Last Updated: 02/07/22 1:35 PM
Max Verstappen was dominant in practice three at Silverstone
World championship leader Max Verstappen produced a dominant performance in final practice at the British GP to establish himself as the clear favorite for pole in Silverstone qualifying.
Unexpectedly off the pace during Friday practice, Red Bull produced a major show of strength on Saturday morning as Verstappen looked to be in a league of his own, finishing more than 0.4s clear of team-mate Sergio Perez in second place.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was narrowly behind Perez in third, with Mercedes duo George Russell and Lewis Hamilton a further tenth behind in fourth and fifth respectively, ahead of Carlos Sainz.
After a wet opening practice session on Friday with limited running, a dry P2 saw Sainz narrowly on top of Hamilton, leading to hope that the seven-time world champion could claim his first win of the season.
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Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz are still experiencing porpoises with their cars in final practice for the British Grand Prix.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz are still experiencing porpoises with their cars in final practice for the British Grand Prix.
Those hopes remained intact during the opening 20 minutes of Practice Three as Mercedes and Ferrari looked strong, but then Verstappen came out of his garage.
The Dutchman, who goes into tomorrow’s race with a 46-point world championship lead over team-mate Sergio Perez after winning five of the last six races, immediately went almost half a second off Leclerc’s leading time.
Hamilton gave Mercedes further cause for optimism as he closed to within 0.1s of Verstappen in his significantly upgraded Silver Arrow, before Leclerc got within two centimeters of the Red Bull.
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Charles Leclerc exited the Silverstone circuit in his Ferrari during the final practice session before recovering.
Charles Leclerc exited the Silverstone circuit in his Ferrari during the final practice session before recovering.
However, Verstappen would then respond with another strong effort as his 1:27.901 took him back to a margin of almost half a second.
In another blow for Ferrari and Mercedes, Perez finished second in the closing stages to leave Red Bull in complete control ahead of qualifying, which is broadcast live on Sky Sports at 3pm.
“Obviously they had a lot on their hands, and they knew it too, and they didn’t show it until the end,” former F1 world champion Damon Hill said after the session.
The biggest threat to Verstappen’s bid for pole may prove to be the weather, with rain forecast during qualifying.
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We catch up with McLaren driver Lando Norris during third practice at the British Grand Prix.
We catch up with McLaren driver Lando Norris during third practice at the British Grand Prix.
However, as demonstrated during Act Three, when the rains were expected but never came, the weather at Silverstone is far from predictable.
Lando Norris provided further cause for celebration among the throngs of British fans in attendance, with the McLaren driver sealing his place as ‘best of the rest’ in seventh.
Valtteri Bottas was eighth for Alfa Romeo, with Mick Schumacher’s Haas and Fernando Alonso’s Alpine completing the top 10.
