The 2026 Melbourne FIA Formula 3 round was a motor racing event held between 6 and 8 March 2026 at the Albert Park Circuit. It was the opening round of the 2026 FIA Formula 3 Championship and was held in support of the 2026 Australian Grand Prix.
Report
Driver changes Campos Racing announced that Ernesto Rivera would miss the race due to a back injury sustained in an accident during this year's Formula Regional Oceania Trophy competition. Patrick Husenroder stepped in to replace him.
Classification Qualifying Qualifying was held on 6 March 2026, at 14:00 local time (UTC+11). Driver Entrant Time/Gap 11 Théophile Naël Campos Racing 1:34.187 12 122 Ugo Ugochukwu Campos Racing +0.021 11 235 Freddie Slater Trident +0.082 10 3411 Maciej Gładysz ART Grand Prix +0.267 9 4529 Nicola Lacorte DAMS Lucas Oil +0.346 8 567 Mattia Colnaghi MP Motorsport +0.360 7 6710 Taito Kato ART Grand Prix +0.425 6 7821 James Wharton Prema Racing +0.434 5 8918 Brando Badoer Rodin Motorsport +0.438 4 9104 Noah Strømsted Trident +0.451 3 101115 Enzo Deligny Van Amersfoort Racing +0.457 2 111216 Bruno del Pino Van Amersfoort Racing +0.461 1 121320 Louis Sharp Prema Racing +0.499 13 13148 Tuukka Taponen MP Motorsport +0.554 14 141525 Jin Nakamura Hitech +0.572 15 15169 Alessandro Giusti MP Motorsport +0.630 16 161731 Gerrard Xie DAMS Lucas Oil +0.673 17 171824 Fionn McLaughlin Hitech +0.687 18 181917 Pedro Clerot Rodin Motorsport +0.692 19 192026 Brad Benavides AIX Racing +0.746 20 202119 Christian Ho Rodin Motorsport +0.760 21 212214 Hiyu Yamakoshi Van Amersfoort Racing +0.768 22 22233 Patrick Heuzenroeder Campos Racing +0.969 23 232422 José Garfias Prema Racing +1.120 24 242527 Yevan David AIX Racing +1.544 25 252612 Kanato Le ART Grand Prix +1.608 26 262723 Michael Shin Hitech +1.633 27 272830 Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi DAMS Lucas Oil +1.974 28 282928 Fernando Barrichello AIX Racing +2.295 29 29107% time: 1:40.780 (+6.593)—6 Matteo De PaloTrident +27.5483030Source:
Notes: – Matteo De Palo failed to set a time within the 107%-mark after his fastest lap time was deleted due to him being the sole cause of a red flag during qualifying. He was given permission from the stewards to start both races at the back of the grid.
Sprint race The sprint race was held on 7 March 2026, at 11:15 local time (UTC+11). Originally scheduled for 20 laps, the race was red-flagged on lap eight due to James Wharton and Louis Sharp colliding, with the results taken from lap seven. As more than 25% but less than 50% of the scheduled race distance was completed, reduced points were awarded to the top five finishers. DriverEntrantLapsTime/RetiredPoints116 Bruno del PinoVan Amersfoort Racing711:35.44015215 Enzo DelignyVan Amersfoort Racing7 +1.38124318 Brando BadoerRodin Motorsport7 +2.7124344 Noah StrømstedTrident7 +3.30732510 Taito KatoART Grand Prix7 +4.73461611 Maciej Gładysz ART Grand Prix7 +5.8579721 James Wharton Prema Racing7 +7.579582 Ugo Ugochukwu Campos Racing7 +9.5621195 Freddie Slater Trident7 +11.27410101 Théophile Naël Campos Racing7 +12.789121129 Nicola Lacorte DAMS Lucas Oil7 +13.1608128 Tuukka Taponen MP Motorsport7 +13.675141325 Jin Nakamura Hitech7 +14.282151417 Pedro Clerot Rodin Motorsport7 +14.693191524 Fionn McLaughlin Hitech7 +16.239181620 Louis Sharp Prema Racing7 +17.743131726 Brad Benavides AIX Racing7 +18.894201819 Christian Ho Rodin Motorsport7 +19.404211931 Gerrard Xie DAMS Lucas Oil7 +20.766172014 Hiyu Yamakoshi Van Amersfoort Racing7 +21.74022219 Alessandro Giusti MP Motorsport7 +22.296162227 Yevan David AIX Racing7 +22.62025233 Patrick Heuzenroeder Campos Racing7 +23.040232422 José Garfias Prema Racing7 +23.413242523 Michael Shin Hitech7 +23.91427266 Matteo De Palo Trident7 +24.652302728 Fernando Barrichello AIX Racing7 +25.257292812 Kanato Le ART Grand Prix7 +25.756262930 Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi DAMS Lucas Oil7 +26.10528307 Mattia Colnaghi MP Motorsport7 +30.6947Fastest lap: Louis Sharp (1:37.955 on lap 4)Source:
Notes: – Louis Sharp received a ten-second time penalty for causing a collision with Prema Racing teammate James Wharton. This demoted him from 8th to 16th. – Louis Sharp set the fastest lap and would have scored the point for it, but later received a ten-second time penalty for causing a collision. This dropped him out of the top ten, making him ineligible to score the point. James Wharton would have scored the point for setting the fastest lap among those finishing in the top ten, but as less than 50% of the scheduled race distance was completed, he was not awarded the point for it.
