F1 | Portuguese GP | A red-flagged FP3 ends with Bottas ahead
A drain cover came loose so the session ended earlier. Bottas is once again the leader, followed up by Hamilton and Verstappen.
Here we are with the third session of Free Practices in Portimao . It is a well-known fact that, if the first two sessions can be more unpredictable, when it comes to the third, we are having almost a preview of the qualifying. The teams have had time to know the circuit and plan a correct strategy, such as the drivers could learn how to drive on it.
For Portimao , the portrait could be quite different. Most of the drivers had never raced there before, it came in the 2020 schedule unexpectedly, so the sim didn't have the circuit either and they could practice less than usual. However, both fans and drivers are getting used to these news, the only breath of fresh air in a Formula 1 in which the results had been already written right from the start.
This session had to stop early because a drain cover came loose and it arrived a red flag to stop the laps. At this point, the commission decided that it was useless to restart the session, with just 5 minutes left.
The results, however, are unchanged from the other races. The two Mercedeses are still ahead, with Valtteri Bottas leading the way and concluding the lap faster than his teammate Lewis Hamilton.
The third place is just as predictable. Once again, the first rival of the Silver Arrow is the Red Bull, precisely Max Verstappen’s one.
The fourth position has been conquered by Pierre Gasly on his Alpha Tauri. The Frenchman just had his strongest FP3 result and he is showing off pretty greatly to get his second chance in the major team. Alex Albon, on the other hand, finished right at Gasly’s back, in fifth place, followed up by Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque could have gained a better position as the pace was pretty good but a ruined set of tyres played against him so he had to feel content for his sixth position. In seventh positon here it goes Carlos Sainz, bringing his McLaren in another good position. His teammate Lando Norris was nearly as good, finishing ninth, with Sergio Perez in the middle of the two teammates. Esteban Ocon , who outlaps Sebastian Vettel, only eleventh, takes the last position in the top ten.
The full FP3 rundown 👀 #PortugueseGP 🇵🇹 # F1 pic.twitter.com/AWxfb8MUu7
- Formula 1 (@ F1) October 24, 2020
