The title fight between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton is getting hotter, and in the third RP of the Portuguese Grand Prix it was the Dutch who took over the boastful rights. Of course, practice doesn’t mean much, but it gives a good indication of what will follow in qualifying and the race. Verstappen set a 1: 18.489 to be the fastest of the session, with Hamilton on P2 with a time of 1: 18.725.
Valtteri Bottas finished the session in P3 after suffering 5th and 6th places for much of RP3. He was 0.02 seconds faster than Sergio Perez and while the battle between Verstappen and Hamilton for P1 could begin this “reserve driver” battle could be just as interesting.
Alpine look better:
After a daunting start to the 2021 season, Alpine appears to have made some improvements ahead of this weekend’s race. Esteban Ocon was the fastest halfway through the session with a time of 1: 19.672, and by the end of the third RP the Frenchman was in P5, facing Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari.
His teammate struggled by comparison when Fernando Alonso finished the session in 14th place. It was not an easy transition to Formula 1 for the two-time world champion.
However, he would have finished third with a 15-minute lead if he hadn’t cleared any lap time for course limits. So it’s clear that he’s got the pace.
However, given Ocon’s apparent speed, the French team are hoping they can put in a solid performance in Sunday’s race, as they did last year.
Ferrari fight for a podium?
It’s been an excellent start to 2021 for the dancing horses, and this weekend is expected to be another race to go their way. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz seem to have a great off-track relationship, and on the track they both impressed. Leclerc finished training in 6th place, and Sainz was only a short distance from his teammate in seventh place. He was outstanding here last year and took the lead of the race on lap two. He is hoping for a similar performance on Sunday.
Problems for Norris?
2021 has been a breeze for Lando Norris so far, but this weekend has been anything but easy so far. The young Brit is currently P3 in the drivers’ standings but Portimao has not treated him well so far. He finished FP2 in P12 and was in the lower ranks for much of FP3 before finishing in P8. He hopes qualifying will go a lot smoother. will he make it in Q3?
His team-mate Daniel Ricciardo looked faster than Norris, but actually ended the session behind the Briton in P12.
So far, so bad for Aston Martin:
After battling for P3 in the Constructors’ Championship under the name Racing Point last year, Aston Martin appears to have taken a step back this year, and it was shown in RP3.
Lance Stroll finished the session with a low P16, Sebastian Vettel with a P18. Even Stroll was almost half a second ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in P10, so they could face a fight to get out of the first quarter at all!
Alfa Romeo could compete:
With Raikkonen in 10th and Antonio Giovinazzi in 13th place, Alfa Romeo could fight for a place in the third quarter. It appears that roles have been reversed between Alfa and Aston Martin.
Mick Schumacher deals with F1:
The Haas newcomer is slowly getting used to his F1 car and the young driver finished 15th in FP3 ahead of both Aston Martin cars! His time of 1: 20.033 was almost two tenths faster than Vettel and over six tenths faster than his teammate Nikita Mazepin.
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