Lando Norris was the fastest on Saturday morning.
Sunny. Dry. Air +20°C, track +22°C
By the start of the third practice almost nothing reminded of the morning rain. The asphalt remained wet only by the pits, where mechanics were trying to dry it, fans in the stands were enjoying the sun and greeting the drivers, who, to be safe, first did a lap on intermediate tyres and then switched to slicks.
The rain washed away the layer of used rubber that had appeared on Friday, the track was slippery, but with each lap grip improved, more cars were running, and by the middle of the session drivers were already complaining about traffic.
Grid position in Zandvoort is very important; in the final twenty minutes drivers ran with low fuel on Soft tyres, but putting in a clean lap was not easy.
On the 50th minute Alonso and Russell almost caused a crash. Before entering the pits Fernando tried to pass the Mercedes driver on the right, but George was about to turn into the pit lane and squeezed him to the wall. Both drivers reacted, the cars were unharmed, but the stewards after the session fined Mercedes €7,500 for failing to warn Russell that a faster car was behind, while the driver himself received only a warning.
In the end, on the short track the McLaren drivers beat the rest by almost a second — Lando Norris once again took first place. Behind them the results were typically close — qualifying promises to be interesting.
Third free practice session
Driver
Team
Time
Gap
Laps
1. L. Norris
McLaren
1:08.972
-
16
2. O. Piastri
McLaren
1:09.214
+0.242
15
3. G. Russell
Mercedes
1:09.858
+0.886
17
4. C. Sainz
Williams
1:09.913
+0.941
23
5. M. Verstappen
Red Bull
1:09.925
+0.953
20
6. C. Leclerc
Ferrari
1:09.938
+0.966
23
7. A. Albon
Williams
1:10.099
+1.127
22
8. L. Stroll
Aston Martin
1:10.103
+1.131
24
9. A. Hadjar
Racing Bulls
1:10.166
+1.194
21
10. F. Alonso
Aston Martin
1:10.232
+1.260
20
11. L. Lawson
Racing Bulls
1:10.300
+1.328
17
12. Y. Tsunoda
Red Bull
1:10.349
+1.377
19
13. G. Bortoleto
Sauber
1:10.361
+1.389
21
14. L. Hamilton
Ferrari
1:10.373
+1.401
20
15. O. Berman
Haas
1:10.595
+1.623
19
16. N. Hulkenberg
Sauber
1:10.599
+1.627
24
17. K. Antonelli
Mercedes
1:10.697
+1.725
31
18. E. Ocon
Haas
1:10.801
+1.829
18
19. P. Gasly
Alpine
1:10.963
+1.991
24
20. F. Colapinto
Alpine
1:11.054
+2.082
21
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