Mercedes notched up a third consecutive one-two in the three practice sessions ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, led once again by Lewis Hamilton.
However the team’s rivals were closer in the final practice session than they had been throughout Friday’s running.Hamilton recorded a best effort of 1’04.130, putting him a tenth of a second ahead of team mate Valtteri Bottas. However Max Verstappen more than halved Red Bull’s deficit to the black cars, ending the session three-tenths shy of Hamilton.
The Racing Point cars were quick again, with Sergio Perez once more leading the pink cars. He set the fourth-fastest time, separated from eighth-placed team mate Lance Stroll by the two Ferraris and the second Red Bull of Alexander Albon.
Two other cars featured in the top 10: Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri and the McLaren of Lando Norris. His team mate Carlos Sainz Jnr became the latest driver to damage a front wing on the Red Bull Ring’s severe kerbs.
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[/CBC]The Renault pair, who tested extensively at the circuit in a two-year-old car, ended final practice just outside the top 10.George Russell brought some encouragement to Williams by setting the 16th-fastest time, ahead both Alfa Romeo’s and Kevin Magnussen’s Haas.
However his team mate Nicholas Latifi’s first race weekend took a turn for the worse when he crashed his Williams at turn one. The crash was heavy enough for the medical warning light to come on in his car, and the Medical Car was dispatched to the scene, but the team reported Latifi was unhurt.
The same couldn’t be said for his car, however, which had heavy damage to the front following the impact.
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Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Best lap | Gap | Laps |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’04.130 | 21 | |
2 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’04.277 | 0.147 | 22 |
3 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda | 1’04.413 | 0.283 | 20 |
4 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’04.605 | 0.475 | 19 |
5 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’04.703 | 0.573 | 19 |
6 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull-Honda | 1’04.725 | 0.595 | 22 |
7 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’04.851 | 0.721 | 20 |
8 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’04.918 | 0.788 | 18 |
9 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1’04.949 | 0.819 | 19 |
10 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Renault | 1’04.950 | 0.820 | 22 |
11 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Renault | 1’05.037 | 0.907 | 11 |
12 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1’05.088 | 0.958 | 13 |
13 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | McLaren-Renault | 1’05.177 | 1.047 | 24 |
14 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1’05.290 | 1.160 | 24 |
15 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari | 1’05.363 | 1.233 | 18 |
16 | 63 | George Russell | Williams-Mercedes | 1’05.565 | 1.435 | 21 |
17 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’05.648 | 1.518 | 18 |
18 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’05.654 | 1.524 | 16 |
19 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’05.773 | 1.643 | 19 |
20 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams-Mercedes | 1’07.049 | 2.919 | 6 |
Third practice visual gaps
Lewis Hamilton – 1’04.130
+0.147 Valtteri Bottas – 1’04.277
+0.283 Max Verstappen – 1’04.413
+0.475 Sergio Perez – 1’04.605
+0.573 Charles Leclerc – 1’04.703
+0.595 Alexander Albon – 1’04.725
+0.721 Sebastian Vettel – 1’04.851
+0.788 Lance Stroll – 1’04.918
+0.819 Pierre Gasly – 1’04.949
+0.820 Lando Norris – 1’04.950
+0.907 Esteban Ocon – 1’05.037
+0.958 Daniel Ricciardo – 1’05.088
+1.047 Carlos Sainz Jnr – 1’05.177
+1.160 Daniil Kvyat – 1’05.290
+1.233 Romain Grosjean – 1’05.363
+1.435 George Russell – 1’05.565
+1.518 Kevin Magnussen – 1’05.648
+1.524 Antonio Giovinazzi – 1’05.654
+1.643 Kimi Raikkonen – 1’05.773
+2.919 Nicholas Latifi – 1’07.049
Drivers more then ten seconds off the pace omitted.
