Gabriel Bortoleto had a very positive third free practice in Melbourne. In the session for the Formula 1 Australian GP, the Brazilian finished in ninth place on the table in an activity marked by a heavy crash by Kimi Antonelli.
Read more F1: Russell leads Australian GP FP3 after heavy Antonelli crash
After a 20-minute delay due to an accident in the Formula 3 Sprint race and the need to fix the tire barrier, the clock began the countdown for the final practice before qualifying.
Before the end of the first five minutes, Bortoleto was already on track for his first laps. After his installation lap, wearing soft tires, the Brazilian opened his lap in Melbourne – when he finished, he clocked only 1min38s2.
Just under ten minutes in and the first yellow flag, then virtual safety car, of the session was caused by Carlos Sainz. The Williams driver stopped at the pit entry, with the broadcast replay showing that the competitor’s engine shut down.
And with the delay in removing the Spaniard’s Williams, a red flag in the session – it’s worth remembering that in free practice, the clock doesn’t stop. At this moment, Bortoleto was in third place with 1min22s287. Nine drivers had not yet set a time.
With 38 minutes to the checkered flag, the pitlane was open once again and the drivers were back on track. The Audi Brazilian didn’t take long to join the other competitors – at this moment, he was in 11th place, 1s963 behind Kimi Antonelli, in first place.
Read more F1: Check out the full FP3 results for the 2026 Australian GP
When he opened a new fast lap, Gabriel flew at Albert Park. With 1min20s5, the Brazilian placed himself in fourth position, just 0s003 behind Lewis Hamilton, who was in third, and 0s304 behind the leader Charles Leclerc.
The Audi competitor remained stationary in Melbourne, staying in sixth place behind Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, Lewis Hamilton, Antonelli, and Max Verstappen. Nico Hülkenberg was in tenth place.
Then, in the final stretch of practice at Albert Park, a new red flag. This time, Kimi Antonelli was the one who caused the interruption of activities after a heavy collision against the protection wall, significantly damaging his Mercedes.
The practice was restarted with 3 and a half minutes for the drivers to attempt their final flying laps. In the end, Bortoleto was one of those who tried to improve his lap and in his attempt to improve, he faced traffic, but managed to improve and rose to seventh – he was in eighth after the opponents’ times improved.
Checkered flag and Gabriel finished in ninth place, just over 1s4 behind George Russell, the first-placed driver. Hülkenberg was 14th.
Read more 2026 Australian GP: F1 Qualifying live at Albert Park
