Source :- THE AGE NEWS
After weeks of underplaying their pace, Mercedes finally unveiled their true speed on Saturday afternoon at Albert Park, with George Russell clocking the fastest lap in a dramatic third practice session marred by red flags and stunning crashes.
Russell clocked a blistering a lap time of 1:19.053, however Mercedes mechanics are racing against the clock to fix his teammate Kimi Antonelli’s car after the youngster collided with the barrier – the Italian young gun walking away unscathed.
Kimi Antonelli surveys the damage of his smashed Mercedes after a crash in practice.Credit: Getty Images
Russell’s sizzling lap was six tenths faster than Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton in second, followed by Charles Leclerc and Australian Oscar Piastri in fourth.
Piastri completed an impressive second practice session on Friday to clock the fastest lap for the day, however he struggled with pace early on Saturday.
F1 fans watching Saturday’s practice session got a taste of what the first qualifying session for 2026 could have in store: multiple delays, red flags and crashes.
It was an unwelcome session for Williams driver Carlos Sainz jnr, whose progress was stopped after a power unit failure.
Kimi Antonelli’s crash ahead of qualifying at Albert Park.Credit: Credit: Ten
The Spaniard had to awkwardly wait in his car for marshalls to help remove the track from the car, ultimately triggering a red flag.
The new regulations paint a complicated picture for several F1 teams, with several drivers appearing to struggle with their new engines and power.
Antonelli’s monster crash occurred near turn 2, smashing into the barrier after accelerating off the kerb. This incident, too, triggered a red flag.
Mercedes have emerged as one of the season’s early favourites after a positive pre-season test period in Bahrain and will be hoping to qualify on the front row for Sunday’s race, with Russell looking likely to take pole.
However, the team has a mighty task ahead to fix Antonelli’s car before Saturday’s qualifying session at 4pm (local time). Initial pictures from the track indicated his gearbox might have been damaged, which would dramatically impact his mechanics’ turnaround time.
Piastri’s former performance trainer Kim Keedle, an Australian who was in the paddock on Friday, was called up to work with Mercedes rival Russell this weekend because his own trainer was stuck overseas amid travel disruption caused by conflict in the Middle East.
