Max Verstappen set the fastest time in a wet final practice session for the Dutch Grand Prix which saw three red flag stoppages.
The championship leader’s best time of a 1’22.010 on intermediate tyres near the end of the session, three tenths of a second ahead of George Russell with Sergio Perez third-fastest.Overnight rain had not lifted by the time that the pit lane opened for the start of the final hour of practice, with a fully wet track awaiting the drivers. Verstappen was the first driver out on the track on full wet tyres, joined by Liam Lawson for his first ever lap in the AlphaTauri AT04 as he steps in for the injured Daniel Ricciardo for the remainder of the weekend.
The lack of grip was quickly evident when Verstappen slid off the track at the edge of the banked third turn, running onto the grass. His team mate, Perez, also ran off at the tight right-hander of turn 11.
Despite the level of water on track, Lando Norris opted to head out on intermediate tyres, as did McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri. Norris also had a trip across the gravel of turn 11 before being brought in to check the car’s floor, but Kevin Magnussen had a much bigger moment on the exit of turn three, spinning on his out-lap on intermediate tyres into the wall and bringing out the red flag.
When the session resumed after the Haas was cleared, the rain had resumed. The track was busier than the opening minutes of the session with drivers opting for a mixture of wet and intermediate tyres. Despite fitting the full wet tyres, Charles Leclerc skidded off the track under braking for turn one, narrowly missing the tyre wall before rejoining the track through the escape road.
Verstappen used intermediates to set the quickest time with a 1’25.197, with Norris over a second and a half slower, also on intermediate tyres. Alfa Romeo driver Zhou Guanyu also fitted the intermediates but lost control of his car rounding the penultimate corner of turn 13, spinning into the gravel trap.
The session was suspended for a second time with Zhou stranded in the gravel. Intermediates were now the best tyre for the conditions with Norris improving to go quickest ahead of team mate Piastri. However, the track was still proving tricky, with Carlos Sainz Jnr, Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon all skidding off at the first corner.
Then, Lawson had a spin on the exit of turn 13 and came to a rest pointing backwards across the circuit. Despite Lawson eventually getting going again, the red flags had already been called for the third time. The session restarted for a final time with nine minutes remaining, with Verstappen lowering the best time of the session to a 1’21.631 as Russell moved to second place for Mercedes, three tenths behind the Red Bull.
Verstappen was not immune from the low-grip conditions as he slid off at turn 11 to make a brief trip over the gravel. However, when the chequered flag came out, he remained in the top spot of the order to be the fastest driver in the wet session ahead of Russell.
Perez was third-fastest in the second Red Bull ahead of Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton in fifth. Alexander Albon was sixth for Williams with Piastri seventh ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Charles Leclerc, who ran off at turn one two more times in the final minutes. Norris completed the top ten in the second McLaren.
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2023 Dutch Grand Prix third practice result
| Position | Number | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB19 | 1’21.631 | 18 | |
| 2 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W14 | 1’22.010 | 0.379 | 17 |
| 3 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB19 | 1’22.631 | 1.000 | 17 |
| 4 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR23 | 1’22.634 | 1.003 | 13 |
| 5 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | W14 | 1’22.723 | 1.092 | 17 |
| 6 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW45 | 1’22.750 | 1.119 | 18 |
| 7 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL60 | 1’22.892 | 1.261 | 19 |
| 8 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | C43 | 1’22.965 | 1.334 | 25 |
| 9 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-23 | 1’23.093 | 1.462 | 12 |
| 10 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL60 | 1’23.158 | 1.527 | 24 |
| 11 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | A523 | 1’23.210 | 1.579 | 15 |
| 12 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | SF-23 | 1’23.438 | 1.807 | 17 |
| 13 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | AT04 | 1’23.544 | 1.913 | 17 |
| 14 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams-Mercedes | FW45 | 1’23.570 | 1.939 | 19 |
| 15 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | VF-23 | 1’23.640 | 2.009 | 19 |
| 16 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | A523 | 1’23.806 | 2.175 | 11 |
| 17 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR23 | 1’24.058 | 2.427 | 15 |
| 18 | 40 | Liam Lawson | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | AT04 | 1’26.343 | 4.712 | 25 |
| 19 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | C43 | 1’28.482 | 6.851 | 9 |
| 20 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | VF-23 | No time | 1 |
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2023 Dutch Grand Prix combined practice times
| Position | Number | Driver | Team | FP1 time | FP2 time | FP3 time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’12.460 | 1’11.330 | 1’23.158 | 1 | |
| 2 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 1’11.852 | 1’11.353 | 1’21.631 | 0.023 | 2 |
| 3 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 1’12.447 | 1’11.599 | 1’22.750 | 0.269 | 3 |
| 4 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’12.225 | 1’11.638 | 1’22.723 | 0.308 | 4 |
| 5 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 1’12.749 | 1’11.720 | 1’23.544 | 0.390 | 5 |
| 6 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | 1’12.895 | 1’11.766 | 1’23.210 | 0.436 | 6 |
| 7 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 1’12.323 | 1’11.817 | 1’22.631 | 0.487 | 7 |
| 8 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | No time | 1’11.835 | 1’24.058 | 0.505 | 8 |
| 9 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’13.448 | 1’11.857 | 1’22.965 | 0.527 | 9 |
| 10 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’12.130 | 1’11.863 | 1’22.634 | 0.533 | 10 |
| 11 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’13.519 | 1’11.915 | 1’23.093 | 0.585 | 11 |
| 12 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams-Mercedes | 1’12.617 | 1’11.934 | 1’23.570 | 0.604 | 12 |
| 13 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 1’12.802 | 1’12.001 | 1’23.806 | 0.671 | 13 |
| 14 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1’12.813 | 1’12.009 | 1’22.010 | 0.679 | 14 |
| 15 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’13.826 | 1’12.074 | 1’28.482 | 0.744 | 15 |
| 16 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | 1’12.093 | 1’23.438 | 0.763 | 16 | |
| 17 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’13.322 | 1’12.404 | No time | 1.074 | 17 |
| 18 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’12.658 | 1’12.901 | 1’22.892 | 1.328 | 18 |
| 19 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | 1’14.023 | 1’12.693 | 1’23.640 | 1.363 | 19 |
| 20 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 1’12.990 | 1’13.096 | 1.660 | 20 | |
| 21 | 39 | Robert Shwartzman | Ferrari | 1’14.803 | 3.473 | 21 | ||
| 22 | 40 | Liam Lawson | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 1’26.343 | 15.013 |
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2023 Dutch Grand Prix
- Azerbaijan GP defeat was key to record-equalling run of wins – Verstappen
- “Too early to say” if podium signals return to form for Aston Martin – Alonso
- Verstappen makes history with unbeaten hat-track in first home races
- Perez is ‘doing his job and will be our driver in 2024’, Horner insists
- Ferrari had the “sixth or seventh fastest car” at Zandvoort – Sainz
Jere (@jerejj)
26th August 2023, 12:13
The last red was a bit hasty & I wonder if Lawson’s participation in this FP3 counts for the rookie rule?
RR
26th August 2023, 12:20
New F1 song “We’ll keep the red flag flying here”.