FP3 : Russell’s Rain Masterclass Secures Mercedes One-Two

In wet conditions at Silverstone, Russell steered Mercedes to a dominant one-two, while Norris clinched third and Gasly missed out due to an incident.

On a notably damp track, the third free practice session of the British Grand Prix unfolded at Silverstone. The morning’s scheduled F3 race was postponed due to the weather, with the rain ceasing just before this F1 session commenced.

Drivers cautiously ventured out on intermediate tyres, but it wasn’t long before Max Verstappen spun, completing a full 360 without major disruption to his performance as the reigning world champion.

Shortly thereafter, Pierre Gasly veered off the track and came to a halt in the gravel (see photo below). It’s been a challenging weekend for the Alpine driver, who had relinquished his seat to Jack Doohan in EL1, leaving him with just one hour of practice before qualifying.

The session resumed after a brief interruption of just over five minutes, during which the FIA warned of an imminent heavy downpour. However, the rain held off, allowing drivers to complete multiple fast laps.

Daniel Ricciardo was placed under investigation and summoned as he zigzagged down the wet pit lane, close to other teams’ mechanics, prompting a review by the FIA.

As the session progressed and the track dried, lap times steadily improved. Charles Leclerc initially set the fastest time, only to be successively overtaken by Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Oscar Piastri, Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris, George Russell, and Sergio Perez.

Hamilton’s leading lap was short-lived, bettered first by Verstappen and then by Leclerc. Yet, the seven-time world champion responded robustly. Midway through the session, Leclerc established a new benchmark of 1’38″454, a time achieved on intermediate tyres and not reflective of the track’s potential.

Hamilton improved to 1’38″065 as the anticipated rain continued to hold off. Russell then topped that with a time of 1’37″529, placing Norris fourth, while Nico Hülkenberg, driving his modified Haas, broke into the top ten.

Towards the session’s end, the FIA announced a significant downpour imminent 15 minutes before the conclusion of Free Practice 3. As predicted, the rain began around twenty minutes before the session ended and intensified shortly after.

Before the deluge, the Williams drivers had climbed to tenth and eleventh positions. The session concluded quietly, but the Aston Martin F1 drivers and Daniel Ricciardo made gains on intermediate tyres.

Russell and Hamilton thus secured a Mercedes one-two, ahead of Norris and Sainz, followed by Verstappen, Leclerc, Piastri, and Alonso. Perez finished ninth, ahead of Hülkenberg. Ocon was sixteenth, with Gasly at the rear, having set no time.

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Norris Takes Third as Gasly Sits Out After Crash. Norris Takes Third as Gasly Sits Out After Crash