Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc resumed his standing as the fastest man at the Russian Grand Prix by topping FP3 by three tenths of a second from Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel. Charles traded P1 with Max Verstappen on Friday, but the Dutchman faded from single-lap contention in Saturday’s early session and saw a soft-tyre lap spoiled by a pair of mistakes.
Verstappen went airborne after going over the kerbs and then spun later in the lap, kissing the barriers with his rear wing, to prompt a change ahead of qualifying.
Both Verstappen and team-mate Alexander Albon will serve five-place grid penalties.
It remains to be seen if Mercedes can take the fight to Ferrari in qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton lamenting over team radio that a gap of 1.1 seconds to Charles Leclerc was insurmountable. Ferrari have taken the last three pole positions, with Leclerc on pole at every race since the summer break. Leclerc won the races in Belgium and Italy before Vettel took first place last week in Singapore.
Full results from third practice for the Russian Grand Prix at Sochi Autodrom, round 16 of the 2019 Formula 1 season.
2019 FORMULA 1 RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX – FREE PRACTICE 3 RESULTS
1 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari 1m32.733s
2 Sebastian Vettel GER Scuderia Ferrari + 0.316s
3 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport + 0.396s
4 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport + 0.621s
5 Max Verstappen NED Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Honda + 1.494s
6 Romain Grosjean FRA Haas F1 Team + 1.579s
7 Alexander Albon THA Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Honda + 1.638s
8 Nico Hulkenberg GER Renault F1 Team + 1.688s
9 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team + 1.794s
10 Kevin Magnussen DEN Haas F1 Team + 1.813s
11 Pierre Gasly FRA Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda + 1.831s
12 Daniel Ricciardo AUS Renault F1 Team + 1.853s
13 Carlos Sainz ESP McLaren F1 Team + 1.874s
14 Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Alfa Romeo Racing + 2.033s
15 Sergio Perez MEX SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team + 2.127s
16 Lance Stroll CAN SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team + 2.165s
17 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Racing + 2.991s
18 George Russell GBR ROKiT Williams Racing + 3.278s
19 Daniil Kvyat RUS Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda + 3.348s
20 Robert Kubica POL ROKiT Williams Racing + 4.209s
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