Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc set the pace in Saturday’s final practice session for the British Grand Prix, edging out McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
After a bright and warm first day at Silverstone, topped by home favourite Lando Norris, cloudy, cooler conditions greeted the drivers for FP3, which gave them one more chance to tweak their cars ahead of the mid-afternoon Qualifying hour, News.Az reports, citing Formula 1.
When the session got under way at a slightly delayed time of 1135, drivers gradually trickled out on track to begin their programmes and assess the conditions – Pirelli’s soft, medium and hard compound tyres all being used in the opening minutes.
Lewis Hamilton was one of the early movers when the action got under way, bolting on a set of soft tyres and clocking a 1m 26.529s to hold the provisional P1 spot, which prompted plenty of cheers from the packed grandstand and grass banks around the track.
As per Friday’s running, there were some significant gusts of wind for Hamilton and the rest of the drivers to deal with – seemingly highlighted when Lance Stroll drifted his way out of the Luffield hairpin and just about prevented his Aston Martin from spinning.
Kimi Antonelli also reported a “massive moment” through the Maggotts and Becketts complex when he began to push, while there was drama for Alex Albon when he faced a slow-moving Aston Martin at the entry to Copse and swore over the radio to express his frustration.
As for lap times, Leclerc used the soft tyres to get down to a 1m 25.922s and take over from team mate Hamilton in P1, a couple of tenths clear of a more competitive looking Max Verstappen, who nonetheless complained of brake bias difficulties.
“A little bit of rain,” Leclerc then commented over the radio with around 20 minutes to go, but it was nowhere near enough to stop drivers from pumping in laps on slicks and making improvements – George Russell proving this when he slotted into second position.
With some 15 minutes remaining, Norris sent the home crowd wild again by going quickest on a 1m 25.606s, followed closely by Verstappen and team mate Piastri via similarly significant gains, before Leclerc fired in a 1m 25.498s to reclaim P1.
As per Friday’s running, there were some significant gusts of wind for Hamilton and the rest of the drivers to deal with – seemingly highlighted when Lance Stroll drifted his way out of the Luffield hairpin and just about prevented his Aston Martin from spinning.
Kimi Antonelli also reported a “massive moment” through the Maggotts and Becketts complex when he began to push, while there was drama for Alex Albon when he faced a slow-moving Aston Martin at the entry to Copse and swore over the radio to express his frustration.
As for lap times, Leclerc used the soft tyres to get down to a 1m 25.922s and take over from team mate Hamilton in P1, a couple of tenths clear of a more competitive looking Max Verstappen, who nonetheless complained of brake bias difficulties.
“A little bit of rain,” Leclerc then commented over the radio with around 20 minutes to go, but it was nowhere near enough to stop drivers from pumping in laps on slicks and making improvements – George Russell proving this when he slotted into second position.
With some 15 minutes remaining, Norris sent the home crowd wild again by going quickest on a 1m 25.606s, followed closely by Verstappen and team mate Piastri via similarly significant gains, before Leclerc fired in a 1m 25.498s to reclaim P1.
