However, Piastri is not the only driver to watch as qualifying begins. Mercedes driver George Russell was just 0.039 seconds off Piastri’s pace, and Max Verstappen was just 0.081 seconds behind in third.

Listen to live commentary and follow text updates from third practice before qualifying at the Australian Grand Prix.

Haas driver Oliver Bearman triggered a second red flag in two days at the Australian Grand Prix as he spun off the Albert Park circuit just three minutes into the final free-practice session on Saturday.

After three impressive races during the 2024 in a reserve rule for both Ferrari and Haas, Oliver Bearman earned a full-time seat at Haas for the 2025 Formula 1 season. But that rookie campaign for Bearman has gotten off to a very difficult start.

Today is the day, then. For all of pre-season and even during the first three practice sessions we have had here so far, the mantra has been “we’ll see after qualifying in Melbourne”. That is that whatever teams have been holding back or not, there is no place to hide when it comes to the first session that sets the grid for 2025.

Get ready for the Australian Grand Prix with a guide that tells you everything you need to know about how to watch the year’s first Formula 1 race, the schedule and more.

The first qualifying session of the year takes place on Saturday, March 15 at the Albert Park Circuit, but as a result of the dramatic time difference with the UK, qualifying is today in Melbourne! The Australian Grand Prix is opening the season this weekend, with Lewis Hamilton's grand prix debut with Ferrari being the main event.

The 24-race, 2025 Formula One season begins with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne this weekend. McLaren and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen start their respective defences of the constructors’ and drivers’ championships, with two free-practice sessions today ahead of qualifying tomorrow. Today: FP1 (9:30pm ET), FP2 (1am ET).

Adelaide held the Australian Grand Prix between 1985-1995 and it served as the season finale in November of each year. Although it was successful, with 210,000 people attending the final race, it became too expensive to run and Melbourne took over as host the following year.

Excitement is building for this season with at least four of the ten teams in serious contention for the Championship. The post F1 Australian Grand Prix 2025 preview: season-opener will reveal team strengths appeared first on The Manual.

F1 racing returns this weekend with the first big event of the year, the Australian Grand Prix. The race marks the beginning of the 75th season of F1 and it will air on Sunday, March 16 at 12 a.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.