British trio top final practice at Silverstone

It was an all-British top three in the final practice session at the British Grand Prix, with the Mercedes duo leading Lando Norris in the wet FP3 session ahead of qualifying.

After the earlier Formula 3 Sprint Race was postponed due to the wet conditions, an 80% chance of rain for FP3 was still hanging around the Silverstone Circuit.

To combat the damp 5.9km track, the intermediate tyre was the only choice for the tricky conditions. 

Despite leaving the paddock yesterday full of hope that his team would solve the tyre loading issues he faced in FP2, the early timing sheets didn’t reflect much improvement.

With the wet conditions of course playing a factor in the lack of pace, Ricciardo’s opening time in FP3 was well off the benchmark.

Following the Red Flag, Ricciardo found himself sitting all the way back in P17.

The positional loss wasn’t the only thing weighting on the #3’s mind after the delay, with Ricciardo being noted and now under investigation for his behaviour in the pitlane, oddly weaving to supposedly test his steering while travelling next to the bustling slow-lane.

In the opening half of the session, the Australian sat four-tenths ahead of his teammate, a feat that he soon lost when Yuki Tsunoda promoted himself one place above Ricciardo.

The Australian couldn’t reverse the team order, remaining at the backend of the field as the conditions worsened.

He finished the final practice session in P18, with his fastest lap of all 28 he completed being a 1:40.823s.

As for Oscar Piastri, the McLaren driver was engaged in a tight-knit exchange for the top three places, running closely with Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull across the hour session.

Starting and remaining on the intermediate tyre for FP3, Piastri’s opening time of the session was flat, however, those that followed rewarded him well.

On his second trip around the 5.9km circuit, Piastri promoted himself into the top three.

He went one better on his next lap, recording the then-second fastest time of the session being a 1:39.929s.

As the weather picked up, Piastri dropped down the order.

Sitting 1.9 seconds behind the benchmark, he improved by eight-tenths, however, that was only quick enough for P7 by the chequered flag.

On his out-lap, Max Verstappen made evident how difficult the conditions were, even for a three-time world champion, as he completed a 360 through Brooklands.

That was far from the worst of the early incidents, however, with Pierre Gasly causing a Red Flag just 10 minutes into FP3.

The Alpine driver struggled to turn his intermediate tyres on, succumbing to the lack of grip as he ended his session beached in the gravel trap at Vale. 

It was a quick five-minute recovery of the A524, with the session getting back underway with 45 minutes remaining. 

The next few laps that followed were centred around the processes of tyre warm-up as drivers worked together to build a drying line. 

Once all drivers had set an opening time on the intermediates, it was Charles Leclerc who held the fastest overall time, eight-tenths ahead of Verstappen. 

Moments later, the order had completely rejigged itself, with the home hero Lewis Hamilton raising the bar to 1:39.546s.

As the halfway point of the final hour arrived, there had been a clear eight-way battle to bag the top time between the Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren drivers.

Although they were firmly occupying the top eight fastest lap times, it wasn’t smooth sailing.

Lando Norris had an off though Abbey, relying on the extra tarmac as he rejoined the track metres down the road.

Following a similar trend, Carlos Sainz had a big snap through Luffield, a moment he put down to both the damp conditions and a mid-corner radio exchange with the Ferrari pit wall.

Sliding around as heavier rain began to fall, Verstappen too found himself entering corners sideways, however, improving to P5.

As the conditions worsened, the timing sheets remained stagnant. 

To make evident how the wetter conditions were affecting late lap times, Sainz’s last-ditch time in the final five minutes was 1:42.214s, 4.6 seconds back on his personal best lap in FP3. 

Heading the order, it was a British 1-2-3 with George Russell leading his compatriots in the final 15 minutes.

His time of 1:37.529s was a slim 35 milliseconds ahead of his teammate, with Norris just under two-tenths back.

The entire field barring Gasly emerged for one final out-lap, taking the chequered flag before heading to the drenched grid, rounding out FP3 with a soggy practice start.

The conditions should slightly ease up for qualifying in a few hours’ time, however, the intermediate tyre will likely make an appearance in the first competitive session of the weekend.

Qualifying kicks off at Midnight.

Image: Sam Bagnall / LAT Images

Free Practice 3 Results:

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