Mostly cloudy. Rain. Air +14…18С, route +17…20С
If there was no rain on Friday, it charged in the morning on Saturday. It was cold, the audience was cold and wet in the stands, plastic raincoats didn’t help, but they stayed in the stands. However, the weather should improve during the day.
In second practice, Daniel Ricciardo crashed out with a broken wrist and was replaced by reserve driver Liam Lawson on Saturday as the 21-year-old New Zealander made his Grand Prix debut.
Verstappen took off first on wet tyres, followed by Lawson and Zhou, then the rest of the pits. Norris was the first to switch to intermediate tyres: the rain eased and there were no large puddles on the track. The sun shone on one side and a black cloud hung on the other.
Perez crashed into the gravel in Turn 12 without car consequences and returned to the pits. Verstappen almost crashed his car into the banks of turn 3, but was able to continue and return to the pits.
In the 20th minute, practice was stopped with red flags – on the circle of exit from the intermediate rubber boxes, Magnussen turned at the exit of the third corner, the car hit the barrier and froze with a broken front suspension.
After 17 minutes the riders left again. Almost everyone opted for intermediate tyres, but conditions deteriorated again. Leclerc set the fastest time, but crashed in the first corner and brought the car to a halt just inches from the barrier.
In the 36th minute, red flags appeared again: Zhou’s car got stuck in the gravel after a turn. The car was quickly evacuated and work continued.
Okon went off the track in the first corner, crashed into a barrier, but kept going. In the 49th minute, red flags appeared for the third time – Lawson’s car hit the barrier after a turn and stopped in the direction of the move. Liam was able to turn around and make it to the pits, so the break was short.
Max Verstappen took the lead with a lap time of 1:21.631.
Results of the third session
| Pilot | Team | Time | Difference | Circles |
| 1. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:21,631 | – | 18 |
| 2. D. Russell | Mercedes | 1:22.010 | +0.379 | 18 |
| 3. C. Perez | Red Bull | 1:22,631 | +1,000 | 18 |
| 4. F. Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:22,634 | +1,003 | 14 |
| 5. L Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:22,723 | +1,092 | 18 |
| 6. A. Albon | Williams | 1:22.750 | +1,119 | 19 |
| 7. O. Piastri | McLaren | 1:22,892 | +1,261 | 20 |
| 8. V. Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 1:22,965 | +1,334 | 25 |
| 9. Sh. Lecler | Ferrari | 1:23,093 | +1,462 | 12 |
| 10. L. Norris | McLaren | 1:23.158 | +1,527 | 24 |
| 11.P Gasly | Alps | 1:23,210 | +1,579 | 15 |
| 12. K. Sainz | Ferrari | 1:23,438 | +1.807 | 17 |
| 13. Y. Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 1:23,544 | +1.913 | 18 |
| 14. L. Sargent | Williams | 1:23,570 | +1.939 | 20 |
| 15. N. Hulkenberg | hare | 1:23,640 | +2,009 | 20 |
| 16. E. Okon | Alps | 1:23,806 | +2.175 | 12 |
| 17. L. Walk | Aston Martin | 1:24.058 | +2.427 | 15 |
| 18. L. Lawson | AlphaTauri | 1:26,343 | +4.712 | 26 |
| 19.G Zhou | Alfa Romeo | 1:28,482 | +6,851 | 9 |
| 20. K. Magnussen | hare | – | – | 1 |
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
