Max Verstappen fastest of Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez in third practice; Charles Leclerc third for Ferrari, ahead of Mercedes duo George Russell and Lewis Hamilton; watch British GP qualifying at 15:00, with a build-up from 14:10
Last updated: 02/07/22 13:35
Max Verstappen dominated Practice Three at Silverstone
World championship leader Max Verstappen put in a dominant performance in final practice at the British Grand Prix to establish himself as the clear pole favorite in qualifying at Silverstone.
After surprisingly being off the pace in practice on Friday, Red Bull put on a big show of strength on Saturday morning as Verstappen looked in a league of his own, finishing more than 0.4 seconds ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez in second.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was just behind Perez in third, with Mercedes duo George Russell and Lewis Hamilton a further tenth back in fourth and fifth respectively, ahead of Carlos Sainz.
After a wet opening practice session on Friday that saw limited running, a dry P2 saw Sainz narrowly edge out Hamilton, giving hope that the seven-time world champion can challenge for a first win of the season.
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Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz are still battling it out with their cars in final practice for the British Grand Prix.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz are still battling it out with their cars in final practice for the British Grand Prix.
Those hopes remained intact during the first 20 minutes of Practice Three, when Mercedes and Ferrari looked strong, but then Verstappen came out of his garage.
The Dutchman, who enters tomorrow’s race with a 46-point world championship lead over team-mate Sergio Perez after winning five of the last six races, immediately moved almost half a second off Leclerc’s leading time.
Hamilton gave Mercedes further cause for optimism as he closed to within 0.1s of Verstappen in his vastly improved Silver Arrow before Leclerc went within two hundredths of Red Bull.
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Charles Leclerc exited the Silverstone circuit in his Ferrari during the final practice session before recovering.
Charles Leclerc exited the Silverstone circuit in his Ferrari during the final practice session before recovering.
However, Verstappen would then respond with another powerful effort as his time of 1:27.901 restored a margin of almost half a second.
In a further blow for Ferrari and Mercedes, Perez then finished second in the closing stages to leave Red Bull looking in complete control ahead of qualifying, which is broadcast live on Sky Sports at 3pm.
“They obviously had a lot on their hands and they knew it, but they didn’t show it until the very end,” former F1 world champion Damon Hill said after the session.
The biggest threat to Verstappen’s pole position could be the weather with rain forecast during qualifying.
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We get on board with McLaren driver Lando Norris during third practice at the British Grand Prix.
We get on board with McLaren driver Lando Norris during third practice at the British Grand Prix.
However, as evidenced during Practice Three when rain was expected but never came, the weather at Silverstone is far from predictable.
Lando Norris gave the many British fans in attendance further cause for celebration, with the McLaren driver sealing his place as ‘best of the rest’ in seventh place.
Valtteri Bottas was eighth for Alfa Romeo, with Mick Schumacher’s Haas and Fernando Alonso’s Alpine completing the top 10.
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