F1 SPANISH GP 2020 PRACTICE 3 HAMILTON LEADS

Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in the third and final free practice for the Grand Prix of Spain. He stayed ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen.

Third free practice – Spain

Pos.	Driver	Team	Time
1	Lewis HAMILTON	Mercedes	1: 17,222
2	Valtteri BOTTAS	Mercedes	1: 17,373
3	Max VERSTAPPEN	Red Bull	1: 17,737
4	Carlos SAINZ	McLaren	1: 18,046
5	Sergio PÉREZ	Racing Point	1: 18,096
6	Charles LECLERC	Ferrari	1: 18,193
7	Pierre GASLY	Alpha Tauri	1: 18.211
8	Lance STROLL	Racing Point	1: 18.309
9	Alexander ALBON	Red Bull	1: 18,371
10	Daniel RICCIARDO	Renault	1: 18,384
11	Esteban OCON	Renault	1: 18.602
12	Sebastian VETTEL	Ferrari	1: 18,707
13	Romain GROSJEAN	Haas	1: 18,710
14	Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN	Alfa Romeo	1: 18,721
15	Lando NORRIS	McLaren	1: 18,803
16	Daniil KVYAT	Alpha Tauri	1: 18,852
17	Kevin MAGNUSSEN	Haas	1: 18,940
18	Antonio GIOVINAZZI	Alfa Romeo	1: 19.175
19	George RUSSELL	Williams	1: 19.297
20	Nicholas LATIFI	Williams	1: 19.764

McLaren are in prime position to claim the best of the rest position this weekend, while Renault also look to challenge. After last week’s P3 in qualifying, Racing Point spent much of the session in the mid-field but jumped up in the final stages of the session. That battle will be tight later in qualifying.

The session finished under red flags with Esteban Ocon crashing into the wall by trying to avoid Kevin Magnussen. 

How did it happen?

After his impressive performance on Friday, Romain Grosjean was the first driver out on the track. The Frenchman might be pushing for a Q3 appearance later this afternoon. He didn’t have the most enjoyable FP3 and is much closer to his teammate today.

It was Lando Norris who set the first fastest time of the day. The Brit hasn’t missed out on a Q3 session yet this season.

Fitted with some new engine components, Carlos Sainz went purple to set the new fastest time. A flurry of laps followed, which resulted in Leclerc taking control of the timesheets at the half-way point.

Mercedes didn’t come out in the first half of the session. They only have two sets of medium tyres remaining in their allocation which they’ll want to use in qualifying and potentially the race. Bottas and Hamilton hit the track on the soft tyres with 30 minutes remaining. Bottas set a time of 1:17.971 to go fastest. Hamilton tried to beat it, but he lost time in the final chicane.

Despite the usual Mercedes dominance, Carlos Sainz set a 1:18.046 to split the two Mercedes with 17 minutes of the session remaining.

Mercedes found another gear, and regained the top two places. But it seems as if Red Bull are much closer on this track, with Verstappen looking to challenge. 

The session ended under red flags with Esteban Ocon crashing. He tried to avoid a slow running Kevin Magnussen and had to quickly move out of the way. The Renault driver hit the wall. 

F1 SPANISH GP 2020 PRACTICE 3 HAMILTON LEADS F1 SPANISH GP 2020 PRACTICE 3 HAMILTON LEADS

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