Hamilton tops final Spanish GP Practice
While Esteban Ocon crashed into the wall between turns 3 and 4 to end the final practice session for the Spanish GP early, Lewis Hamilton led yet another Mercedes 1-2.
Replays show that Kevin Magnussen passed him, before pulling back to the center of the track. The Dane was moving slowly, but Ocon was caught out slightly and pulled wide to avoid smashing into the back of the Haas – hitting the wall as a result.
Ocon is okay which was good to see and did get out the car unaided, although the Medical car was deployed so the Frenchman will be sent to the Medical center for checks.
Hamilton’s time of 1m17.222s was 0.151s faster than his teammate Valtteri Bottas.
Max Verstappen was again third quickest 0.515s back.
Carlos Sainz Jr. (McLaren) and Sergio Perez (Racing Point) rounded out the top-5.
McLaren gave Carlos Sainz Jr. a fresh power unit ahead of final practice as they continue their quest to cure his car’s cooling issues, while Haas did the same for Romain Grosjean, too, after he lost power towards the end of FP2.
Sainz Jr. was at a loss to explain why the cooling issues that held him back at Silverstone last weekend were still costing him performance at his home Grand Prix, even after they changed a host of parts including the chassis, and admitted they are “starting to run out of things to try”.
Practice 3 Results
POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | TIME | GAP | LAPS |
1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:17.222 | +0.000s | 12 |
2 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:17.373 | +0.151s | 13 |
3 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:17.737 | +0.515s | 10 |
4 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | McLaren Renault | 1:18.046 | +0.824s | 18 |
5 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point Mercedes | 1:18.096 | +0.874s | 16 |
6 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:18.193 | +0.971s | 15 |
7 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri Honda | 1:18.211 | +0.989s | 13 |
8 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point Mercedes | 1:18.309 | +1.087s | 16 |
9 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:18.371 | +1.149s | 13 |
10 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1:18.384 | +1.162s | 12 |
11 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Renault | 1:18.602 | +1.380s | 18 |
12 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:18.707 | +1.485s | 15 |
13 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas Ferrari | 1:18.710 | +1.488s | 14 |
14 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 1:18.721 | +1.499s | 11 |
15 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Renault | 1:18.803 | +1.581s | 23 |
16 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | AlphaTauri Honda | 1:18.852 | +1.630s | 15 |
17 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 1:18.940 | +1.718s | 15 |
18 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 1:19.175 | +1.953s | 13 |
19 | 63 | George Russell | Williams Mercedes | 1:19.297 | +2.075s | 16 |
20 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams Mercedes | 1:19.764 | +2.542s | 16 |