Canadian Grand Prix – Free Practice 3: Verstappen dominates, Sainz sees red!

A beautiful shower completely soaked the Gilles Villeneuve track just before the third free practice session.

So this session starts with full wet tires, with blue stripe.

In search of limits

The drivers are testing the limits little by little, as the qualifying session is also expected to take place on a wet track.

In this game, it is Fernando Alonso who is the first to achieve a very good timed lap on wet tires, but he is also the first to try his luck on intermediate tires.

Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda gains confidence but overdoes it and spins out, fortunately without any serious consequences.

Very quickly, before the rain comes to wet the track even more, all the drivers put on these green-striped tires and the lap times improve by almost six seconds. One by one, Tsunoda, Sainz, Hülkenberg, and then Leclerc have their names at the top of the timesheet.

At the halfway point, Verstappen calmly settled everyone’s doubts. His car seems very stiff, set up for dry conditions for the following day’s race, but nevertheless, the reigning world champion remains at the front of the pack. Behind him, the Ferraris seem to have genuinely improved and are right behind the Dutch driver.

Sainz causes a red flag

Pilot error for the Spanish driver who brakes on the white line at the beginning of the first turn, causing him to spin out and hit both the front and rear protective wall. This accident couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Just a few hours away from the qualifications, the driver may lack confidence on a wet track. But mechanically, there is also the question of a possible gearbox or other component change.

To conclude, Carlos Sainz will have to visit the stewards to explain himself following a double obstruction caused against Alex Albon.

Verstappen Festival to conclude

The session is back on for 22 minutes, and it’s the Mercedes that are starting first. They haven’t been driven much so far.

A trajectory gradually drying up is taking shape, and under these conditions Max Verstappen takes advantage to knock out the competition. He leaves Carlos Sainz, who is still credited with the second-best time, behind by more than 1.6 seconds.

In the meantime, Charles Leclerc is focusing, getting his bearings, and doing laps to test himself for the race. Then he approaches the Dutch driver as he tests himself in qualifying conditions.

It is worth noting that the Mercedes cars are not finding the same momentum as the day before. Hamilton is indeed dismayed and returns to his pit without hope.

There are 9 minutes left and the rain is intensifying. The Mercedes are the disappointment of this session. Perez is also struggling to exploit the potential of his Red Bull, just like Esteban Ocon with his Alpine.

All the drivers return before the end of the session in order to avoid a potential piloting error that would compromise the qualifying session.

Results table