The final practice session in Barcelona was a wet affair for the Formula 1 drivers, with rain hampering their chance to improve their lap times. However, it did not stop Max Verstappen from setting the fastest time of the session, making it a clean sweep for the Dutch driver after topping all three practice sessions.
🏁⏱️#SpanishGP 🇪🇸 FP3 results by driver:
— Racing Union (@TheRacingUnion) June 3, 2023
1. VERSTAPPEN (1:13.664)
2. Perez (+ 0.250)
3. Hamilton(+ 0.408) #F1 pic.twitter.com/hkgGtRKNMK
Verstappen's time of 1m 13.664s set early in the session proved unbeatable, with his teammate Sergio Perez finishing second with a gap of 0.250s. Lewis Hamilton made an improvement from yesterday, finishing third fastest and just over four-tenths off the pace of Verstappen.
Carlos Sainz delighted his home crowd by finishing fourth fastest, ahead of Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin. George Russell continued his impressive form with a sixth-place finish for Mercedes, while Charles Leclerc finished seventh for Ferrari.
Despite heavy rain pouring down on the track after the red flag caused by Logan Sargeant's crash, a few drivers tried their luck with intermediates. Lando Norris was the first to venture out followed by Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.
Valtteri Bottas finished eighth fastest for Alfa Romeo, ahead of Yuki Tsunoda in ninth place for AlphaTauri. Lando Norris rounded out the top ten for McLaren.
Nyck de Vries had a solid session finishing in 12th place for AlphaTauri, ahead of Lance Stroll who briefly ran through the gravel after going wide at Turn 5 in the wet conditions. Nico Hulkenberg finished 14th fastest for Haas, while rookie driver Oscar Piastri finished 15th for McLaren.
Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly finished 16th and 18th respectively for Alpine and AlphaTauri, but they set their fastest times on the medium tyre when compared to the rest of the grid on the softs.
Kevin Magnussen finished 17th for Haas, ahead of Alex Albon in 19th, while Logan Sargeant finished at the bottom of the timesheet for Williams.
The rain-affected FP3 might have given us a glimpse of what we could expect in qualifying later today. The weather forecast predicts a clear sky during qualifying, making it an exciting battle between Red Bull and Mercedes for pole position. Verstappen's consistent dominance in all three practice sessions certainly puts him as the favourite to claim pole position, but Hamilton and Perez will be eager to give him a tough fight.
As we head into the first European race of the season, it seems that Red Bull has an edge over Mercedes. But with just a few tenths separating the top three drivers, qualifying could be anyone's game.
🏁⏱️#SpanishGP 🇪🇸 FP3 results by team:
— Racing Union (@TheRacingUnion) June 3, 2023
1. Red Bull (1:13.907)
2. Mercedes (+ 0.408)
3. Ferrari (+ 0.576)
4. Aston Martin (+ 0.600)
5. Alfa Romeo (+ 0.696)
6. AlphaTauri (+ 0.995)
7. McLaren (+ 1.017)
8. Haas (+ 1.324)
9. Alpine (+ 1.602)
10. Williams (+ 2.187)#F1 pic.twitter.com/Twa4aFunOu
