Sebastian Vettel raised Ferrari hopes of keeping Mercedes from pole position at the Canadian Grand Prix by heading a one-two for the team in final practice.
The final exchange of lap times between red and silver cars saw Vettel trim the best time of the weekend so far to 1’10.843, within a tenth of a second of the pole position time and track record he established at the circuit 12 months ago.Team mate Charles Leclerc kept him honest and found more immediate pace from the soft compound tyres. By the end of the session the pair were separated by just one tenth of a second and accounted for the quickest times in all three sectors, including the opening part of the lap where Mercedes had been especially strong on Friday.
Lewis Hamilton had to settle for the third-fastest time, almost four-tenths of a second off Vettel’s pace. Like Leclerc, he skidded off-track at the first corner during his final run.
The Red Bull pair took fifth and sixth behind Valtteri Bottas. Although Max Verstappen was consistently the quicker of the two RB15 drivers to get up to speed, Pierre Gasly eventually closed to within a tenth of his team mate.
Daniel Ricciardo led the midfield for Renault, but less the four tenths of a second covered the gap back to Alexander Albon in 14th place. Lando Norris was consistently quick in the McLaren and ended the session eighth, just two-hundredths of a second faster than Sergio Perez.
It was a mixed session for Racing Point. While Perez looked like a potential Q3 contender, Lance Stroll didn’t even get a lap time in. His car belched flame as he made for the pits with what the team described as a hydraulic problem.
Despite leaving their final runs until the chequered flag had dropped, the Alfa Romeo drivers could only managed the 15th and 16th fastest times. They were followed by Romain Grosjean, the Williams pair and the unfortunate Stroll.
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Third practice visual gaps
Sebastian Vettel – 1’10.843
+0.139 Charles Leclerc – 1’10.982
+0.393 Lewis Hamilton – 1’11.236
+0.688 Valtteri Bottas – 1’11.531
+0.999 Max Verstappen – 1’11.842
+1.071 Pierre Gasly – 1’11.914
+1.202 Daniel Ricciardo – 1’12.045
+1.311 Lando Norris – 1’12.154
+1.332 Sergio Perez – 1’12.175
+1.455 Daniil Kvyat – 1’12.298
+1.462 Nico Hulkenberg – 1’12.305
+1.494 Kevin Magnussen – 1’12.337
+1.556 Carlos Sainz Jnr – 1’12.399
+1.580 Alexander Albon – 1’12.423
+1.784 Antonio Giovinazzi – 1’12.627
+1.865 Kimi Raikkonen – 1’12.708
+2.354 Romain Grosjean – 1’13.197
+3.123 George Russell – 1’13.966
+3.583 Robert Kubica – 1’14.426
Drivers more then ten seconds off the pace omitted.
| Pos | Driver | Car | FP1 | FP2 | FP3 | Fri/Sat diff | Total laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’13.905 | 1’12.251 | 1’10.843 | -1.408 | 85 |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’13.720 | 1’12.177 | 1’10.982 | -1.195 | 80 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’12.767 | 1’12.938 | 1’11.236 | -1.531 | 59 |
| 4 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’12.914 | 1’12.311 | 1’11.531 | -0.78 | 90 |
| 5 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda | 1’13.755 | 1’13.388 | 1’11.842 | -1.546 | 63 |
| 6 | Pierre Gasly | Red Bull-Honda | 1’14.570 | 1’13.345 | 1’11.914 | -1.431 | 84 |
| 7 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1’14.123 | 1’13.016 | 1’12.045 | -0.971 | 87 |
| 8 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Renault | 1’14.246 | 1’13.249 | 1’12.154 | -1.095 | 88 |
| 9 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’14.172 | 1’13.003 | 1’12.175 | -0.828 | 87 |
| 10 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso-Honda | 1’15.343 | 1’13.521 | 1’12.298 | -1.223 | 95 |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1’14.474 | 1’13.168 | 1’12.305 | -0.863 | 89 |
| 12 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’14.202 | 1’12.935 | 1’12.337 | -0.598 | 90 |
| 13 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | McLaren-Renault | 1’13.973 | 1’12.553 | 1’12.399 | -0.154 | 100 |
| 14 | Alexander Albon | Toro Rosso-Honda | 1’14.703 | 1’13.436 | 1’12.423 | -1.013 | 101 |
| 15 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’14.582 | 1’14.870 | 1’12.627 | -1.955 | 57 |
| 16 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’13.945 | 1’13.542 | 1’12.708 | -0.834 | 90 |
| 17 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’14.812 | 1’13.171 | 70 | ||
| 18 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari | 1’14.645 | 1’13.598 | 1’13.197 | -0.401 | 81 |
| 19 | George Russell | Williams-Mercedes | 1’15.989 | 1’15.036 | 1’13.966 | -1.07 | 82 |
| 20 | Robert Kubica | Williams-Mercedes | 1’15.287 | 1’14.426 | -0.861 | 68 |
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2019 Canadian Grand Prix
- Ferrari lose bid to have Vettel’s Canadian GP penalty reviewed
- Ferrari confirm no appeal on Vettel penalty
- 2019 Canadian Grand Prix Star Performers
- “I believe in the project”: Verstappen responds to Marko’s fears he could leave
- Top ten pictures from the 2019 Canadian Grand Prix
Jere (@jerejj)
8th June 2019, 17:07
I still expect another Mercedes front-row lockout.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
8th June 2019, 17:50
yes. the only question mark is the new PU. It went bang on Stroll, so unusual one cannot say coincidence.
