Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – Free Practice 3: Bearman for a first, Verstappen comfortably in the lead

The standout moment of this third practice session was certainly Oliver Bearman making his debut in the Ferrari. Carlos Sainz, suffering from appendicitis, had to be replaced by the young British driver, who will become the youngest driver in history to start a Grand Prix with Ferrari, at just 18 years and 10 months old.

In the first part of the session, the majority of teams worked with the soft red tires. While Red Bull appears to be fast, it is worth noting the interesting work of the Ferrari drivers on the yellow compound, with Charles Leclerc being very assertive and setting the fastest time midway through the session. Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen, on the other hand, on the red tires, show a strong pace by being among the top positions after half an hour of running. However, with 20 minutes remaining in the session, Max Verstappen sets a superb lap time that puts Charles Leclerc nearly 8 tenths behind, and the rest of the field over a second behind.

Red flag

However, the session is interrupted with 17 minutes remaining after a violent off-track excursion by Guanyu Zhou between turns 7 and 8, as he was beginning a fast lap on the red compound tires. The Chinese driver emerges unscathed from the crash. The session resumes with 5 minutes left on the clock, with the focus on the soft compound tires.

In the final qualifying run, drivers gain confidence in their cars. Leclerc closes the gap with Verstappen but the Dutchman sets the fastest lap. Oliver Bearman narrowly avoids going off track on his last quick lap.

Mercedes, McLaren, and Aston Martin finished in the top 10 but remain relatively far from the leaders in Free Practice 3. Alpine, making progress, may have a chance to reach Q2 in qualifying. Stay tuned from 6:00 PM.

The ranking of Free Practice 3 for the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix of Formula 1