Spanish Grand Prix – Free Practice 3: Mercedes on top, Ocon in the wall

The intense August heat during the last free practice session before the qualifying does not affect Mercedes’ dominance, with Hamilton leading in 1:17.222, putting the other teams more than 5 tenths behind.

The first car on the track is Norris, who took advantage of a clear track to set an initial time on medium tires at 1:19.620. He will be the only driver to set a timed lap during the first quarter-hour of the session. The cars don’t need to drive intensely on a circuit they know very well and remain in the pits.

After 20 minutes of the session, all the drivers are on the track. Bottas takes the lead with a 1:17.971 ahead of Hamilton with 1:18.324 and Leclerc with 1:18.950. Despite their very good practice session yesterday, the Haas cars are only 17th and 18th halfway through the session. In contrast, the AlphaTauris are performing well, occupying 4th and 5th places.

As the teams prepare for the qualifiers, Sainz records the second-fastest time in 1:18.046, just +0.075s off Bottas’s best time until the latter improved to 1:17.373. The McLarens are performing well on this track.

10 minutes before the end of the session, lap times are improving. Hamilton takes the lead with 1:17.222, Verstappen takes 3rd place with 1:17.737, Perez 5th with 1:18.096 ahead of Leclerc, Gasly, Stroll, Albon, and Riccardo to complete this top 10.

It’s very complicated for the drivers to prepare a flying lap but also to finish it. The cars pile up in the last corners, and the traffic prevents many drivers from improving, particularly for Ocon. The French driver made a mistake at the end of the session in turn 3, caught off guard by Magnussen, who was positioned in the middle of the track. Thinking he was on a fast lap, Ocon let the Danish driver pass, who suddenly braked. In trying to avoid him, the Frenchman ended up hitting the inside wall. The incident has been placed under investigation by the stewards.