Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – Free Practice 3: Verstappen dominates!
For the first time this weekend, it was Max Verstappen who topped Free Practice ahead of Lando Norris's McLaren. Lewis Hamilton was 3rd, 5 tenths behind the Dutch driver.
17th at the end of Free Practice 2, Kimi Räikkönen was the first driver to hit the track in this final practice session before qualifying. The Finn’s 1:17:331 was beaten after 18 minutes by Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari. 4th in the constructors’ standings, the Italian team will seek to score big points in Imola in order to take 3rd place from McLaren.
With 34 minutes remaining, Nicholas Latifi triggered the session pause by hitting the barriers at turn 6. An even more regrettable incident as the Canadian had shown a good pace at the start of the session by setting a faster time than his garage neighbor, George Russell.
3rd at the end of FP2, Pierre Gasly had a little scare in this session. Indeed, a big slide at the exit of turn number 7 forced him to take a little detour in the grass. After this mishap, the Normand set the fastest lap of FP3 with medium tires.
At the end of the session, it was Lando Norris who set the fastest time of the session with a 1:15:414. The McLarens, who were struggling on Friday, seem to have found pace this Saturday. The time of the British driver was quickly beaten by his teammate at Esport Redline, Max Verstappen. The Dutchman was the first driver this weekend to go under the 1:15 mark with 1:14:9.
It was a complicated end of the session for Alfa Romeo with Kimi Räikkönen taking a trip through the gravel at the second-to-last corner of the track due to a late braking and a few minutes later it was Antonio Giovinazzi who imitated him at Tamburello.
FP3 Standings:
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1’14’958 | 18 | |
| 2 | Norris | McLaren F1 Team | 1’15’414 | +0.095 | 16 |
| 3 | Hamilton | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1’15’515 | +0.096 | 17 |
| 4 | Perez | Red Bull Racing | 1’15’551 | +0.096 | 18 |
| 5 | Leclerc | Scuderia Ferrari | 1’15’738 | +0.098 | 20 |
| 6 | Gasly | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1’15’890 | +0.099 | 22 |
| 7 | Sainz Jr. | Scuderia Ferrari | 1’15’908 | +0.100 | 21 |
| 8 | Bottas | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1’1t’908 | –1:59.600 | 18 |
| 9 | Alonso | Alpine F1 Team | 1’16’186 | +0.192 | 20 |
| 10 | Ocon | Alpine F1 Team | 1’16’228 | +0.193 | 19 |
| 11 | Tsunoda | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1’16’230 | +0.193 | 20 |
| 12 | Stroll | Cognizant Aston Martin Racing | 1’16’245 | +0.193 | 18 |
| 13 | Ricciardo | McLaren F1 Team | 1’16’253 | +0.193 | 16 |
| 14 | Vettel | Cognizant Aston Martin Racing | 1’16’389 | +0.194 | 18 |
| 15 | Russell | Williams Racing | 1’16’427 | +0.195 | 19 |
| 16 | Schumacher | Haas F1 Team | 1’16’448 | +0.195 | 22 |
| 17 | Latifi | Williams Racing | 1’16’537 | +0.196 | 14 |
| 18 | Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | 1’16’612 | +0.197 | 21 |
| 19 | Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | 1’16’803 | +0.199 | 22 |
| 20 | Mazepin | Haas F1 Team | 1’17’398 | +0.294 | 22 |
