Bottas tops final practice for the Eifel GP

Valtteri Bottas has continued where he left off at Sochi with a dominant performance in the final, and only, practice session for the Eifel GP at the Nurburgring. With temperatures in the 40s, Bottas put up a lap of 1m26.225s in his #77 Mercedes.

Lewis Hamilton was 2nd quick in the sister #44 Mercedes 0.136s behind Bottas.

Charles Leclerc was a surprise 3rd quick for Ferrari 0.456s behind Bottas.

Max Verstappen was 54th for Red Bull but 0.671s back and not really in contention for a win unless the Mercedes’ break down or crash.

Sebastian Vettel, who picked up traffic in the final corner, still went 5th quick in the 2nd Ferrari.

Could Ferrari be competitive here? That would make the home fans smile if Vettel especially could put in a good showing.

Lando Norris was 6th quick for McLaren.

Racing Point Formula 1 driver Lance Stroll did not take part in FP3 after feeling sick.

The team’s reserve driver Nico Hulkenberg, who is already in Germany, has travelled to the circuit and will be on hand if he is required.

A statement from Racing Point said: “Lance Stroll is not feeling 100% this morning and will therefore not participate in FP3.

“His condition will be assessed after the session.”

Practice 3 Times

POS DRIVER NAT. TEAM TIME
1 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas 1m26.225s
2 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas 1m26.361s
3 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari 1m26.681s
4 Max Verstappen NED Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 1m26.896s
5 Sebastian Vettel GER Scuderia Ferrari 1m27.038s
6 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team 1m27.167s
7 Sergio Perez MEX BWT Racing Point F1 Team 1m27.245s
8 Daniel Ricciardo AUS Renault F1 Team 1m27.392s
9 Alexander Albon THA Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 1m27.449s
10 Pierre Gasly FRA Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m27.528s
11 Esteban Ocon FRA Renault F1 Team 1m27.634s
12 Daniil Kvyat RUS Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 1m27.795s
13 Carlos Sainz SPA McLaren F1 Team 1m27.924s
14 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m27.956s
15 Romain Grosjean FRA Haas F1 Team 1m28.115s
16 Kevin Magnussen DEN Haas F1 Team 1m28.293s
17 George Russell GBR Williams Racing 1m28.343s
18 Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen 1m28.370s
19 Nicholas Latifi CAN Williams Racing 1m28.941s
20 Lance Stroll CAN BWT Racing Point F1 Team No time set