F3 Australian Grand Prix 2026 | Schedule & Sessions | MotorSportRadar

Formula 3 - Australian Grand Prix

Dunlaing Watches
Event Start

Australian Grand Prix

Dunlaing Watches
0 D
0 H
0 M
0 S

5 - 7 Mar

Completed
Albert Park Circuit

Albert Park Circuit

Some session times for F3 Australian Grand Prix 2026 have not yet been finalised, they represent possible times in which each race session could occur. Please check back later for more accurate times.

Free Practice*
14:00 - Thu, 5 Mar
Qualifying*
18:00 - Thu, 5 Mar
Sprint Race*
18:15 - Fri, 6 Mar
Feature Race*
14:00 - Sat, 7 Mar

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Upcoming in F3

Upcoming in F3
Monaco Grand Prix
4 - 7 Jun
Spanish Grand Prix
12 - 14 Jun
Austrian Grand Prix
26 - 28 Jun
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Track Info

Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit - Melbourne, Australia

Temporary street circuit around Albert Park Lake - clockwise - resurfaced and reprofiled for 2022

First Race
1996 (modern era)
Historic Australian Grands Prix also ran here in the 1950s on an anti-clockwise layout.
Circuit Length
5.278 km
58 laps - 306.124 km race distance (current FIA layout since 2022).
Turns
14
Seven corners modified and two removed for 2022 to aid overtaking.
Lap Record (Race)
1:19.813 - Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 2024
Formula 1 - set late in the race on the current 5.278 km layout.
Historic Benchmark
1:24.125 - Michael Schumacher, 2004
F1 race lap record on the previous 5.303 km and roughly 16-turn configuration.

When was the track built?

The Melbourne F1 deal was signed in 1993, creating a course that stitches together Aughtie Drive and Lakeside Drive plus short link roads around the lake. The park had hosted top-level racing long before: the Australian Grand Prix ran here in 1953 and 1956 on an approximately 5.03 km anti-clockwise course with winners Doug Whiteford and Stirling Moss.

For 2022 the venue underwent its biggest refresh: full resurfacing, multiple widened corners (notably Turns 1, 3, 6, 13 and 15), removal of the old Turn 9-10 chicane to create a high-speed blast, and a widened pit lane designed to allow an 80 km/h speed limit.

When was its first race?

Melbourne's first race of the modern era was the Australian GP on 10 March 1996, won by Damon Hill after a dramatic opening-lap incident that launched Martin Brundle's Jordan at Turn 3. Brundle sprinted back and started the spare car for the restart.

What's the circuit like?

  • Fast, flowing street course: It starts green and rubbers in quickly. A precise front end rewards drivers through the rapid Turn 11-12 change of direction. The 2022 reprofiling trimmed lap time and boosted top speeds.
  • DRS-heavy: Since 2022 the track has used up to four DRS zones, including along Lakeside Drive, making this one of F1's quickest laps by average speed.
  • Pit lane upgrades: Widened by about 2 m to ease traffic and strategy, plus updated pit-exit lines from 2023.

Reference: Max Verstappen's 2024 pole was a 1:15.915, underlining how fast the current 14-turn layout is.

Lap records and benchmarks (by series)

  • Formula 1 (race lap): 1:19.813 - Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), lap 56, 2024 Australian GP (current layout).
  • Formula 1 (historic layout): 1:24.125 - Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), lap 29, 2004 Australian GP (5.303 km layout).
  • FIA Formula 2: Debuted at Albert Park in 2023. Feature Race fastest lap 1:30.712 (Frederik Vesti) on lap 32.
  • Supercars Championship (Touring cars): Australia's headline tin-top series races as a GP support with multiple sprints across the weekend. Expect tight packs, slipstreaming and robust overtakes.
  • Porsche Carrera Cup Australia: A long-running national one-make series that often opens its season at Albert Park with large grids and Pro vs Pro-Am battles.

Why go?

The GP weekend turns the 176-hectare park into a festival: food villages, live stages and lakeside vistas, with St Kilda and the CBD minutes away. The 2024 event drew approximately 452,000 fans across four days - so booking early makes sense.

Where's the best place to watch?

  • Turn 11-12 (Waite Grandstand and lakeside banks): Flat-out direction change - epic commitment and great photos.
  • Turn 1-2 (Brabham Grandstand): Starts, safety-car restarts and setup for moves into Turn 3.
  • General Admission (Turns 9-10 and 11-12 banks): Grassy viewing with big-screen sightlines for picnic-plus-racing vibes.

Hotels & Accommodation

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