Mercedes yet again topped the time sheets, but the Red Bulls have closed the gap significantly.
There was perfect weather throughout the session and it started with the McLaren duo getting some laps in early. Ferrari showed improved pace from the offset, trading the top places with the Mercedes drivers. But, Nicolas Latifi had the first major crash of the 2020 season, losing control through turn one and, as a result, the session was red flagged. With 26 minutes left, the cars made their way out again for their qualifying simulation runs. Ferrari continued to show improved pace on the soft tyre, but couldn’t match the Mercedes. However, with 10 minutes to go, Max Verstappen appeared to take off a few of the sandbags he’d been carrying to get within a quarter of a second of the lead time. The midfield battle was a mix, but Sergio Perez came out on top, finishing 4th. With all eyes now looking to qualifying, Mercedes seems unbeatable. But, this is just a practice session…
- Hamilton
- Bottas
- Verstappen
- Perez
- Leclerc
- Albon
- Vettel
- Stroll
- Gasly
- Norris
- Ocon
- Ricciardo
- Sainz
- Kvyat
- Grosjean
- Russell
- Magnussen
- Giovinazzi
- Raikkonen
- Latifi
Feature Image Credit: BBC Sport