Max Verstappen was in a league of his own in French GP third practice; the world leader was comfortably on the sidelines of the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc; Watch French GP qualifying live on Sky Sports F1 from 2.35pm on Saturday
Last update: 23/07/22 13:43
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Anthony Davidson was on the SkyPad to get a close look at Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc and their line speeds.
Anthony Davidson was on the SkyPad to get a close look at Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc and their line speeds.
Max Verstappen produced a dominant display in final practice for the French GP to overtake Ferrari and establish Red Bull as qualifying favorites at Circuit Paul Ricard.
In a remarkable display of speed from the world championship leader, Verstappen topped the time sheets for much of the session on the slowest medium tyre, before re-establishing his lead when he switched to softs in the closing stages.
The Dutchman’s 1:32.272 left him 0.354s behind Carlos Sainz in second, with the other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc a further three tenths back in third.
Lewis Hamilton beat the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez into fourth, with his Mercedes team-mate George Russell fifth, but each of the three was within a full second of Verstappen.
Red Bull’s hopes of ending a two-race winning streak for Ferrari were further boosted in third practice as Sainz was confirmed to start from the back of the grid in Sunday’s race after getting a bunch of new engine parts.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Leclerc suffers a spectacular high-speed spin and Carlos Sainz races his Ferrari during P3 of the French GP
Leclerc suffers a spectacular high-speed spin and Carlos Sainz races his Ferrari during P3 of the French GP
The only consolation for Sainz was that he might not be at the back of the grid, with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen facing the same penalty.
Fernando Alonso was best of the rest in seventh for Alpine, while Alex Albon led an encouraging Williams display by finishing eighth, with team-mate Nicholas Latifi 12th.
Lando Norris’ McLaren and Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri completed the top 10, while there was concern for Sebastian Vettel, who finished last after ending the session before he damaged his Aston Martin.
Twitter Due to your consent preferences, you cannot see these Privacy Options
“Red Bull could be unstoppable”
Verstappen’s dominance in third practice came as a bit of a surprise after Ferrari topped the timesheets in both sessions on Friday, especially after the reigning world champion admitted the team had “work to do” after being off the pace in FP2.
However, the Red Bulls were straight on track at the start of Saturday’s session, and Verstappen immediately showed significant improvement.
Formula 1 live
July 23, 2022, 2:35 p.m
Yay
No other car, many of them on soft tires, could initially come close to the time he set on medium tires, with Sainz finally overcoming his effort as the session entered the final third.
However, when Red Bull put soft tires on Verstappen’s car, he immediately catapulted comfortably away from the Spaniard once again.
Verstappen was in commanding form in practice three
The performance was made even more concerning for Ferrari by the fact that Red Bull appeared to have the strongest long-term pace during Friday’s simulations, although the Italian team may have adjusted their set-up to try and tilt- heading into Sunday’s performance.
Leclerc’s victory in Austria two weeks ago, which followed Sainz’s win at Silvertone, saw the Monegasque cut Verstappen’s world championship lead to 38 points, but this latest evidence suggests Red Bull have the pace to stop Ferrari’s momentum.
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Nico Rosberg reflects on an “exciting” title race so far and believes Ferrari are continuing to show their edge and challenge Red Bull for the points.
Nico Rosberg reflects on an “exciting” title race so far and believes Ferrari are continuing to show their edge and challenge Red Bull for the points.
Sky Sports F1’s Paul Di Resta said: “If Red Bull have been able to engineer and maintain the speed they had yesterday in the long term and still continue to improve in the short term, then they are unstoppable.
“But never this year, it’s up and down, up and down.”
Mercedes remains adrift after wing experiment
Mercedes, who disappointed on Friday after entering the weekend hoping to challenge Red Bull and Ferrari, began the session with attractive alternative setups for Hamilton and Russell, who wore very different rear wings.
Hamilton’s was designed to offer more downforce and cornering speed, but would potentially cost him straight-line speed.
Lewis Hamilton was fourth in the third practice
The early results were worrying, with Hamilton expressing his surprise at being 1.7s clear of Verstappen earlier in the session, while Russell was left with a similar deficit despite the difference between their set-ups.
However, after several returns to the garage to adjust his set-up, Hamilton was able to set a relatively competitive time, overtaking Pérez’s second Red Bull and staying clear of Leclerc in third.
The fact that Mercedes have generally had better race pace than qualifying this season may give the Silver Arrows hope of extending a run of four consecutive podiums, especially with Sainz starting from the back.