Bottas over Verstappen in final Tuscan GP practice

Valtteri Bottas was on top at Mugello once more, the Finn posting an impressive 1m 16.530s in final practice for the Tuscan GP.

Less than one tenth separated the top three, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen second and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton third.

Behind the top three, things became very interesting indeed. Lance Stroll was ‘best of the rest’ while Pierre Gasly was a very impressive fifth despite setting his lap on slightly older soft tires.  Sergio Perez was also there or thereabouts, and so is Charles Leclerc in the top 10 in 7th for Ferrari.

That will be a big bonus for Ferrari here if they can get one car into Q3 in qualifying. Sebastian Vettel though sadly looks off the pace, and his struggles to get on top of the SF1000 continue.

Max Verstappen 2nd quick

The bigger loser out of the session was George Russell. Just one lap was all he managed before brake by wire issues sent him scurrying back to the pits – and he’ll be heading into qualifying unsure of how much this track has evolved since yesterday.

So – Bottas, Hamilton or Verstappen? Who will grab the inaugural pole here in Mugello?

Stay tuned…..

Practice 3 Results

POS NO DRIVER CAR TIME GAP LAPS
1 77 Valtteri Bottas MERCEDES 1:16.530 +0.000s 17
2 33 Max Verstappen RED BULL RACING HONDA 1:16.547 +0.017s 10
3 44 Lewis Hamilton MERCEDES 1:16.613 +0.083s 14
4 18 Lance Stroll RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES 1:17.112 +0.582s 10
5 10 Pierre Gasly ALPHATAURI HONDA 1:17.226 +0.696s 14
6 11 Sergio Perez RACING POINT BWT MERCEDES 1:17.341 +0.811s 14
7 16 Charles Leclerc FERRARI 1:17.488 +0.958s 15
8 23 Alexander Albon RED BULL RACING HONDA 1:17.538 +1.008s 11
9 26 Daniil Kvyat ALPHATAURI HONDA 1:17.627 +1.097s 17
10 8 Romain Grosjean HAAS FERRARI 1:17.635 +1.105s 19
11 31 Esteban Ocon RENAULT 1:17.746 +1.216s 13
12 55 Carlos Sainz MCLAREN RENAULT 1:17.768 +1.238s 19
13 99 Antonio Giovinazzi ALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI 1:17.812 +1.282s 15
14 7 Kimi Räikkönen ALFA ROMEO RACING FERRARI 1:17.843 +1.313s 17
15 20 Kevin Magnussen HAAS FERRARI 1:18.039 +1.509s 17
16 6 Nicholas Latifi WILLIAMS MERCEDES 1:18.072 +1.542s 16
17 3 Daniel Ricciardo RENAULT 1:18.142 +1.612s 12
18 5 Sebastian Vettel FERRARI 1:18.186 +1.656s 15
19 4 Lando Norris MCLAREN RENAULT 1:18.826 +2.296s 19
20 63 George Russell WILLIAMS MERCEDES 1