Austrian GP: Leclerc fastest again in FP3
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc pipped the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton to set the pace in the final Formula 1 practice session before qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix.
Leclerc was the only driver to lap below 1m04s at the Red Bull Ring as FP3 set up an enticing Ferrari vs Mercedes battle for pole position.
Bahrain poleman Leclerc had control of the 60-minute session throughout and enjoyed a comfortable advantage after the first runs.
His 1m04.275s left him almost four tenths clear of the lead Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas, who had a tiny advantage over Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen and Hamilton.
Bottas moved to the top of the times on his first flying lap on a second set of new soft tyres, eclipsing Leclerc’s time by half a tenth.
However, Leclerc improved twice on his second run and ended on a 1m03.987s – with his second lap, a 1m04.120s, also good enough for top spot.
Hamilton lapped 0.010s slower than Leclerc initially but ended the session 0.143s behind after failing to improve again.
He was a tenth clear of Bottas, with the second Ferrari of Vettel 0.263s slower than his teammate in fourth.
Verstappen slipped to fifth in the lead Red Bull although did not hook up his best sectors.
He was 0.459s slower than Leclerc after failing to improve in the final part of the lap on his first new-tyre run, and then aborting a quicker lap shortly after – complaining that “the changes we made are not good”.
Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Pierre Gasly had a troubled start to the session when he reported “really low power” and spent the opening phase of FP3 in the pits.
However, he emerged with enough time to completely two runs as normal, but ended up only seventh and 1.2s off the pace.
That gap allowed Lando Norris to split the Red Bulls in his McLaren, which was just within a second of Leclerc’s best – 0.999s off the pace.
His teammate Carlos Sainz Jr finished the session eighth-fastest, ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi’s Alfa Romeo and the Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat.
Half a second covered Sainz in eighth to Lance Stroll's Racing Point in 16th.
Haas endured a difficult session, with its cars 15th (Romain Grosjean) and 18th (Kevin Magnussen). The team also needs to change the gearbox on Magnussen's car before qualifying, which will hand the Dane a five-place grid penalty.
Session results
| Cla | # | Driver | Chassis | Engine | Laps | Time | Gap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 |  Charles Leclerc |  | Ferrari | Ferrari | 18 | 1'03.987 | |
| 2 | 44 |  Lewis Hamilton |  | Mercedes | Mercedes | 21 | 1'04.130 | 0.143 |
| 3 | 77 |  Valtteri Bottas | | Mercedes | Mercedes | 23 | 1'04.221 | 0.234 |
| 4 | 5 |  Sebastian Vettel | | Ferrari | Ferrari | 20 | 1'04.250 | 0.263 |
| 5 | 33 |  Max Verstappen |  | Red Bull | Honda | 18 | 1'04.446 | 0.459 |
| 6 | 4 | Lando Norris |  | McLaren | Renault | 19 | 1'04.986 | 0.999 |
| 7 | 10 |  Pierre Gasly | | Red Bull | Honda | 15 | 1'05.152 | 1.165 |
| 8 | 55 |  Carlos Sainz Jr. | | McLaren | Renault | 22 | 1'05.219 | 1.232 |
| 9 | 99 |  Antonio Giovinazzi |  | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 17 | 1'05.336 | 1.349 |
| 10 | 26 |  Daniil Kvyat |  | Toro Rosso | Honda | 25 | 1'05.391 | 1.404 |
| 11 | 23 |  Alex Albon | | Toro Rosso | Honda | 29 | 1'05.481 | 1.494 |
| 12 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg |  | Renault | Renault | 21 | 1'05.514 | 1.527 |
| 13 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 21 | 1'05.514 | 1.527 |
| 14 | 11 |  Sergio Perez |  | Racing Point | Mercedes | 18 | 1'05.523 | 1.536 |
| 15 | 8 | Romain Grosjean |  | Haas | Ferrari | 20 | 1'05.620 | 1.633 |
| 16 | 18 |  Lance Stroll | | Racing Point | Mercedes | 17 | 1'05.650 | 1.663 |
| 17 | 3 |  Daniel Ricciardo | | Renault | Renault | 19 | 1'05.878 | 1.891 |
| 18 | 20 |  Kevin Magnussen | | Haas | Ferrari | 11 | 1'06.017 | 2.030 |
| 19 | 63 | George Russell |  | Williams | Mercedes | 23 | 1'06.676 | 2.689 |
| 20 | 88 |  Robert Kubica | | Williams | Mercedes | 23 | 1'07.484 | 3.497 |
| View full results | ||||||||
Previous article
Austrian GP qualifying as it happened
Next article
F1 could use prototype 2020 tyres in 2019 races
About this article
| Series | Formula 1 |
| Event | Austrian GP |
| Author | Scott Mitchell |
Is Red Bull Hiding the Real RB16B? | F1 2021
Sergio Perez's First Drive With Red Bull Racing
Alfa Romeo C41 and Alfa Romeo C39 Compared
Say Hello To The RB16B | Unveiling Our 2021 Car
The pros and cons of F1's 2021 rule changes
In the strategy for grand prix racing's future, 2021 represents a significant step towards the goal of closer racing and a more level playing field. That's the theory behind the latest raft of changes, but will they have the desired effect?
What Red Bull is trying to hide with its RB16B launch
Red Bull made no secret of the fact its 2021 F1 car is an evolution of its predecessor, but in keeping the same foundations while hiding some tightly-guarded updates with its RB16B, the team aims to avoid suffering the same pitfalls of previous years
How Albon plans to fight his way out of Red Bull limbo
Alex Albon has faced the media for the first time since he lost his Red Bull drive at the end of 2020 and dropped out of a Formula 1 race seat altogether. He has a history of bouncing back from setbacks, so here's what he must do to rise again
Ranked! Carlin's greatest F1 graduates
Carlin has helped guide enough drivers to Formula 1 to fill out an entire grid, plus a handful of reserves, to create a remarkable alumni list. With Yuki Tsunoda set to join that group, Motorsport.com has ranked its graduates to grace the grand prix scene...
Why Alfa's 2021 launch says more about its 2022 plans
Alfa Romeo launched its C41 with a revised front nose, but there's little to suggest it will surge up the leaderboard in 2021. As the team frankly admits, it's putting its eggs in the basket labelled 2022 and hoping to hold the eighth place it earned last year
Why Gasly’s AlphaTauri haven is a blessing and a curse
Red Bull opted not to re-sign Pierre Gasly even before it decided to drop Alex Albon and so the Frenchman's Formula 1 journey will continue at AlphaTauri. This has positive and negative connotations for one of last season's star performers.
Eight things Red Bull must do to beat Mercedes in 2021
After seven years of defeat at the hands of Mercedes, Red Bull is as hungry as ever to secure a fifth world championship. But there are key challenges it must overcome in 2021 to switch from challenger to conqueror
How AlphaTauri has adapted to F1's new rules
AlphaTauri launched its AT02, complete with a new livery, as it bids to home in on an already-tight midfield battle. Although there were few outright new parts displayed on the launch render, there might be a few clues into further changes down the line…
