Hamilton heads FP3 order ahead of Verstappen at Canadian GP

Lewis Hamilton topped the final practice session of the weekend, in dry conditions, ahead of Max Verstappen at the Canadian Grand Prix. 

Feature image credit: Mercedes F1

Hamilton has become the third different driver to clock the fastest lap time in a free practice session this weekend, beating Max Verstappen and George Russell. 

As forecasted, the final practice session started – and remained – dry meaning the pack of drivers went out on the slick tyres. 

However, they were ordered back into the pits within the first 10 minutes after Guanyu Zhou put his rear wing into the barrier on the exit of turn two, following a bout of oversteer. 

In the dying embers of the session, Alexander Albon made a meeting with ‘the wall of champions’ as he slapped his rear-right tyre off the wall. The contact caused suspension damage for the Thai driver and he was forced to pit for the remainder of the session. 

How FP3 ended…

In the final runs of the session, Hamilton put in a time no one else could get close to. The seven-time world champion clocked a lap time of 1m 12.549s which was three-tenths faster than Verstappen’s best time, in second. Russell rounded out the top three, four-tenths behind Hamilton. 

Lance Stroll and Oscar Piastri completed the top five, in fourth and fifth respectively. 

Daniel Ricciardo was the leading RB driver in sixth to lead the bottom five inside the top 10. The Australian was followed closely by Lando Norris and Fernando Alonso, in seventh and eighth. 

Sergio Perez completed the final practice session in ninth leaving Charles Leclerc to complete the top 10, seven-thousandths of a second off the trailing Red Bull. 

Kevin Magnussen was the top driver in the bottom 10, in 11th, and the last driver to remain within a second of Hamilton’s leading time (0.890s behind).

Carlos Sainz found himself in 12th ahead of Valtteri Bottas, Logan Sargeant and Yuki Tsunoda in 13th, 14th and 15th respectively. 

Pierre Gasly stood as the leading Alpine after FP3, in 16th, as the team’s departing Esteban Ocon completed the session down in 19th. Nico Hulkenberg and Albon were sandwiched in between the two French drivers in 17th and 18th. 

After only four laps completed before he crashed out at T2, Zhou completed the 20-driver field down in 20th.

Read more Formula 1 here:

• FIA reveal 2026 F1 Regulations
• Wet weather predicted for the Canadian Grand Prix
• Red Bull keep Perez with new 2-year F1 contract extension
• Alpine F1 announces Ocon departure at the end of 2024
• Leclerc secures maiden home win with F1 Monaco GP victory
• Ocon given 5-place grid penalty for Canada GP following Monaco collision

Give us a follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up with the latest news from the world of Motorsport! You can also support us on Patreon or on our website!

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.

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.