The final practice session at Silverstone was actually over after just 30 minutes. Because a few minutes before half-time it started to rain, so from then on it was no longer possible to improve the times. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) secured the best time of 1:27.419 minutes, ahead of Alexander Albon (Williams / +0.173) and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin / +0.365).
The result of the third free practice session at the 2023 British Grand Prix is only representative to a limited extent. Because when the rain started, not everyone had done a fast lap with little fuel. The two Red Bulls, for example, had not yet completed a lap on the soft tyres. Max Verstappen (+0.847) finished eighth and Sergio Perez (+1.485) 14th.
When the first umbrellas were opened, almost all drivers came to the pits. Only Leclerc insisted on continuing with the red Pirelli: “I’m not taking any risks, but I’m staying out.” Presumably to take the experience with me on a half-wet track. After all, it could definitely rain again this weekend.
Fourth was Pierre Gasly (Alpine / +0.474), fifth Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes / +0.529). When the seven-time world champion briefly set the best time, cheers erupted at Silverstone. But that was stifled just moments later when Leclerc went half a second faster on the same tyres. At least on the fast individual lap, Mercedes seems to be behind.
Then the rain started. “Amazingly, it’s not that bad. It’s worst in turn 7,” reported Lando Norris (McLaren) on the pit radio. Incidentally, Norris (12./+1.144) was already the subject of an investigation at the time. According to the FIA monitor, the reason for this was a “pit lane incident”.
At the beginning of the session, Norris drove out of the pits. At the end of the pit lane, he stopped to one side. A McLaren mechanic rushed over and pulled an object out of its rear. It is not known what it was about. It is quite possible that a warning will be issued for this.
No improvement after rain started
With 20 minutes to go, Norris was the first brave enough to switch from intermediates back to slicks. Improving the times was out of the question: “It’s raining a bit again,” he reported on the radio – and clearly had trouble keeping the car on the track in some corners.
Meanwhile, the Williams team again delivered a strong performance. Not only with Albon in 2nd place, but also with Logan Sargeant (+0.732) in 7th place. However, the session did not go smoothly for the American. He reported on the pit radio: “Guys, something has flown and I can feel incredibly hot air flowing onto my arm!”
Sargeant later clarified that the airflow was on the left side and he was asked by his team to pit to fix the problem. After Albon’s concerns at the beginning, the Williams team had the second small breakdown in the last 60 minutes before qualifying.
At Albon, Williams had been working on the car until shortly before the start of practice. The team reported an electrical issue that needed repair. But just eight minutes after the start of the session, Albon was able to go out on the track and record his programme. Alfa Romeo and Haas hadn’t left the pits yet.
Nico Hulkenberg (19th/6.171) is someone who usually does well in cool and damp conditions. Only Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo), who was not able to go out on the track, was worse placed than the Haas driver. Zhou’s car was jacked up in the pits, presumably due to a technical problem.