F1: Leclerc nips Verstappen to top FP3 for Saudi Arabian GP

Charles Leclerc turned a lap of 1m29.735s in his Ferrari to just nip Max Verstappen by 0.033s in final practice for the Saudi Arabian GP in Jeddah.

Leclerc has led all three practice sessions by a small margin over Verstappen.  The two teams appear very evenly matched.

Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez was a close 3rd, 0.098s behind Leclerc.

Carlos Sainz in the 2nd Ferrari was 0.274s behind, while Valtteri Bottas rounded out the top-5 for Alfa Romeo.  Another sensational result for the Finn.  One thing is clear, all the Ferrari-powered cars are performing well this year.

His eyes are smiling!  BOTTAS Valtteri (fin), Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN C42, beats his former Mercedes team again at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2022, 2nd round of the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship, on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, from March 25 to 27, 2022 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – Photo Joao Filipe / DPPI
5th quick for #77 BOTTAS Valtteri (fin), Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN C42, action during the Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2022, 2nd round of the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship, on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, from March 25 to 27, 2022 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – Photo Joao Filipe / DPPI

Then came Alpine in the form of Esteban Ocon, ahead of Pierre Gasly and Kevin Magnussen in the Haas 8th.

So, advantage Ferrari? Possibly. Probably. Maybe. You’ll have to come back for qualifying for the answer to that one!

Qualifying gets under way in just under two hours’ time – once the sun has set, the track cooled and the lights come on. Jeddah looks incredible in the night air, multicolored lights livening up the backdrop as sparks fly from the back of these F1 cars.

But who will be on pole? It looks like a straight fight between Leclerc and Verstappen as it stands.

Practice 3 Results

POS NO DRIVER CAR TIME GAP LAPS
1 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:29.735 +0.000s 22
2 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing RBPT 1:29.768 +0.033s 11
3 11 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing RBPT 1:29.833 +0.098s 15
4 55 Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari 1:30.009 +0.274s 21
5 77 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo Ferrari 1:30.030 +0.295s 21
6 31 Esteban Ocon Alpine Renault 1:30.139 +0.404s 15
7 10 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri RBPT 1:30.148 +0.413s 11
8 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 1:30.262 +0.527s 17
9 14 Fernando Alonso Alpine Renault 1:30.296 +0.561s 16
10 22 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri RBPT 1:30.415 +0.680s 18
11 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:30.707 +0.972s 17
12 47 Mick Schumacher Haas Ferrari 1:30.765 +1.030s 16
13 24 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo Ferrari 1:30.946 +1.211s 19
14 63 George Russell Mercedes 1:30.983 +1.248s 14
15 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes 1:31.067 +1.332s 17
16 3 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren Mercedes 1:31.186 +1.451s 15
17 23 Alexander Albon Williams Mercedes 1:31.374 +1.639s 15
18 27 Nico Hulkenberg Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes 1:31.424 +1.689s 17
19 4 Lando Norris McLaren Mercedes 1:31.529 +1.794s 16
20 6 Nicholas Latifi Williams Mercedes 1:31.992 +2.257s 13