The FP3 session of the Canadian GP has officially concluded: Ferrari showed competitiveness both in race pace and in single-lap performance, while McLaren with Lando Norris confirmed their lead. Everything is set for the Canadian GP qualifying. The FP3 at Canada just ended, seeing McLaren return to the top with Lando Norris after yesterday’s struggles, while Ferrari appears to have found strong race pace and demonstrated competitiveness also over a flying lap. Oscar Piastri, instead, seemed to struggle more compared to his teammate.
First 30 minutes
Ferrari ran a split program between Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. When the green light went on, all teams waited a few minutes before heading out on track. Lance Stroll, Fernando Alonso, and Franco Colapinto were the first to start action on the Gilles Villeneuve circuit. Leclerc was the first Ferrari driver to begin work in FP3 to make up for lost time due to his crash yesterday. His first time on yellow tires was 1:15.004.
After 15 minutes from the start of the session, Lewis Hamilton launched his first timed lap, following a shorter program than his teammate, but he eased off due to traffic.
Oscar Piastri was unable to go beyond fourth position in his first timed lap. Teams focused on studying the yellow tires. Could they be the qualifying tires?
During his second flying lap, Piastri touched the Wall of Champions with his rear tire and debris from his McLaren on track forced the stewards to display the red flag to allow cleanup.
After the first 30 minutes, many drivers including Antonelli, Russell, and Verstappen had yet to set a first time.
Last 30 minutes
After the red flag, Charles Leclerc began a race pace simulation while most drivers continued work on qualifying simulations. Lando Norris, still on yellow tires, improved the times significantly. George Russell set the fastest time on red tires but was just 46 thousandths behind Norris. Max Verstappen, on soft tires, closed in on Russell and Norris times but finished third at best.
Charles Leclerc’s race pace appeared very competitive, although the unknown fuel load remains a question.
With 20 minutes remaining in FP3 at Canada, Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time (1:12.279) on yellow tires with 13 laps on them. Isack Hadjar spun, causing some concern.
Hamilton returned to track in the last 15 minutes on red tires but could not improve his time, shortly before Lando Norris set the fastest lap (1:11.799).
Yuki Tsunoda and Gabriel Bortoleto will be investigated at the end of the session for failing to respect the red flag.
Leave a Reply