It triggers me how bias sky is, if it had been any other pu, they wouldnt have been so naive and protective of merc they took super defensive “hydraulic leak” as just an hydraulic leak, sure there’s an hydraulic leak when you have a hole on the pu, if ferrari had said something that lame theyd be roasted.
Green Flag (@greenflag)
8th June 2019, 18:56
Your paranoia is showing. Racing Point said it was a hydraulic leak. Sky merely reported what they were told.
Patrick (@anunaki)
8th June 2019, 17:12
Max was within a tenth at the end of sector 2 but got compromised by Lewis in sector 3. Unfortunately Gasly is still way behind
mystic one (@mysticus)
8th June 2019, 17:14
Mercedes dominance comes to end… They need miracle to get the front row.
Moi
8th June 2019, 17:23
Hamilton needs a miracle every week it seems… and lo, he gets it! What suspense! What drama!
He hangs out with his Hollywood chums too much..
Gulp
8th June 2019, 17:53
Has to find some way to give his empty championships a bit of meaning, I suppose.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
8th June 2019, 17:52
@mysticus its the plot of another new avengers movie, out every fortnight
mystic one (@mysticus)
8th June 2019, 18:49
They may reveal the infinity stone at the end but we don’t know for sure if they will be worthy of it :)
bosyber (@bosyber)
8th June 2019, 17:23
Hm, seems Binotto is doing a Toto to Sky @mysticus, so I suppose that proves Ferrari will indeed nail the front row then!
Hm, or was he just realistic and will it be a Mercedes front row, eh, yeah.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
8th June 2019, 17:24
I wish wish wish that Seb and Charlie would take the front row, but my sensible head says that Merc will lock it out again once they turn on the new engine for proper.
So I shall pray for a Bottas Pole with aid from either the Grounhogs or some other crazy stuff to create a mixed field behind him I think.
kaling
8th June 2019, 18:54
It shall be Ferrari 1-2..Mark my words..and stop pouring pessimistic words regarding Ferrari.Just watch out.Mercedes comes to an end
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
8th June 2019, 17:30
How painful is this to see Williams 3 seconds off the pace on a power circuit and with a new front suspension. They look spiralling downwards more than ever.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
8th June 2019, 17:34
Whoa – Mercedes just confirmed that Strolls blow up was the new engine!
Scary for Mercedes engined teams?
DAllein (@)
8th June 2019, 17:53
Except they didn’t…
and not really scary.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
8th June 2019, 18:51
Ahhhh – my bad then.
That will teach me to read the BBC.
Adam (@rocketpanda)
8th June 2019, 17:36
Okay, well I’m going to take a gamble and go for a Ferrari pole position. Hopefully this weekend they’ll hook it all up and we’ll have a really sharp fight at the front, as I still believe the Merc is the better car. Both slower Ferrari’s ahead, fighting each other while trying to hold off the quicker Mercs bickering over the championship would be a pretty cool race.
Better than the Mercedes uncontested 1-2 that is probably going to happen… but yeah. Dreams.
kaling
8th June 2019, 18:56
Itz gonna be Ferrari 1-2 for sure.Just watch out