Formula 1

Gasly tops wet final Turkish GP practice, Hamilton P18

by Valentin Khorounzhiy
3 min read

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AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly topped the wet-weather third Formula 1 practice for the Turkish Grand Prix.


Key moments:

> Gasly leads Red Bull duo

> Hamilton 18th after doing just five laps

> Lots of drivers spinning

> Russell brings out red flag


Saturday morning rain left the track soaked for the start of the session, threatening an extended period of no running – but the two AlphaTauris headed out for flying laps on the wet tyres less than 10 minutes into the session, and were followed by a gaggle of rival cars.

After a few laps, the wets overwhelmingly made way for the intermediate compound, but while the green-walled compound looked to offer a pace advantage it also proved less stable – with Gasly’s AlphaTauri and Nikita Mazepin’s Haas both having high-speed spins through the fast Turn 11 right-hander, while George Russell went off at the sweeping Turn 2, getting his Williams FW43B beached in the gravel and bringing out the red flag.

Verstappen, who didn’t run at all prior to the Russell red flag, emerged soon after the short stoppage and duly went quickest with his first flyer, before looping around at the Turn 9 left-hander on his very next attempt – in what he jovially described as “a nice 360”.

The same corner then sent both Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin and his former team-mate Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari for a spin a few minutes later.

Verstappen retreated into the pits a few laps into his pace-setting run, and was soon overhauled by both team-mate Sergio Perez and Gasly, who ended up out front on 1m30.447s.

And while Verstappen did rejoin late on to go for another push lap, he could only overhaul Perez, staying behind his former French team-mate.

Carlos Sainz, who will start Sunday’s race from the back of the grid, took fourth ahead of fellow Ferrari driver Leclerc, who even went as far as suggesting a late exit on slick tyres but ultimately didn’t go through with it.

Alpine’s Fernando Alonso completed the top six, despite a late Turn 1 off that left his A521 bouncing through the gravel.

Valtteri Bottas was the lead Mercedes in ninth, with points-leading team-mate Lewis Hamilton – set to serve a 10-place grid penalty fr an engine change – opting for minimal running and ending up three seconds off the pace in 18th.

Practice 3 Results

Pos Name Car Best Time Gap Leader
1 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri-Honda 1m30.447s
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull-Honda 1m30.611s +0.164s
3 Sergio Pérez Red Bull-Honda 1m30.684s +0.237s
4 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1m31.262s +0.815s
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1m31.543s +1.096s
6 Fernando Alonso Alpine-Renault 1m31.545s +1.098s
7 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 1m31.572s +1.125s
8 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-Honda 1m31.981s +1.534s
9 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1m31.996s +1.549s
10 Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 1m32.089s +1.642s
11 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 1m32.097s +1.65s
12 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin-Mercedes 1m32.111s +1.664s
13 Mick Schumacher Haas-Ferrari 1m32.228s +1.781s
14 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren-Mercedes 1m32.27s +1.823s
15 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 1m32.314s +1.867s
16 Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Mercedes 1m33.348s +2.901s
17 Nikita Mazepin Haas-Ferrari 1m33.425s +2.978s
18 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m33.636s +3.189s
19 Nicholas Latifi Williams-Mercedes 1m35.681s +5.234s
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