Leclerc tops Red Flag-riddled final practice

Cementing the Italian outfit as a threat for pole position, Charles Leclerc drove his Ferrari to the top of the timesheets during the final hour of practice at the British Grand Prix, marginally outpacing Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen ahead of Qualifying. 

With the sunny conditions now a distant memory, the final hour of practice was overshadowed by a brief delay, with track marshals scrambling to sweep the track clear of excessive tyre marbles that had piled up in the wake of FP3 action.

When the green light finally illuminated the pitlane, the drivers showed no signs of rushing, with just Aston Martin and Alpine gracing Silverstone Circuit during the first ten minutes of the session.

Home hero Lewis Hamilton joined the midfield teams as the minutes ticked by, expectedly rising to the top of the four-car-strong order with a soft tyre time of 1:27.351s — battling understeer as he navigated the 18 corners.

After 15 minutes of patience, the British crowd was finally treated to some track action when the rest of the field headed out onto the gusty track, with the C4 the most popular choice for the opening stint in FP3.

It was a lacklustre start to Oscar Piastri’s final hour of practice, with the #81 instantly finding himself at a one-second deficit to the fastest opening run when he crossed the line for the first time.

After spending a few extra minutes in the garage between runs, Piastri emerged from the pitlane with a heavy coat of flow-vis on the right front of his MCL39. 

Setting off on the lap, the Australian was instantly three-tenths down on the benchmark pace before crossing the line with a time of 1:26.707s, leaving him in a plain P6.

The McLaren driver was quick to return to the pitlane, emerging fresh-faced as he set the timesheets alight with 20 minutes remaining.

Warming up with two personal bests through Sectors 1 and 2, the final sector was a standout for the Australian who skyrocketed to the top of the table with a time of 1:25.566s, edging out his teammate by just 0.040s to lead a momentary McLaren 1-2. 

That lap remained the Australian’s fastest of the hour, with two Red Flag interruptions ruining the flow of the last 10 minutes of practice. 

Liam Lawson was the last driver to leave the pitlane to start his FP3 campaign, testing the hard compound tyre for the first time this weekend.

With a time of 1:27.788s, Lawson moved into P14 to start an opening bout of race simulations, while his teammate lapped with the top ten to start the hour.

The Kiwi continued to set personal best sectors across the remainder of his first stint, before he found himself engaging in an unnecessary duel with Pierre Gasly.

Cutting in front of and coming ever-so-close to the Alpine driver through Turns 7 and 8, Lawson was noted for driving erratically and was ultimately handed a black and white flag for his actions.

Resetting ahead of his soft tyre run, Lawson charged around the 5.89km track to record an opening time of 1:26.256s.

That lap rewarded the #30 with a slot in the top ten, however, it left him one-tenth back on his RB teammate.

Lawson wasn’t able to get another undisrupted run in as the backend of FP3 was plagued by two Red Flags, leaving the Kiwi with a lack of C4 knowledge heading into Qualifying.

As for the rest of the field, the first round of flying laps led to a top three comprised of Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, with the three fast-paced drivers separated by just 0.035s.

Leclerc launched again, instantly blowing that margin out of the water as he put over half a second between himself and the Dutchman with a standout time of 1:25.922s, before returning to the garage where the Ferrari mechanics had a thorough look under the #16 engine cover.  

Meanwhile, the McLaren duo were miles off the pace in P5 and P6, trailing the Ferrari driver’s pace by almost eight-tenths as they struggled to match their Friday improvements.

Traffic was once again an issue across the board, with Max Verstappen offering Pierre Gasly a sarcastic thumbs up while Alex Albon had some choice words for a slow-moving Lance Stroll.

Rain also became a minor imposition, with Leclerc reporting light drops at Turn 9, however, not enough to cause a bother on the slick tyre. 

When the #4 and #81 returned to the circuit, their earlier woes had gone out the window as they lit up the timesheets, trading purple sectors on their way into P1 and P2.

Piastri crossed the line as the quicker of the two McLarens, and remained safe from Verstappen’s attack on the following lap as the Dutchman split the teammates, leading to a top three separated by just 0.040s.

But, once again, that didn’t last long when Leclerc set a purple middle sector to aid his journey back to P1 moments before a brief Red Flag was called for debris from Ollie Bearman’s Haas lying on track at Stowe corner. 

The drivers queued in the pitlane in anticipation of the green light, making it out on track before a second Red Flag quickly brought the session to a premature end. 

Two separate incidents kickstarted a race against the clock for both Sauber and Haas, with Gabriel Bortoleto’s front suspension crumbling under the unfamiliar rearwards load as he spun across the bumpy grass run-off.

His stricken Sauber brought out the Red Flags, sparking a domino effect for Ollie Bearman, whose cold brakes caused him to spin into the barriers as he unwisely attacked the pit entry, gaining the attention of the stewards, who noted the rookie for a Red Flag infringement. 

The teams will have just over two hours to prepare their challengers for the all-important Qualifying shootout, which, following FP3’s marginal differences, could see any driver from the top four teams claiming pole position. 

The first competitive session of the weekend will kick off at 00:00 AEST.

Image: Scuderia Ferrari

Free Practice 3 Results:

2025 British Grand Prix Schedule:

Friday, July 04:

FP1: 21:30 – 22:30

Saturday, July 05:

FP2: 01:00 – 02:00

FP3: 20:30 – 21:30

Sunday, July 06:

Qualifying: 00:00 – 01:00

Monday, July 07:

Race: 00:00

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