Théophile Nael secured pole position in the early hours of this Friday (6) for the opening round of the 2026 Formula 3 season. In the qualifying session held at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, the Campos Racing driver took advantage of the final moments to record 1min34s187, taking the top spot for the feature race.
Read more Mini leads F2 practice in Australia. Câmara is among the fastest
Campos Racing also saw Ugo Ugochukwu, the driver who was fastest in free practice, complete the front row. The American led most of the qualifying session but was beaten by 0s021 by Nael. Freddie Slater, in a Trident car, will start from third position, sharing the second row with Maciej Gladysz, fourth with ART Grand Prix. Nicola Lacorte, from DAMS, and Mattia Colnaghi, from MP Motorsport, round out the group of the six fastest.
Taito Kato, the Japanese driver racing for ART Grand Prix, will start from seventh position, with Prema’s James Wharton alongside him on the fourth row. Brando Badoer, from Rodin, will start ninth, while Noah Stromsted, from Trident, secured tenth place on the grid. Enzo Deligny and Bruno del Pino, both from Van Amersfoort, round out the top-12. The Spaniard will start from pole position in the Sprint race that will open the F3 championship.
The session that defined the starting positions was not the best for the Brazilian drivers. Pedro Clerot, in a car prepared by Rodin, did not go beyond 19th position and will open the tenth row in both races of the weekend. Fernando Barrichello, in an AIX Racing car, took 30th position and closes the grid in both races in Melbourne.
Read more Beganovic secures F2 pole in Australia in qualifying marked by accidents
Qualifying in Melbourne featured a red flag after Matteo de Palo hit the barrier after going off at Turn 10 of the circuit. The Trident driver was forced to abandon the fight for pole position.
Still this Friday, starting at 21h15, the Sprint race will be held. The feature race is scheduled to start at 18h50 on Saturday.
Read more 2026 Australian GP: F1 Free Practice 1 live at Albert Park
