Mercedes and Renault will be looking forward to qualifying after a strong session for both their works and customer teams. However, Ferrari’s torrid weekend takes another devastating blow as 6 of the 7 slowest cars have engines supplied by the Italian outfit.
Despite a bit of drizzle toward the beginning of the race, all drivers stayed on the dry tyres throughout the session. Valtteri Bottas led a mixed group for the majority of FP3, before the final qualifying runs in the last 10 minutes. Many constructors switched purple sectors, but it was Hamilton who regained control. However, at the end of the session many cars started to queue in an attempt to gain a slipstream advantage. With the benefit being predicted at half a second, audiences may see a repeat of last year’s Italian GP qualifying.
Report:
Valtteri Bottas took charge early in the session, but was eventually toppled by Lewis Hamilton during the final runs. Bottas did not manage a clear lap afterwards and was not able to challenge. As a result, the Finnish driver ended 5th. Red Bull did not show their true pace this session, although Max Verstappen was challenging Bottas for the fastest time during the start of the session. Both cars eventually fell back and didn’t manage a clear run. However, Alexander will be buoyed by finishing above Max Verstappen. The Red Bull drivers finished 4th and 6th respectively.
Renault continued on yesterday’s strong form and managed another 2nd place finish. This perormance is further backed up by Lando Norris coming 3rd with the same engine. While their team-mates were a bit behind their pace, both constructors had their drivers comfortably in the top 10 and will be looking to capitalise on the Ferrari’s lack of pace. Racing Point have stumbled backwards and occupied 8th and 10th by the end of the session. Whether or not the cars were carrying some hefty sandbags is yet to be confirmed. Alpha Tauri just missed out on the top 10, but are right on the bubble in 11th and 12th. The final non-Ferrari cars were the Williams. Nicolas Latifi impressed, finishing 13th, while team-mate George Russell continues to struggle, ending up 4 tenths behind in 18th.
But, one of the biggest stories is about the performance of the Ferrari engine. Many speculated that yesterday might have been the lowest of the low. But this practice session suggests that the situation is far from improving.
Haas attempted to make up for lost time by sending their cars out immediately. But issues persisted and Kevin Magnussen’s car was in pieces by the end of the session. However, both cars managed finished the highest of any Ferrari powered cars, in 14th and 15th. Alfa Romeo had a pretty uneventful session, although Kimi Raikkonen had to be brought in for precautionary checks regarding his hydraulics. But Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel have suffered the most as the scarlet cars could only managed 17th and 20th. Sebastian Vettel didn’t appear to pull any punches during his lap and this suggests that the Ferrari’s may struggle to make it out of Q1.
Disappointing times for Ferrari fans and the attention will be bearing down on them at the end of Q1. If this wasn’t punishment enough, next week takes us to Monza, which relies on straight line speed for any sort of competitiveness. Things are looking likely to get worse before the get better for the prancing horse.
FP3 Results:
- Hamilton 1:43.255
- Ocon +0.230
- Norris +0.386
- Albon +0.476
- Bottas +0.558
- Verstappen +0.641
- Ricciardo +0.718
- Stroll +0.733
- Sainz +0.751
- Perez +0.925
- Gasly +1.253
- Kvyat +1.288
- Latifi +1.516
- Magnussen +1.586
- Grosjean +1.589
- Raikkonen +1.677
- Leclerc +1.892
- Russell +1.902
- Giovinazzi +1.935
- Vettel +2.165
Featured Image Credit: @F1 Official Twitter
