14:03
End of 3rd training session
The 3rd practice session on the Circuit Paul Ricard is over…
14:00
Max Verstappen wins the 3rd practice in France
Max Verstappen’s time is no longer attacked. The Dutchman thus wins the last training session of the season thanks to a dominant performance. Carlos Sainz is more than three tenths behind. Carlos Sainz drove more than a six tenth slower and at least grabbed the third position.
13:58
Pit radio Lance Stroll
Aston Martin obviously has big problems here! Sebastian Vettel slipped to last place, Lance Stroll is 19th. On his fast lap, the Canadian reports that his car feels “terrible” with the softs.
13:56
Max Verstappen’s new best lap
Max Verstappen has now taken the lead back. With a 1:32.272, the Red Bull driver once again leads the rankings, two tenths ahead of Carlos Sainz.
13:55
Bottas missed chicane
Valtteri Bottas misses the braking point at the end of the long Mistral straight and skips the chicane that follows. With that, the Finn messed up his fast lap.
13:52
McLaren in good shape
In the tight midfield battle, it currently looks as if McLaren is ahead of Haas and Alpine. Lando Norris is eighth, Daniel Ricciardo is tenth.
1:50 p.m
New best lap by Carlos Sainz
Now Max Verstappen has lost first place! Carlos Sainz sets a new best lap time with a 1:32.626. He was around a tenth faster than the Dutchman on his attempt. The track has meanwhile become a little crowded, a total of 13 cars are currently on the road.
1:47 p.m
German pilots hardly on the track
Just over ten minutes left on the clock. Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher remain in the pits and conserve their equipment.
1:45 p.m
Williams are improving
The two Williams drivers now also have less fuel on board. Alexander Albon jumps to sixth place, his teammate Nicholas Latifi follows in seventh.
13:43
Ferrari can’t beat Verstappen
This is a first little surprise! Although both Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc are now on the softs, they cannot undercut Max Verstappen’s target.
13:41
Hamilton advances
The teams will slowly start their simulations for qualifying. Lewis Hamilton makes the start and immediately jumps far ahead. The Briton is now in third place, four tenths down.
13:38
Leclerc only in midfield
Charles Leclerc is the only driver who has only been on the hard tires so far. Accordingly, he is currently more than 1.4 seconds short of Max Verstappen’s best time, which corresponds to twelfth place.
13:36
Box radio Yuki Tsunoda
Yuki Tsunoda is stopped by a Red Bull on his flying lap and even has to dodge into the run-off zone. “That was so dangerous,” the Japanese then yells into the radio.
13:34
First time by Schumacher
Mick Schumacher has now also tested the track. On his first timed lap, the German finished in 19th position, leaving only Daniel Ricciardo behind.
13:32
Vettel fights for lower places
For his part, Sebastian Vettel is only fighting for the rear positions. The German is just 16th and at the moment it doesn’t look like he can compete with the other teams in midfield.
13:29
Ferrari chooses the maximum penalty
At that moment, Ferarri announced that in Carlos Sainz’s car, other parts of the engine were replaced in addition to the control electronics. So he will start tomorrow from the last row next to Kevin Magnussen, who also has a lot of new parts installed.
13:27
Sainz gone astray
On his second lap, Carlos Sainz is on course for the best time up to the middle sector. Then, like Kevin Magnussen, the Ferrari driver left the track in turn eleven and turned straight into the pits.
13:25
Sainz attacks
Carlos Sainz is the first driver to come close to Max Verstappen’s time. But the Spaniard is also missing around four tenths to the very front.
13:24
It fills up
It fills up more and more on the route. Only Mick Schumacher has not left the pit lane in this session.
13:22
Bottas jumps to third place
As the next pilot with the soft tires, Valtteri Bottas increased his time. The Finn moves into third place with his Alfa Romeo – more than a second behind Max Verstappen.
13:18
Vettel drives, Schumacher in the pits
Sebastian Vettel is now driving again, but the first time is not to be taken seriously. Mick Schumacher, on the other hand, is still waiting and is probably saving his tires.
13:16
First time by Gasly
At his home race, Pierre Gasly burns the first lap in the asphalt. Due to a lot of understeer in the winding passages, the Frenchman is only in ninth place for the time being. He’s also on the softs.
13:13
Magnussen robs over the curbs
Kevin Magnussen crashes hard over the curb at turn eleven. The underbody of his Haas is making good contact, which is why he drives back to the pits a little later for a quick check.
13:11
Hamilton with a respectful distance
Lewis Hamilton chooses the soft rubber for his first ride. However, the Brit is more than 1.6 seconds behind Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.
13:10
Perez takes second place
Sergio Perez starts the 3rd practice with a second place. He is almost half a second behind his teammate Max Verstappen’s current best time.
13:08
Max Verstappen’s new best lap
Max Verstappen sets the first target time in the 3rd practice session. The Dutchman needs 1:32.837 minutes to drive a car around the 5.8-kilometre circuit. He was running on medium tires.
13:06
Mercedes on the track
Lewis Hamilton, who will complete his 300th Grand Prix tomorrow, and George Russell are also out on track now, doing the first laps. However, there is still not much activity.
13:04
High asphalt temperature
Southern Europe is still struggling with a heat wave, although it is a bit colder than yesterday. The outside temperature is currently 28 degrees, but the asphalt is already 50 degrees.
13:03
Vettel drives out
Sebastian Vettel is now also steering his Aston Martin onto the course. There doesn’t seem to be a great rush today – only five drivers have left the pit lane.
13:00
Start 3rd training
The traffic lights are green, the 3rd practice session in Le Castellet has started. Sergio Perez is the first driver to steer his Red Bull onto the track.
12:48 p.m
Schumacher is still behind
Haas started the weekend in Le Castellet with his usual calm. Mick Schumacher finished Friday in penultimate place. Some changes and experiments on the car did not bring the hoped-for steps. Nevertheless, the 23-year-old remained optimistic and is aiming for the next points. “If we are in a good starting position and start from the top ten, then I see no reason why it could not work,” said Schumacher, adding: “The race here is usually pretty boring.”
12:41
Aston Martin lacks the pace
Once again the Aston Martin drivers lined up outside the top ten on Friday. Sebastian Vettel and team-mate Lance Stroll finished 13th and 15th and will probably primarily be fighting for a place in Q2 later in qualifying. Vettel does not expect a performance explosion. “I think we’re similar to Austria in terms of our position in the field,” explained the Heppenheimer, adding: “It’s not a huge leap, but that wasn’t to be expected either.”
12:34
Setback for Sainz
However, Carlos Sainz will have to tackle tomorrow’s race with a handicap. After major engine damage at the Austrian Grand Prix, new control electronics were installed in the Spaniard’s car, meaning that he had to drop ten places on the starting grid on Sunday. Ferrari will probably swap the rest of the drive as the weekend progresses, meaning Sainz will start from the back.
12:26
Ferrari ahead on Friday
Yesterday, Friday, both Ferrari drivers dominated the time table. Carlos Sainz had secured the best time of 1:32.527 minutes in the second practice session, around a tenth of a second faster than his team-mate Charles Leclerc. Competitor Max Verstappen in the Red Bull followed with a respectable gap of more than half a second. “It was definitely a positive Friday. I didn’t do many laps with little fuel, but every lap was quite competitive,” Sainz said with satisfaction afterwards.
Welcome to the 3rd training
Hello and welcome to the 3rd Formula 1 practice session at Le Castellet. From 1:00 p.m. the track will be open for one last test before qualifying!