Leclerc tops final practice at British GP after late red flags
5th July 2025Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has topped the final hour of practice at the British Grand Prix as two late red flags hampered running at Silverstone.
Feature image credit: Scuderia Ferrari
Ferrari has topped two out of three free practice sessions in what looks to be a competitive weekend for the Italian Prancing Horse, as Leclerc set the fastest lap in Free Practice 3.
However, the session was hit with late red flags. Haas’ Oliver Bearman brought out the first with loose debris heading into Stowe. When the session resumed, it was quickly red-flagged once more as Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto stopped at Becketts with damage.
Bortoleto lost control on his way through the iconic Maggots and Becketts as his car spun out, heading backwards over bumpy grass and damaging the suspension of his car.
Bearman was later put under investigation for crashing into the barrier, with a spin, on his way into the pit lane under red flag conditions. The Briton was able to continue into the pits.
How FP3 ended…
Leclerc topped the timing boards with a 1m 25.498s, narrowly pipping McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who were within a tenth of the Monegasque’s time, in second and third. McLaren’s Lando Norris and Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top five, in fourth and fifth.
Bearman put in a decent lap to finish sixth ahead of Williams’ Alexander Albon and Mercedes’ George Russell, in seventh and eighth, as the two Racing Bulls – Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson – completed the top 10.
Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton occupied 11th, but looked to be on course to put in a lap time which would challenge the top three before the red flags came out.
Williams’ Carlos Sainz ended 12th to lead the remaining drivers inside the top 15 places, ahead of Esteban Ocon (Haas), Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), in 13th and 14th. Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg and Bortoleto finished 15th and 16th.
This left the two Aston Martins and Alpines down in the bottom four. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll finished in 17th and 19th for Aston, and Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly occupied 18th and 20th for Alpine.
Read more Formula 1 here:
- FIA confirm slight update to British GP Race Directors’ event notes
- Lewis Hamilton claims there’s ‘time to find’ at British Grand Prix
- Carlos Sainz given warning after British GP ‘dangerous driving’ infringement
- Norris fastest in British GP FP2 to complete all-British day
- Lewis Hamilton sets fastest time in British GP FP1
- What are the official times for the British Grand Prix?
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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.
