Sunny. Dry. Air +23…24С, highway +43…45С
Nine of the ten teams brought new products to the first European leg of the season, where they could work with them safely during training.
The most extensive updates for the stage, once again called ‘Made in Italy’, were brought to Ferrari – and Charles Leclerc took the lead confidently on Friday. The stands were filled with fans in red uniforms, pleased with this balance of power.
Not everyone, including championship leader Max Verstappen, managed to understand the new products, and work continued in the third practice session on Saturday – with an emphasis on qualifying.
In the first series of laps, Ferrari immediately opted for Soft – and Leclerc led the protocol with 1:16.281, but Verstappen was only tenth behind on Medium. Then Sainz drove even faster – 1:16.067.
In the 25th minute, Fernando Alonso crashed his car and drove into the final corner at full speed. The Spaniard apologized to the team, left the damaged car alone and went to the medical center for examination.
The session was stopped with red flags. The mechanics will have to work hard to bring the car back to qualifying level. The blow was very serious. The car was evacuated and the riders soon left again.
Six minutes before the end of the session, Oscar Piastri topped the timesheet with 1:15.529, and Sergio Perez crashed out of the chicane at Turns 14-15, breaking his nose cone. Red flags appeared again, but soon the riders took off again – there were still two minutes to go until the end of the session.
The balance of power proved interesting. Let’s see how everything goes in qualifying.
Results of the third session
| Pilot | Team | Time | Difference | Circles |
| 1. O. Piastri | McLaren | 1:15,529 | – | 15 |
| 2. L.Norris | McLaren | 1:15,829 | +0.300 | 15 |
| 3. K. Sainz | Ferrari | 1:16,067 | +0.538 | 22 |
| 4. S. Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:16,087 | +0.558 | 20 |
| 5. D. Russell | Mercedes | 1:16.095 | +0.566 | 16 |
| 6. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:16,366 | +0.837 | 21 |
| 7. A. Elbon | Williams | 1:16,470 | +0.941 | 14 |
| 8. E. Okon | Alps | 1:16,481 | +0.952 | 19 |
| 9. L. Walk | Aston Martin | 1:16,543 | +1,014 | 24 |
| 10. N. Hulkenberg | Hare | 1:16,547 | +1,018 | 15 |
| 11. D. Ricciardo | RB | 1:16,560 | +1,031 | 15 |
| 12. C. Perez | Red Bull | 1:16,631 | +1,102 | 18 |
| 13. Yu.Tsunoda | RB | 1:16,668 | +1,139 | 14 |
| 14. V. Bottas | Sauber | 1:16,695 | +1,166 | 15 |
| 15. L. Sargent | Williams | 1:16,794 | +1,265 | 16 |
| 16. K. Magnussen | Hare | 1:16,923 | +1,394 | 12 |
| 17. L.Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:16,960 | +1,431 | 16 |
| 18. F. Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:17,339 | +1,810 | 10 |
| 19. P. Gasly | Alps | 1:17,361 | +1,832 | 17 |
| 20. G.Zhou | Sauber | 1:17,891 | +2,362 | 15 |
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.
