With today’s qualifying in mind, the drivers completed their last practice session at the Austrian Grand Prix. In addition to the qualifying simulation rounds, the teams experimented with the Pirelli prototype tire presented for this weekend to work on their strategies.
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Max Verstappen stormed to the top of the timesheets by completing the only under 65-second lap of the session. However, both Mercedes drivers drove excellent laps and finished just behind the Dutchman and in front of Sergio Perez.
As the battle intensified at the top, Ferrari finished midfield before midfield to set a marker for the midfield challengers.
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Verstappen sizzles when Perez fights in FP3 at the Austrian Grand Prix
Although Mercedes dominated the second practice yesterday, Verstappen set fire to the track with the fastest lap of the practice. Although the Austrian team has an excellent car this season, Sergio Perez finished P7, almost a second behind his teammate.
Although Hamilton drove an impressive lap to fill the gap, that lap was canceled due to track limits. The Briton finished P3 behind his team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who set a flying lap to P2.
During the session, Sky Sports came into contact with Christian Horner. The Briton paid tribute to Hamilton for his contract extension and stated that talks with Perez will take place in due course.
While the battle for pole position appears to be between Verstappen and Hamilton, Bottas also appears to be a top contender.
AlphaTauri outshines the midfield competitors
Pierre Gasly drove a breathtaking lap, finishing P4 ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi. The Italian shocked the timesheets by finishing the session in P5, ahead of both Ferrari drivers.
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Carlos Sainz was on P6 ahead of Fernando Alonso, who finished an excellent P8. Charles Leclerc finished P9 to round off an impressive session for Ferrari, while Sebastian Vettel led Lance Stroll to finish P10 and P11 respectively.
Formula 1 F1 – Austrian Grand Prix – Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Styria, Austria – July 3, 2021 Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in training REUTERS / Leonhard Foeger
Although McLaren finished well behind Ferrari, Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo made great progress later in qualifying. Norris finished the session in P15 ahead of his Australian teammate who finished P16.
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In two hours of qualifying there could be some unexpected surprises on the grid. However, the battle for pole position appears to be between Verstappen and Hamilton.
The post Austrian GP FP3 report: Hamilton follows Verstappen hours after sealing the Mercedes F1 extension as qualifying winks first appeared on monter-une-startup.
