren the favourites'

    Harry Benjamin
    BBC F1 Commentator in Melbourne

    McLaren have come into this season as the favourites, you naturally are when you clinched the title at the end of the previous season.

    Lando Norris in the McLarenGetty Images