Academy Preview: Sandro's sophomore season starts in Melbourne

Our 19-year-old French racer gets his 2026 campaign underway in Australia this weekend

Published

03 MAR 2026

Est. reading time

2 min

The new Formula 1 season also heralds the start of its support series, and for the Williams F1 Team Driver Academy, that means Alessandro Giusti returnså to FIA Formula 3 action as the championship kicks off in Melbourne.

After a strong rookie year, Sandro is back for more, and he arrives for the first round in Australia with his sights firmly set on the title.

The 19-year-old Frenchman enjoyed a consistent first year, finishing P10 in the Drivers’ Standings and scoring top-10 finishes in 13 of the 19 races that took place – recording just a single retirement across the entire campaign.

While he was a regular points scorer, his two podium finishes in Spain and Austria were the clear high points of his 2025.

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Continuity is the theme heading into his sophomore season, with Sandro remaining with MP Motorsport for 2026, lining-up alongside Tuukka Taponen and reigning Eurocup-3 champion Mattia Colnaghi.

His preparations for the new season included three days of official testing in Barcelona in mid-February. Despite battling illness throughout the test, Sandro still banked valuable mileage, completing 174 laps across the three days and getting crucial seat time ahead of the opener.

Now entering his second year in F3, Sandro knows what to expect and with a season of experience under his belt, the next item on his to-do list is to fight for victories to put himself in a championship fight.

Formula 3 Melbourne Timings (Displayed in track timezone – AEDT):

Practice - Friday, 08:50

Qualifying - Friday, 14:00

Sprint Race - Saturday, 11:15

Feature Race - Sunday, 08:50

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Academy Preview: Sandro's sophomore season starts in Melbourne