Valtteri Bottas shows his intent to increase the gap at the top of the standings by pipping Lewis Hamilton in the final practice session.
Free Practice 3 Report:
Despite moody skies, FP3 was clear with no rain falling throughout the session. Yet again, the cars managed to stick to the tarmac and most of the session was incident free. However, Max Verstappen found himself facing the wrong way as he over-steered through turn 12. Nicolas Latifi suffered a similar spin towards the end of the session. Sergio Perez pulled out an impressive run on the soft tyres and placed a very respectable third, less than 2 tenths behind Lewis Hamilton. In the midfield, Ferrari appear to have a bit more pace, while Renault’s progress seems to have plateaued as their drivers finished 10th and 13th. Late on in the session, George Russell climbed to 7th before eventually dropping to 14th. An impressive showing for the struggling Williams team. His team-mate was less successful, 8 tenths behind.
With no more running until qualifying, the practice sessions have led to many questions. Will the Racing Points outperform Red Bull this weekend? Can Valtteri Bottas get a strangehold on the championship? Are Ferrari actually gaining pace? And of course, will rain disrupt play?
Full Practice Results:
- Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes, 1:15.437)
- Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes, +0.042)
- Sergio Perez (Racing Point, +0.161)
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari, +0.344)
- Lance Stroll (Racing Point, +0.596)
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull, +0.647)
- Lando Norris (McLaren, +0.756)
- Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari, +0.914)
- Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri, +1.016)
- Daniel Ricciardo (Renault, +1.071)
- Carlos Sainz (McLaren, +1.108)
- Alexander Albon (Red Bull, +1.145)
- Esteban Ocon (Renault, +1.269)
- George Russell (Williams, +1.410)
- Romain Grosjean (Haas, +1.429)
- Kevin Magnussen (Hass, +1.649)
- Daniil Kvyat (Alpha Tauri, +1.855)
- Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo, +2.059)
- Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo, +2.090)
- Nicholas Latifi (Williams, +2.213)
Featured Image Credit: Formula1.com