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Pos | Driver | Car | FP1 | FP2 | FP3 | Fri/Sat diff | Total laps |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’36.566 | 1’04.130 | -32.436 | 53 | |
2 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’36.256 | 1’04.277 | -31.979 | 51 | |
3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda | 1’36.807 | 1’04.413 | -32.394 | 50 | |
4 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’37.637 | 1’04.605 | -33.032 | 50 | |
5 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’36.642 | 1’04.703 | -31.939 | 49 | |
6 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull-Honda | 1’37.288 | 1’04.725 | -32.563 | 52 | |
7 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’36.691 | 1’04.851 | -31.84 | 48 | |
8 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’37.985 | 1’04.918 | -33.067 | 50 | |
9 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri-Renault | 1’37.770 | 1’04.949 | -32.821 | 55 | |
10 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Renault | 1’37.918 | 1’04.950 | -32.968 | 54 | |
11 | Esteban Ocon | Renault-Ferrari | 1’05.037 | 11 | |||
12 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault-Ferrari | 1’38.400 | 1’05.088 | -33.312 | 38 | |
13 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | McLaren-Renault | 1’37.834 | 1’05.177 | -32.657 | 56 | |
14 | Daniil Kvyat | AlphaTauri-Renault | 1’37.651 | 1’05.290 | -32.361 | 58 | |
15 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Honda | 1’37.601 | 1’05.363 | -32.238 | 35 | |
16 | George Russell | Williams-Mercedes | 1’39.512 | 1’05.565 | -33.947 | 52 | |
17 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Honda | 1’38.080 | 1’05.648 | -32.432 | 49 | |
18 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’38.464 | 1’05.654 | -32.81 | 48 | |
19 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’38.415 | 1’05.773 | -32.642 | 49 | |
20 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams-Mercedes | 1’07.049 | 6 |
Mayrton
4th July 2020, 12:11
No surprises there @borefest
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
4th July 2020, 12:17
Yes, but there are other things to look for. All Mercedes smoke like crazy, not burning oil, only oil burning out of the exhaust… it isn’t just last years merc that is quick, last years RB is also quick, nice to see Gasly in the mix, the midfield is great.
PhilEReid (@philereid)
4th July 2020, 12:12
Max looking like the main potential challenger to the Mercedes duo, but they just look too fast on race pace. Think it’ll be a Merc 1-2, Max 3rd and then Leclerc 4th, and then 5th is potentially up for grabs for 3 drivers (well, it’s probably more like 4th is up for grabs for 4 drivers), with Perez, Vettel and Albon all potentially fighting for it. Looking forward to it!
Jeffrey (@jeffreyj)
4th July 2020, 12:24
Hamilton superior over Bottas and Verstappen, unless the higher temps tomorrow will hamper Merc. I think Perez and Albon must be favorites for 4th over the Ferrari’s and Stroll (who might even be in between the McLaren’s and Renaults) I don’t know what to make of STR at all, at the moment.
I look forward to Russel outperforming his car and teammate very much, beating the Alfa’s and perhaps a Haas or two.
AJ (@asleepatthewheel)
4th July 2020, 12:44
A twin pronged attack for 4th place by Ferrari means it’s likely that either Lec/Vet finishes 4th.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
4th July 2020, 13:08
The interesting thing is that Bottas has often done better than Hamilton at this track. Out qualified and out raced him in 2017 and 2019 (although Hamilton gave himself a penalty in the latter). 2018 was a terrible race for both of them luck wise but Bottas still managed to out qualify him that year.
Basing that on everything, I think Bottas still stands a decent chance, but practice is maybe suggesting otherwise.
Brownerboy (@brownerboy)
4th July 2020, 12:12
I can’t be the only one thats enjoying the uninterrupted coverage of what’s going on the track, no annoying 30 second cut aways to some random celebrity sat in hospitalitity not even watching the track action, and who probably has no idea why they’re even there.
Jere (@jerejj)
4th July 2020, 12:33
@brownerboy I agree.
David BR (@david-br)
4th July 2020, 12:18
Good to see Russell pulling the Williams up the time sheets. At least he might have some battles with Magnussen and Grosjean to ‘enjoy’ this season.
kpcart
4th July 2020, 12:41
its a short track. on other tracks williams will likely be in the same position as last year.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
4th July 2020, 13:10
I’m happy that williams look to be a match for the lower positioned teams which shows they have gone forward. However, it is such a shame that the newest team in F1 started out so well and only seems to have gone backwards. I don’t blame the drivers for this, they decided to stick to their line up. I just think they are not good at developing over a season and finishing 2nd to last last year really won’t have helped.
anon
4th July 2020, 13:43
@thegianthogweed it does seem to be a feature of the way that Haas operate that, over the past few years, they tend to lose ground to their rivals over the course of the season, rather than keeping up with them in terms of development.
Every single season, they have scored the majority of their points and best results in the first half of a season, tending to slip further down the order thereafter – when it happens four seasons in a row, to me that points to operational issues within the team.
ColdFly (@)
4th July 2020, 12:20
Really excited about the midfield.
Racing Point might be a tad ahead but all the rest are pretty close; including Williams (and Alfa Romeo).
Tango (@tango)
4th July 2020, 12:28
The Renault look quite good here. Ricciardo’s 2021 choice is seeming a bit risky now.
kpcart
4th July 2020, 12:45
0 Lando Norris McLaren-Renault 1’04.950
11 Esteban Ocon Renault-Ferrari 1’05.037
12 Daniel Ricciardo Renault-Ferrari 1’38.400
well mclaren is ahead in fp3, so i don’t know where you are making your opinion from.
is Renault using ferrari engines this year??
F1oSaurus (@)
4th July 2020, 12:29
They went over 30 seconds faster in FP3 compared to FP2? Was it raining during FP2? Where are the times for FP1?
@keithcollantine