Norris pips Piastri in FP3 as Qualifying showdown looms

Lando Norris closed out the final practice session at Imola with the fastest time, outpacing Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen as the stage gets set for a thrilling Qualifying showdown.

Despite having just one hour of practice remaining ahead of a decisive Qualifying session, it was a quiet start to FP3 at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.

Lando Norris was alone in his choice to exit his garage when the light went green, having the entire Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari to himself while he conducted a single outlap on the hard compound tyre before returning to the pitlane where his rivals were yet to set foot in their respective cockpits. 

The track was predominantly empty for the first 15 minutes of the session, with Lewis Hamilton the first to record an official time in front of Ferrari’s home crowd.

Liam Lawson was among the first few drivers to grace the old-school circuit, heading out on the medium compound tyre to launch his FP3 campaign. 

Recording an initial time of 1:17.337s, the Kiwi had a lot of pace to find during the remaining 45 minutes of the session — a mission he got straight into as he shaved seven-tenths off on the next lap.

It wasn’t completely smooth sailing for the RB driver, with Lawson spinning on the exit of Turn 3 in a moment similar to that of his teammate’s FP2-ending incident yesterday, seeing him limping home with major flat spots.

When it came time for his soft tyre runs, the #30 settled into P13, one second off the benchmark pace, but more significantly four-tenths behind his teammate.

The Kiwi returned to the pitlane, taking a breather before he rejoined the session to complete his final practice start on the grid.

Lawson ended FP3 with a fastest time of 1:15.977s, leaving him with room to improve as Qualifying rapidly approaches.

After 20 minutes of watching and waiting, Oscar Piastri launched for the first time on Saturday with the medium tyre at his disposal. 

He charged through his initial attempt, crossing the line as the fastest driver after a purple middle sector guided him to a top time of 1:15.833s, however, as Max Verstappen and Lando Norris followed on track, the Australian was soon demoted to P3. 

The Australian returned to the pitlane, dropping down the order while absent from the action.

When he rejoined the session, Qualifying simulations were a top priority for the #81 as he launched on the C6 tyre, however, an error at Turn 13 forced Piastri to abort his first attempt. 

Recovering on his next tour of the 4.9km circuit, Piastri jumped into the top three with a time of 1:15.273s, however, there was room for improvement after sector times reflected a combination of yellow and green. 

Battling his way through dust kicked up by Lewis Hamilton, Piastri improved on his next run to sit one-tenth behind his benchmark-holding teammate.

His time of 1:14.997s remained his fastest through to the chequered flag, allowing him to keep P2 while McLaren ended with a third 1-2 finish in practice to complete a clean sweep in Imola.

As for the rest of the field, Hamilton’s choice of being the first to jump reflected on the early timesheets as he continued to improve on the C5, gaining and holding onto the benchmark ahead of the soft tyre runners before the top three drivers in the WDC had their say.

It was expected to see both McLarens and Verstappen running within the top three — Isack Hadjar less so as he set a surprise benchmark of 1:15.508s.

At the halfway mark of the session, however, the Dutchman had reinstated his place in the lead, with Norris one-tenth slower as a lull fell over the circuit.

Hadjar was soon faced with a shock of his own when he attempted a practice start at the pit exit, forced to slam on the brakes after failing to spot Carlos Sainz in the fast lane. 

Meanwhile, Qualifying simulations kicked off on track, and errors were frequent.

Russell was the first to run wide, faulting his Mercedes at Turns 14 and 15 as he admitted “ride is definitely a bit worse” than yesterday, while Hamilton struggled to get his SF25 to respond as he missed the apex at the same sequence.

The Ferrari driver later kicked up dust at the final kink, running wide and requesting that his team check over his floor as the session came to a close. 

The greatest moment came at Tamburello, however, with Norris making his mechanics wince when he bounced his way through the gravel trap at speed, returning to the pitlane for a check over of his own despite sitting pretty in P1.

The entire field made their way back out onto the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari to complete a final practice start on the grid, taking the chequered flag ahead of the all-important qualifying session. 

The timesheets reflected Norris as the fastest driver of the hour, leading over his teammate and Max Verstappen, while the local boy from Bologna gave the crowd something to cheer for when Kimi Antonelli completed a late charge that earned him fourth in FP3.

The order will reset ahead of Qualifying, with the hour shootout kicking off at 00:00 AEST. 

Image: McLaren

Free Practice 3 Results: 

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