Valtteri Bottas set the practice pace ahead of qualifying for the British Grand Prix.
He headed Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton in a one-two for the team, the pair separated by two tenths of a second at the top of the times sheets. Hamilton backed out of his final flying attempt on soft tyres after a mistake in Becketts.Max Verstappen led Mercedes’ opposition, his best effort exactly three-tenths of a second slower than Bottas’s. However he reported an unusual “shattering” sensation from his front-left wheel in the quickest of Silverstone’s many fast corners.
However team mate Alexander Albon, who missed part of yesterday’s second practice session following a crash, managed just a handful of laps in the final hour before qualifying. An electrical problem with his Honda power unit confined him to the pits until the final 10 minutes, and once he finally joined the track one of his first lap times was deleted due to a track limits infringement.
Lance Stroll moved up to fourth place when the Racing Point drivers took to the track for their final flying efforts in the closing minutes. He and new team mate Nico Hulkenberg matched each other through the first two sectors, but Stroll was decisively quicker in the final, slower part of the lap.
The two pink cars were separated by the McLarens – Carlos Sainz Jnr the quicker of the pair – plus Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari and Daniel Ricciardo in his repaired Renault. Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri completed the top 10.
Track conditions were considerably cooler than they had been on Friday. Alfa Romeo, who seemed to thrive in yesterday’s hot temperatures, fell towards the bottom of the times. It didn’t help matters that Kimi Raikkonen lost time when he caught his team mate at the end of the lap, prompting an unimpressed radio message from the 2007 champion.
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Third practice visual gaps
Valtteri Bottas – 1’25.873
+0.138 Lewis Hamilton – 1’26.011
+0.300 Max Verstappen – 1’26.173
+0.703 Lance Stroll – 1’26.576
+0.791 Carlos Sainz Jnr – 1’26.664
+0.898 Charles Leclerc – 1’26.771
+0.925 Lando Norris – 1’26.798
+0.968 Daniel Ricciardo – 1’26.841
+0.999 Nico Hulkenberg – 1’26.872
+1.173 Pierre Gasly – 1’27.046
+1.203 Daniil Kvyat – 1’27.076
+1.285 Esteban Ocon – 1’27.158
+1.305 Alexander Albon – 1’27.178
+1.378 Sebastian Vettel – 1’27.251
+1.664 Romain Grosjean – 1’27.537
+1.865 George Russell – 1’27.738
+1.952 Antonio Giovinazzi – 1’27.825
+1.987 Kevin Magnussen – 1’27.860
+2.103 Kimi Raikkonen – 1’27.976
+2.239 Nicholas Latifi – 1’28.112
Drivers more then ten seconds off the pace omitted.
| Pos | Driver | Car | FP1 | FP2 | FP3 | Fri/Sat diff | Total laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’28.519 | 1’27.431 | 1’25.873 | -1.558 | 77 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’27.896 | 1’27.581 | 1’26.011 | -1.57 | 75 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda | 1’27.422 | 1’28.390 | 1’26.173 | -1.249 | 65 |
| 4 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’28.004 | 1’27.274 | 1’26.576 | -0.698 | 64 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | McLaren-Renault | 1’28.988 | 1’27.820 | 1’26.664 | -1.156 | 81 |
| 6 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’28.221 | 1’27.570 | 1’26.771 | -0.799 | 71 |
| 7 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Renault | 1’28.990 | 1’28.169 | 1’26.798 | -1.371 | 70 |
| 8 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1’28.575 | 1’28.112 | 1’26.841 | -1.271 | 67 |
| 9 | Nico Hulkenberg | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’28.592 | 1’27.910 | 1’26.872 | -1.038 | 66 |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1’28.909 | 1’27.997 | 1’27.046 | -0.951 | 74 |
| 11 | Daniil Kvyat | AlphaTauri-Honda | 1’28.868 | 1’28.426 | 1’27.076 | -1.35 | 68 |
| 12 | Esteban Ocon | Renault | 1’28.559 | 1’28.219 | 1’27.158 | -1.061 | 77 |
| 13 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull-Honda | 1’28.129 | 1’27.364 | 1’27.178 | -0.186 | 46 |
| 14 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’28.860 | 1’27.251 | -1.609 | 46 | |
| 15 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari | 1’29.576 | 1’28.564 | 1’27.537 | -1.027 | 69 |
| 16 | George Russell | Williams-Mercedes | 1’29.899 | 1’28.771 | 1’27.738 | -1.033 | 65 |
| 17 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’29.925 | 1’28.256 | 1’27.825 | -0.431 | 64 |
| 18 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’29.532 | 1’28.898 | 1’27.860 | -1.038 | 65 |
| 19 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’29.746 | 1’28.159 | 1’27.976 | -0.183 | 78 |
| 20 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams-Mercedes | 1’30.703 | 1’29.958 | 1’28.112 | -1.846 | 70 |
2020 British Grand Prix
- Racing Point given 15-point deduction and fined £360,000 as stewards uphold Renault protest
- Missed chance to avoid Hamilton’s puncture “a mistake that could have cost us dearly”
- 2020 British Grand Prix Star Performers
- Silverstone restoring Becketts kerb to previous specification following tyre cuts
- Pirelli investigation reveals ‘highest forces ever’ contributed to Silverstone punctures
beachdrifter
1st August 2020, 12:13
I think Bottas will be on pole. He’s just plain faster than his teammate in the dry over 1 lap. Maybe age is catching up to Hamilton but certainly he’s not the Hamilton of the past that’s for sure.
Pinak Ghosh (@pinakghosh)
1st August 2020, 12:50
The visual gap chart says a lot about chasis and drivers.
Max, Charles, Daniel are really are really good drivers.
HK (@me4me)
1st August 2020, 12:54
Tbh their team mates got massive hardware issues. Lets judge in qualy. Especially Vettel has had a truly terrible weekend.
SpaFrancorchamps (@spafrancorchamps)
1st August 2020, 13:07
Hulk doing a very solid job! Nice!
I am looking forward to qualifying. Hope the McLaren’s can beat the copycats. Hope Hulk can beat the billion dollar boy.
Pinak Ghosh (@pinakghosh)
1st August 2020, 13:12
It would be a tall task for Hulk driving a totally new car, but I sincerely hope it happens.
Gotta say though, the billion dollar boy has some speed.
Aldoid
1st August 2020, 13:24
Lance has been doing very well this year so far & it would be wrong to not give him the due credit. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hope Hulk beats him in qualifying though, especially (I seriously doubt it… the car is good & Lance has been making the most of it… Rob Wilson’s a top coach) but I don’t think it’s that long a shot for Hulk to finish ahead in the race. His experience could well be the deciding factor.
I luv chicken
1st August 2020, 13:34
or Hulk could stay true to form, and just throw away a good position.