The cancellation of Friday’s practice sessions meant FP3 was the only opportunity for the drivers to get their eye in ahead of qualifying. It was a sunny but chilly afternoon as the teams got down to business. 

Lance Stroll did not take part in FP3 as he was feeling unwell. Racing Point said ‘’Lance Stroll is not feeling 100% this morning and will therefore not participate in FP3. His condition will be assessed after the session to evaluate whether he is fit to drive, at which point the team will confirm plans for Quali.’’ 

Sergio Perez posted the first decent time with a 1:32.337. Max Verstappen soon beat that on a 1:30.576 as the Dutchman stormed to the top of the charts seven minutes in; he lowered that to a 1:28.866 soon after.  

Verstappen was ahead of Albon, Ocon, Perez and Norris with ten minutes gone in the session. Mercedes looked to be focusing on longer runs early on as both drivers were down in the lower part of the top 10.  

Sebastian Vettel had a spin on the exit of turn 14 as his difficulties with the SF1000 continued.  

Chilly conditions + re-learning track = a little pirouette for Seb 🔃#EifelGP 🇩🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/GCb0HkBjqT

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 10, 2020

Verstappen led Albon, Ocon, Perez and Ricciardo at the halfway point of the session. Bottas and Hamilton found themselves in P9 and P13 respectively following the opening runs.  

Esteban Ocon was the first of the big runners to bolt on a set of softs and logged a 1:27.634 to go a second clear of the field. Lando Norris beat the Frenchman by 0.003s not long after, despite nearly binning it on the exit of the final corner. 

George Russell lost it on the damp kerbs on the exit of the final chicane. Luckily for the Brit, a lot of grass run-off meant he did not hit the barriers.  

Russell gets swapped up coming out of the chicane, and surfs across the turf#EifelGP 🇩🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/YG4yFfxyf8

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 10, 2020

Mercedes started to show their true pace as the session went on as Bottas and Hamilton went P1 and P3 on the softs, with Verstappen splitting the two title contenders. +0.221 covered the front three. 

Ricciardo, Albon, Norris, Ocon, Leclerc, Gasly and Sainz rounded out the top 10 after all the runners had completed their first soft tyre runs. 

Bottas battered his own time on his second new soft tyre attempt as the Finn put in a 1:26.225. It ended up as the fastest time of FP3.  

Nicholas Latifi went for a spin in the final corner as the Williams driver brought out the yellow flags. Lewis Hamilton was forced to abandon his lap because of that after going fastest in the first sector.  

Latifi just about escapes the gravel at the final corner after a brief spin 👀#EifelGP 🇩🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/xZwYCBWvaf

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 10, 2020

Hamilton eventually got a time in, 0.136s adrift of Bottas. Leclerc, Verstappen and Vettel completed the top 5 as Ferrari had a strong session in the very cool conditions. 

Norris, Perez, Ricciardo, Albon and Gasly rounded out the top 10 following an intriguing session.