Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas stayed on top in third practice session in F1 Chinese GP from Ferrari duo Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc.
Bottas set a 1m32.860s to end FP3 on top in F1 Chinese GP as the Finn kept Mercedes ahead when a red flag ended the session early by nearly six minutes after a heavy shunt for Toro Rosso’s Alexander Albon in the final corner.
The Finn managed to beat the Ferrari duo with Vettel (1m33.222s) in second and Leclerc (1m33.248s) third. The German though went wide on his quick lap on the soft compound in the final lap which cost him few tenths to go quicker than his set time.
While Bottas set the pace, teammate Lewis Hamilton (1m33.689s) had a tough time to be only fourth after couple of mistakes on his quick lap. It was a good show outside the Top 4 from Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg (1m33.974s) in fifth.
He headed Alfa Romeo Racing’s Kimi Raikkonen (1m34.246s) with Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen (1m34.447s) only seventh after the Dutchman couldn’t do another quick lap due to an early end. McLaren’s Carlos Sainz (1m34.510s) was eighth from Albon.
The Thai racer had set a solid time of 1m34.600s and was looking to improve on his final lap when he crashed out. Coming in hot, Albon skidded onto the astro-turf and lost control to hit the barriers hard – it is unlikely that his car will be prepared in time for qualifying.
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Despite the hit, Albon managed to finish ahead of Daniil Kvyat (1m34.783s) with the Russian completing the Top 10 as McLaren’s Lando Norris (1m34.938s) just missed on the slot in 11th. The British also had a sketchy moment in the final corner.
Racing Point’s Sergio Perez (1m35.078s) slotted in 12th from Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo (1m35.142s) with the Australian not able to improve on his final quick lap due to the crash, same as Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly (1m35.326s) in 14th.
The Frenchman’s quick time was registered on the medium compound. Between Ricciardo and Gasly was Racing Point’s Lance Stroll (1m35.223s) in 13th. After issues on Friday, Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi (1m35.726s) had a better run in 16th.
The F1 1000 weekend for Haas continued to be difficult with Romain Grosjean (1m35.771s) in 17th from teammate Kevin Magnussen (1m35.98s) as Williams duo George Russell (1m36.124s) and Robert Kubica (1m36.176s) rounded the 20 runners.
Check out what happened in Chinese GP FP1 and FP2
What the teams and drivers said after Friday
Here’s what teams and drivers have done for Race 1000
China will host first F1 Fan Festival of 2019, here’s an official poster for 1000th race
