Charles Leclerc kept Ferrari on top in final practice for the Russian Grand Prix as Max Verstappen had a scruffy end to the session.
Leclerc was the only driver to break the 93-second barrier in the final hour of running. He and Sebastian Vettel headed out for their final runs on soft tyres together, but Vettel was over four-tenths of a second slower than his team mate. Vettel subsequently improved his time to secure a Ferrari one-two ahead of qualifying.Lewis Hamilton was dismayed by his deficit to Leclerc earlier in the session, asking his team “We’re still 1.1 [seconds] behind on time?” Told that was the case, Hamilton replied: “I don’t know where we find that time.”
He found most of that time before the end of the session, but was almost four tenths of a second shy of Leclerc once the chequered flag came out. Valtteri Bottas backed him up in second place, just over two-tenths of a second behind.
Verstappen, who like all the Honda-powered drivers has a grid penalty for this race, spent much of the session on the medium compound tyres. He switched to softs for a final run but aborted his first run after hitting the turn three apex kerb hard enough to launch his RB15 into the air.
His next run was no better – Verstappen spun in the third sector and pitted. “I think I just touched the outside barrier,” he told the team as he came in.
He nonetheless out-paced team mate Alexander Albon, who ended the session seventh, the Red Bull pair separated by Romain Grosjean. Both Haas drivers ended the session in the top 10 despite driving different configurations of the VF-19 – Kevin Magnussen again in the newer specification car.
Nico Hulkenberg took ninth place ahead of Lando Norris, while Pierre Gasly was squeezed out of the top 10 by Magnussen. His team mate Daniil Kvyat suffered another power unit failure, which Honda subsequently confirmed means he will have another fresh ‘spec four’ unit fitted.
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| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Best lap | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’32.733 | 14 | |
| 2 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’33.049 | 0.316 | 15 |
| 3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’33.129 | 0.396 | 19 |
| 4 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’33.354 | 0.621 | 18 |
| 5 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda | 1’34.227 | 1.494 | 12 |
| 6 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari | 1’34.308 | 1.575 | 17 |
| 7 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull-Honda | 1’34.371 | 1.638 | 21 |
| 8 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1’34.421 | 1.688 | 13 |
| 9 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Renault | 1’34.527 | 1.794 | 15 |
| 10 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’34.546 | 1.813 | 15 |
| 11 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso-Honda | 1’34.564 | 1.831 | 16 |
| 12 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1’34.586 | 1.853 | 14 |
| 13 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | McLaren-Renault | 1’34.607 | 1.874 | 18 |
| 14 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’34.766 | 2.033 | 15 |
| 15 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’34.860 | 2.127 | 7 |
| 16 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’34.898 | 2.165 | 16 |
| 17 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’35.714 | 2.981 | 19 |
| 18 | 63 | George Russell | Williams-Mercedes | 1’36.011 | 3.278 | 18 |
| 19 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso-Honda | 1’36.081 | 3.348 | 4 |
| 20 | 88 | Robert Kubica | Williams-Mercedes | 1’36.942 | 4.209 | 19 |
Third practice visual gaps
Charles Leclerc – 1’32.733
+0.316 Sebastian Vettel – 1’33.049
+0.396 Lewis Hamilton – 1’33.129
+0.621 Valtteri Bottas – 1’33.354
+1.494 Max Verstappen – 1’34.227
+1.575 Romain Grosjean – 1’34.308
+1.638 Alexander Albon – 1’34.371
+1.688 Nico Hulkenberg – 1’34.421
+1.794 Lando Norris – 1’34.527
+1.813 Kevin Magnussen – 1’34.546
+1.831 Pierre Gasly – 1’34.564
+1.853 Daniel Ricciardo – 1’34.586
+1.874 Carlos Sainz Jnr – 1’34.607
+2.033 Antonio Giovinazzi – 1’34.766
+2.127 Sergio Perez – 1’34.860
+2.165 Lance Stroll – 1’34.898
+2.981 Kimi Raikkonen – 1’35.714
+3.278 George Russell – 1’36.011
+3.348 Daniil Kvyat – 1’36.081
+4.209 Robert Kubica – 1’36.942
Drivers more then ten seconds off the pace omitted.
| Pos | Driver | Car | FP1 | FP2 | FP3 | Fri/Sat diff | Total laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’34.462 | 1’33.497 | 1’32.733 | -0.764 | 67 |
| 2 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’35.005 | 1’34.201 | 1’33.049 | -1.152 | 67 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’35.411 | 1’33.960 | 1’33.129 | -0.831 | 73 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda | 1’34.544 | 1’33.162 | 1’34.227 | +1.065 | 66 |
| 5 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’35.198 | 1’33.808 | 1’33.354 | -0.454 | 68 |
| 6 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari | 1’36.516 | 1’35.593 | 1’34.308 | -1.285 | 71 |
| 7 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull-Honda | 1’35.484 | 1’35.216 | 1’34.371 | -0.845 | 61 |
| 8 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1’35.740 | 1’35.026 | 1’34.421 | -0.605 | 67 |
| 9 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Renault | 1’36.844 | 1’35.223 | 1’34.527 | -0.696 | 78 |
| 10 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’36.596 | 1’35.351 | 1’34.546 | -0.805 | 62 |
| 11 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso-Honda | 1’36.538 | 1’34.971 | 1’34.564 | -0.407 | 67 |
| 12 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1’36.287 | 1’35.370 | 1’34.586 | -0.784 | 62 |
| 13 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | McLaren-Renault | 1’36.523 | 1’35.635 | 1’34.607 | -1.028 | 75 |
| 14 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’37.328 | 1’36.004 | 1’34.766 | -1.238 | 62 |
| 15 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’36.321 | 1’34.998 | 1’34.860 | -0.138 | 65 |
| 16 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’36.714 | 1’35.176 | 1’34.898 | -0.278 | 73 |
| 17 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso-Honda | 1’38.550 | 1’35.337 | 1’36.081 | +0.744 | 47 |
| 18 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’36.770 | 1’35.374 | 1’35.714 | +0.34 | 75 |
| 19 | George Russell | Williams-Mercedes | 1’38.520 | 1’36.785 | 1’36.011 | -0.774 | 83 |
| 20 | Robert Kubica | Williams-Mercedes | 1’38.670 | 1’37.838 | 1’36.942 | -0.896 | 84 |
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2019 Russian Grand Prix
- Williams clarifies reasons for Kubica and Russell’s retirements in Sochi
- 2019 Russian Grand Prix Star Performers
- Top ten pictures from the 2019 Russian Grand Prix
- Hamilton triumphs as Ferrari’s micro-management backfires
- Leclerc defends call for extra pit stop which cost him second place
Ivan B (@njoydesign)
28th September 2019, 11:22
4 engine failures in 3GPs for Dani, what is going on?
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
28th September 2019, 11:23
Still using the new fov onboard on Bottas, I love it some onboards might benefit from it. unfortunately the weekend director has arrived. Can’t see the track, can’t see the corners, great job, fom, years on this. zoomy and shaky. ruining f1 for a decade.
Ipsom
28th September 2019, 12:53
I cant believe that honda engine expired in 2 practice sessions, 2015 all over again.