Canadian Grand Prix – Free Practice 3: The best time for Lewis Hamilton

For the first time this weekend, the final practice session began on a dry track. At the green light, it was the two Red Bulls, Sergio Perez followed by Max Verstappen, who were the first to set off. The rest of the grid did not take long to follow suit.

Red flag

Just a few minutes after the start of the session, Guanyu Zhou loses control of his single-seater at the exit of the first turn, causing a red flag. After just a few minutes, the track comes back to life. Everyone is completing laps. With slick tires, lap times are getting faster compared to yesterday.

Valtteri Bottas and Alex Albon go off track, without consequences. After twenty minutes of driving, Fernando Alonso, with his hard tires, holds the best time in 1:14:870 ahead of Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, both on mediums. The track continues to improve, the Spaniard, noticeably in great shape since yesterday, quickly beats his own time by gaining four milliseconds.

Perez and Leclerc in difficulty

Meanwhile, Sergio Perez is complaining about the grip. The Mexican driver is struggling and is in second-to-last position, more than three seconds behind his teammate.

If there is no rain today, it is the turn of the wind to make an appearance. Hamilton reports some gusts on the track. At the top of the timesheet, we now find Daniel Ricciardo in second place followed by Lance Stroll, a native of the stage who has to make up for the failed weekend in Monaco.

At mid-session, some drivers start to put on the soft tires. Logan Sargeant even finds himself at the top of the leaderboard in 1:14.279.

Charles Leclerc is experiencing discomfort with his brakes. The Monegasque driver is only showing the 17th fastest time. However, these times do not mean much during the practice sessions since teams do not work with the same settings or the same fuel level in the car, for example.

The last quarter of an hour is calmer, the teams focus on long relays to get into the conditions of the Grand Prix and find the most optimal settings. On his last lap, Max Verstappen just brushes the wall of champions. He certainly lives up to his name. Located at the final corner, before the pit straight, this spot could well provide some spectacle on Sunday.

The timetable