George Russell leads the final practice session in Barcelona ahead of Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc.
Russell looking strong
After topping FP1 and placing second in FP2 yesterday, Mercedes driver George Russell rounds off practice this weekend with another P1 in FP3. The British driver put in a lap time of 1:15.679, over 2 tenths quicker than Oscar Piastri in P2. Russell has found himself on a run of bad luck this season since round 2 in China, however, after such strong performances in practice, it looks as though this could finally be the weekend where things go his way.
Russell’s teammate and current championship leader Kimi Antonelli finished FP3 in only P7. The driver was seen struggling and went off into the gravel a few times. On top of this, Antonelli hit some traffic involving Lance Stroll and one of the Haas drivers. This very much frustrated the young driver, however traffic is to be expected so late on in the session when everyone is trying to set their laps. Antonelli will be investigated after the session due to being noted by the stewards for erratic driving.
McLaren continue on good form
McLaren were one of the strongest teams in both free practice sessions yesterday, and that has definitely followed over into today. Oscar Piastri finished the session in P2, with teammate Lando Norris close behind in P4. McLaren have recently had their fair share of engine issues, so hopefully their good performance this weekend will continue.
Bottas brings out red flag
Just after the halfway point in the session, the Cadillac of Valtteri Bottas brought out a red flag. Bottas went off into the gravel at turn 10 and was unable to get himself out of it. He reported over the radio that he lost his break pedal, so there was very little he could do, and his session was over.
Less tyre degradation
Throughout FP2 yesterday, many drivers reported issues with their tyres as the track temperatures were fairly high, thus causing tyres to grain fairly quickly. However, there was very little reporting of this today in FP3. Drivers who suffered yesterday, such as Lewis Hamilton, performed much better today, with the Ferrari driver ending the session in P5.
Feature image courtesy of Formula 1