Hamilton holds firm in F1 FP3 as Verstappen closes; Latifi crashes

Lewis Hamilton leads another Mercedes 1-2 in FP3 for the Austrian Grand Prix but Max Verstappen runs them close; Nicholas Latifi OK after Turn 1 crash
Hamilton holds firm in F1 FP3 as Verstappen closes; Latifi crashes

F1 Austrian Grand Prix 2020 – Free Practice Results (3)

Lewis Hamilton completed a clean sweep of top times in Free Practice 3 for the Austrian Grand Prix to lead another Mercedes 1-2 at the Red Bull Ring, though Max Verstappen ran them close enough to suggest a potential fight for honours in qualifying.

Having dominated proceedings in FP1 and FP2, Mercedes were once again locked out at the head of the field with Hamilton’s 1m 04.130secs lap just over a tenth quicker than team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

However, while Red Bull appeared to under-perform on Friday, Verstappen was right back on the tail of the W11s in the more indicative FP3, challenging them for the top spot through sectors one and two, only to drop back to a margin of 0.283secs through the final sector.

 

 

Sergio Perez consolidated Racing Point’s eye-catching form with a run to fourth fastest ahead of Charles Leclerc, Alex Albon and Sebastian Vettel as the Mexican proved the team is well in the hunt for the front two rows this afternoon.

Lance Stroll made it two Racing Points in the top eight in eighth, ahead of Pierre Gasly, who gave AlphaTauri reason to be encouraged with a strong lap in ninth.

Lando Norris completed the top ten for McLaren, ahead of Renault duo Esteban Ocon and Daniel Ricciardo, with Carlos Sainz coming in 13th.

Elsewhere, it was mixed fortunes for Williams as George Russel popped up to 16th position to suggest the British team could be in the running for its first Q2 challenge since 2018.

However, rookie team-mate Nicholas Latifi blotted his copybook with a spin to the wall on the exit of turn one, though the Canadian has been ruled OK by medical staff

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