Feature race The feature race was held on 8 March 2026, at 08:50 local time (UTC+11). DriverEntrantLapsTime/RetiredPoints12 Ugo UgochukwuCampos Racing2342:59.65322525 Freddie SlaterTrident23 +0.693318310 Taito KatoART Grand Prix23 +2.272715416 Bruno del PinoVan Amersfoort Racing23 +2.7161112+1511 Maciej GładyszART Grand Prix23 +3.253410615 Enzo DelignyVan Amersfoort Racing23 +3.576108726 Brad BenavidesAIX Racing23 +4.716186817 Pedro ClerotRodin Motorsport23 +4.963174925 Jin NakamuraHitech23 +5.346132107 Mattia ColnaghiMP Motorsport23 +5.784611114 Hiyu Yamakoshi Van Amersfoort Racing23 +5.98320121 Théophile Naël Campos Racing23 +6.29012138 Tuukka Taponen MP Motorsport23 +6.529121424 Fionn McLaughlin Hitech23 +6.80216159 Alessandro Giusti MP Motorsport23 +7.218141618 Brando Badoer Rodin Motorsport23 +7.7788173 Patrick Heuzenroeder Campos Racing23 +8.483211828 Fernando Barrichello AIX Racing23 +8.836271931 Gerrard Xie DAMS Lucas Oil23 +9.401152027 Yevan David AIX Racing23 +9.977232119 Christian Ho Rodin Motorsport23 +10.47319226 Matteo De Palo Trident23 +11.18228234 Noah Strømsted Trident23 +11.62192422 José Garfias Prema Racing23 +11.871222529 Nicola Lacorte DAMS Lucas Oil23 +19.1425DNF23 Michael Shin Hitech19 Suspension25DNF30 Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi DAMS Lucas Oil7 Accident26DNF12 Kanato Le ART Grand Prix1 24WD20 Louis Sharp Prema Racing0 WithdrawnWD21 James Wharton Prema Racing0 WithdrawnFastest lap: Bruno del Pino (1:37.336 on lap 5)Source:
Notes: – Théophile Naël received a five-second time penalty for a false start. – Noah Strømsted was given a ten-second time penalty for causing a collision with Nicola Lacorte. – Nicola Lacorte was handed a five-second time penalty for a false start. After the race, Lacorte also received a ten-second time penalty for failing to activate the start set-up procedure. This demoted him from 19th to 25th. – After colliding in the sprint race, Prema Racing teammates Louis Sharp and James Wharton both withdrew from the feature race.
Standings after the event
Drivers' Championship standings Driver Points 1 Ugo Ugochukwu25 2 Bruno del Pino18 3 Freddie Slater18 4 Taito Kato16 5 Enzo Deligny12Source: Teams' Championship standings Team Points 1 Van Amersfoort Racing30 2 Campos Racing27 3 ART Grand Prix26 4 Trident20 5 Rodin Motorsport7Source:
Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
See also 2026 Australian Grand Prix 2026 Melbourne Formula 2 round
Notes
References
External links Official website