Dutch GP: Leclerc fastest in FP3 as qualifying looks promising
3rd September 2022Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc went fastest in the final practice session, of the F1 Dutch Grand Prix weekend, as the top three teams were separated by 0.544 seconds.
How final practice unfolded…
As the final practice session went green, Only a few couple of drivers went out at the first opportunity – one being Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. While he wasn’t the only driver to get out on track, he was the only one to set a lap time within the first 10 minutes with a 1:13.603.
But, it wasn’t long before a handful of drivers started to set their lap times. As the session reached the 15-minute mark, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen topped the timing board with a 1:12.309, 0.625 seconds ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, respectively.
Although Verstappen complained his RB18 didn’t have the grip after one timed lap, the Dutchman managed to improve his best time lap time with a 1:12.196.
At the half-an-hour mark, Verstappen remained out on top of the timing board with his blisteringly quick lap. However, Leclerc moved up to second-fastest, 0.524 seconds slower than Red Bull’s championship leader, followed by Mercedes’ Sir Lewis Hamilton (+0.627).
On the other side of the leaderboard, Alfa Romeo looked to have trouble. Although their two drivers, Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou, had completed their laps on the yellow-ringed medium compound tyres, the duo were in P18 and P19 respectively. Only McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo had split the two drivers in P19.
With under 20 minutes left to go, Sainz jumped to the top of the timing board with a 1:11.971, 0.225 seconds faster than Verstappen who was demoted down to second. However, the Spaniard was soon toppled from the top spot by his Monegasque teammate, Russell and Verstappen, respectively.
By the end of the session, the Spanish driver dropped down to fourth-fastest.
Aston Martin made a surprise appearance in the top three, late on in the session, as the outgoing Sebastian Vettel jumped up to P3. The four-time world champion was soon demoted to P6 alongside his teammate Lance Stroll, who was sat P7. When the chequered flag fell on FP3, the duo finished P8 and P12 respectively.
While the top three teams, who occupied the top six positions, were separated by 0.544 seconds (Leclerc to Perez), the top three were only separated by 0.161 seconds.
Fastest three:
- Charles Leclerc, Ferrari (1:11.632)
- George Russell, Mercedes (+0.066)
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull (+0.161)
That’s it for the article: ! Who do you think is an early contender for pole position? Let us know in the comments!
Read more Formula 1 here!
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
