Australian GP: Kimi Antonelli in huge crash as George Russell reveals stunning Mercedes pace in Practice Three
Kimi Antonelli crashed his Mercedes in the closing stages of final practice in Melbourne but was able to later qualify on the front row; watch Sunday's Australian Grand Prix at 4am with build-up from 2.30am, live on Sky Sports F1 and Main Event
Saturday 7 March 2026 10:03, UK
Kimi Antonelli had a huge crash in final practice at the Australian Grand Prix as his team-mate George Russell revealed Mercedes' pace by topping the session with a stunning lap.
Just as Mercedes decided to unleash the pace - later confirmed by Russell - that many suspected they had, Antonelli lost control of his car at Turn 2 and shunted into the barrier at high speed.
While the 19-year-old was quickly out of his stricken car and was cleared after being checked on by medics, his participation in the first qualifying session of the season was left in doubt due to the severity of the damage.
- F1 set to not replace Bahrain and Saudi races if cancelled
- Martin Brundle's 2026 season preview | New F1 rules and racing terms explained
- F1 2026: Calendar, line-ups, new regulations, how to watch on Sky Sports
- Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOWđź“ş
However, Mercedes did a remarkable job to repair the car, and aided by a red flag caused by Max Verstappen crashing out of Q1, were able to get Antonelli on track and he impressively qualified second behind Mercedes team-mate and pole-sitter Russell.
Antonelli avoided a grid penalty in qualifying but Mercedes were fined €7,500 (£6,500) for releasing their car in an unsafe conditions during Q3.
The mechanics appeared to forget to remove cooling devices from his car, which then fell off on track and caused a red flag as McLaren's Lando Norris struck one.
There were mixed emotions at Mercedes during final practice as Russell topped the session with a stunning lap time of 1:19.053, which put him six tenths clear of Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton in second.
Hamilton and his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc, who was third, appear to be Mercedes' most likely challengers for pole having finished ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri.
Verstappen was a place behind his new Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar in sixth, and sounded frustrated over the radio as he complained of issues with his car.
'Crash could impact Antonelli all year'
Sky Sports F1 pit lane reporter Ted Kravitz warned that the crash could have a major impact on Antonelli's 2026 campaign.
He said: "There's no good time to crash, but in F1, you know that the worst possible time in practice to crash is in the last 10 minutes of Practice Three going into the qualifying session.
"In the garage it was playing out like a Drive to Survive episode. Kimi was there, Toto was reacting, stony-faced. Kimi didn't go over to Toto for quite a while, he was with his engineer Peter Bonnington trying to understand what had just happened.
"We wait to see what the effect on the rest of the weekend will be for Kimi Antonelli, and potentially on the rest of the year as well.
"Remember how much his accident in Monza in 2024 - in his first free practice session before he even became a fully-fledged F1 driver - affected him throughout the whole of last season.
"Hopefully he'll be able to move on quite quickly."
Sky Sports F1's Australian GP schedule
Saturday March 7
5am: AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING*
7am: Ted's Qualifying Notebook*
9.45pm: F3 Feature Race*
Sunday March 8
12.20am: F2 Feature Race*
2.30am: Australian GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
4am: THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX*
6am: Australian GP reaction: Chequered Flag*
7am: Ted's Notebook*
7.55am: Australian GP race replay*
10am: Australian GP highlights (also on Sky One)*
*Also on Sky Sports Main Event
Watch every race of the 2026 Formula 1 season live on Sky Sports, starting with the Australian Grand Prix from this Sunday. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime
