Oscar Piastri fastest in final practice for Australian Grand Prix

Home favourite Oscar Piastri edged out Mercedes’ George Russell to finish fastest in final practice for the Australian Grand Prix.

As the teams started to show their full potential with a series of low-fuel runs, McLaren’s Piastri saw off Russell’s challenge by just 0.039 seconds.

World champion Max Verstappen took third spot, 0.081 sec off the pace, and one spot ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Leclerc was quickest at Melbourne’s Albert Park on Friday but said the handling of his Ferrari was affecting his confidence in the concluding running before qualifying.

Leclerc trailed Piastri by 0.267 sec, with Lewis Hamilton eighth in the other Ferrari, nearly half a second adrift. Lando Norris finished 10th, almost seven tenths behind, after he failed to set a representative lap.

British teenager Ollie Bearman was forced to miss all of the second session on Friday with damage sustained to his Haas following a crash in the opening running of the weekend.

On Saturday, the 19-year-old was the first driver out of the pits as he attempted to make up for lost time.

However, Bearman failed to complete one flying lap after he lost control of his Haas and ended up beached in the gravel.

Bearman was left crestfallen in his cockpit, shaking his head, as the session was red-flagged.

Although Bearman – one of six rookies on the grid this season – avoided any damage, he will head into qualifying later on Saturday under intense scrutiny and with barely any running under his belt.

Qualifying, which determines the grid for Sunday’s curtain raiser, takes place at 4pm local time (5am GMT).