Leclerc tops final Austrian GP practice ahead of Hamilton and Bottas

Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc

After topping the 2nd practice session Friday, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was again on top when the 3rd and final practice session ended for the Austrian GP Saturday morning.

The top-4 drivers were all within 1/4 sec. of Leclerc's fast lap of 1m03.987s.

Lewis Hamilton came closest just 0.143s behind and he has to be considered the favorite for pole in his #44 Mercedes.

His teammate Valtteri Bottas was third quick while the 2nd Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel was 0.263 sec behind his teammate in 4th.

Max Verstappen rounded out the top-5 for Red Bull Honda just under 1/2 sec. back.

Pierre Gasly was over one second behind in the 2nd Red Bull, winding up seventh overall behind McLaren's Lando Norris.

Consolidating McLaren's good form in FP3 was Carlos Sainz Jr., who took eighth, while Antonio Giovinazzi and Daniil Kvyat rounded out the top 10.

Leclerc showed a good turn of pace in FP2 but in a topsy turvy session, it was hard to tell if that was genuine. But based on today, it certainly is – and the driver from Monaco must be considered a pole contender.

Practice 3 Results

POS DRIVER NAT TEAM TIME
1 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari 1m03.987s
2 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas +0.143s
3 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas +0.234s
4 Sebastian Vettel GER Scuderia Ferrari +0.263s
5 Max Verstappen NED Red Bull Racing Honda +0.459s
6 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team +0.999s
7 Pierre Gasly FRA Red Bull Racing Honda +1.165s
8 Carlos Sainz Jr. ESP McLaren F1 Team +1.232s
9 Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Alfa Romeo Racing +1.349s
10 Daniil Kvyat RUS Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda +1.404s
11 Alexander Albon THA Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda +1.494s
12 Nico Hulkenberg GER Renault F1 Team +1.527s
13 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing +1.527s
14 Sergio Perez MEX SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team +1.536s
15 Romain Grosjean FRA Rich Energy Haas F1 Team +1.633s
16 Lance Stroll CAN SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team +1.663s
17 Daniel Ricciardo AUS Renault F1 Team +1.891s
18 Kevin Magnussen DEN Rich Energy Haas F1 Team +2.030s
19 George Russell GBR ROKiT Williams Racing +2.689s
20 Robert Kubica POL ROKiT Williams Racing +3.497s