Turkish Grand Prix – Free Practice 3: Pierre Gasly ahead of the Red Bulls
It was under the rain that Pierre Gasly stood out as the fastest driver of this Saturday morning. Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez follow the Frenchman behind.
For the first time this weekend, rain was making its way into Istanbul. It is important to master these weather conditions because rain may also be present during the qualifications and the race.
After spending 10 minutes in the garages, Pierre Gasly was the first driver to take to the track, followed by his garage neighbor, Yuki Tsunoda. It was actually the Frenchman who was the first to make a mistake in this session. Fortunately for him, his spin had no consequences.
Only a few minutes after the acrobatic maneuver by the AlphaTauri driver, George Russell brought out the red flag after a small slip sent him into the gravel trap.
Once the midway point of the session had passed and the track offered a better trajectory, lap times began to drop, with Max Verstappen establishing himself as the fastest driver for a while. The Dutchman was then successively beaten by Sergio Perez and Pierre Gasly.
At the end of the session, Fernando Alonso had a little scare by braking too late at the first turn. An uncharacteristic mistake from the Spanish driver showing that the track conditions have changed a lot since the beginning of the session.
With very little running, the Mercedes are only 9th and 18th on the time sheet but the absence of rain this afternoon could allow the German team to get back to the front.
Classification of FP3:
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gasly | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1’30’447 | 18 | |
| 2 | Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1’30’611 | +0.002 | 10 |
| 3 | Perez | Red Bull Racing | 1’30’684 | +0.002 | 12 |
| 4 | Sainz Jr. | Scuderia Ferrari | 1’31’262 | +0.098 | 21 |
| 5 | Leclerc | Scuderia Ferrari | 1’31’543 | +0.101 | 17 |
| 6 | Alonso | Alpine F1 Team | 1’31’545 | +0.101 | 14 |
| 7 | Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | 1’31’572 | +0.101 | 16 |
| 8 | Tsunoda | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1’31’981 | +0.105 | 20 |
| 9 | Bottas | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1’31’996 | +0.105 | 8 |
| 10 | Ocon | Alpine F1 Team | 1’32’089 | +0.196 | 16 |
| 11 | Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | 1’32’097 | +0.196 | 20 |
| 12 | Vettel | Cognizant Aston Martin Racing | 1’32’111 | +0.197 | 13 |
| 13 | Schumacher | Haas F1 Team | 1’32’228 | +0.198 | 22 |
| 14 | Ricciardo | McLaren F1 Team | 1’32’270 | +0.198 | 17 |
| 15 | Norris | McLaren F1 Team | 1’32’314 | +0.199 | 17 |
| 16 | Stroll | Cognizant Aston Martin Racing | 1’33’348 | +0.299 | 10 |
| 17 | Mazepin | Haas F1 Team | 1’33’425 | +0.300 | 13 |
| 18 | Hamilton | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1’33’636 | +0.302 | 5 |
| 19 | Latifi | Williams Racing | 1’36’681 | +0.602 | 7 |
| 20 | Russell | Williams Racing | 2 |
