FP3: Hamilton fastest ahead of Bottas, Verstappen 0.3s down

Published on 04 Jul 2020 13:01

By: Fergal Walsh

Lewis Hamilton has ended the third practice session in Austria on top, completing a sweep of the three sessions ahead of qualifying.

The six-time world champion clocked a lap time of 1:04.130 on his fastest hot lap, which was one-tenth and a half faster than teammate Valtteri Bottas, who concluded the session in second place.

On his final fast lap attempt, Bottas locked up at Turn 1 and was forced to abandon his effort, but remained in second with Max Verstappen behind.

Verstappen, who is being tipped to challenge Mercedes this weekend, was just under three-tenths of a second down on Hamilton, losing most of his time in the final sector of the lap.

Sergio Perez continued to show good things for Racing Point, who had a strong Friday with the RP20 car. The Mexican ended final practice third practice, ahead of both Ferraris.

Charles Leclerc and Alexander Albon followed in fifth and sixth respectively, while Sebastian Vettel was seventh, closely followed by the second Racing Point of Lance Stroll.

The tightly contested midfield saw Pierre Gasly slot into ninth place while McLaren rounded out the top ten with Lando Norris.

One red flag was deployed during the session following a crash for rookie Nicholas Latifi. The Canadian spun at Turn 1 and hit the outside barrier, damaging his front wing.

Aside from the crash, it was a positive session for Williams as George Russell finished up in 16th, ahead of Kevin Magnussen, Antonio Giovinazzi, Kimi Raikkonen and teammate Latifi.

Qualifying gets underway at 3 PM local time, with Mercedes looking the clear favourites after finishing first and second in every practice session so far this weekend.