Japan, EL3: Verstappen takes control before qualifying – Nextgen-Auto.com

After a contested first day on a wet track, the drivers were eager to drive on the Suzuka circuit on a dry track. A single hour of testing in these conditions would thus allow preparation for qualifying. In fact, the track was taken by storm from the start of PR3 of the Japanese Grand Prix, and the Red Bull drivers were quickly placed at the top of the time sheets thanks to the use of slicks. Max Verstappen’s time of 1’32.050 was thus the benchmark for the first part of the session. red sides. Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly provisionally placed themselves in fifth and sixth positions on medium tyres, while Carlos Sainz was only in eighth position on soft tires after being hampered by Charles Leclerc. The wind picked up and complicated the improvements for everyone, and the pilots put on the three tire compounds in turn, to evaluate them in the event that the race is contested on a dry track.Lewis Hamilton improved his time to take third position on soft tires, positioning himself just behind Pérez Valtteri Bottas took fourth before George Russell slotted in between the Red Bulls The Alpine then took second and third, Fernando Alonso ahead of Esteban Ocon, with medium tyres. At this point in the session, the Ferrari drivers came out on soft rubber. Sainz set the best time in 1’30″965, and Leclerc took second place, 0″423 behind his teammate. Verstappen reclaimed third position, while Tsunoda, Hamilton and Gasly slotted in ahead of Russell. Alex Albon grabbed fourth position on soft tyres. Verstappen and Pérez set the second and fourth fastest times on medium tyres. The Mercedes F1 drivers then set a new time on soft rubber, and Russell took the fourth fastest time. Despite the absolute best first sector, Hamilton positioned himself in fifth place. Lando Norris and Lance Stroll returned to the top 10 (sixth and seventh) on the soft tyres, and Leclerc progressed to come within just 15 thousandths of a second behind Sainz who, like Verstappen, was back on track. And the latter took the lead in the session in 1’30″671, shortly before Alonso moved up to fourth position. Ocon took eighth position when Pérez also embarked on a fast lap. Verstappen finished first ahead of the Ferraris of Sainz and Leclerc Alonso was fourth ahead of Pérez, the Mercedes F1 drivers, Norris, Ocon and Stroll Daniel Ricciardo was 11th ahead of Albon, Bottas, Sebastian Vettel and the Haas, Mick Schumacher having been able to back behind the wheel after his accident yesterday.Pierre Gasly is last of these FP3.Pos.PilotVoitureTimeLaps 01 Max Verstappen Red Bull RBPT RB18 1:30.671 22 02 Carlos Sainz Ferrari F1-75 1:30.965 27 03 Charles Leclerc Ferrari F1-75 1:30.980 27 04 Fernando Alonso Alpine Renault A522 1:31.320 20 05 Sergio Perez Red Bull RBPT RB18 1:31.514 25 06 George Russell Mercedes W13 1:31.530 28 07 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes W13 1:31.589 25 08 Lando Norris McLaren Mercedes MCL36 1 :31.747 24 09 Esteban Ocon Alpine Renault A522 1:31.750 2 2 10 Lance Stroll Aston Martin Mercedes AMR22 1:31.838 25 11 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren Mercedes MCL36 1:31.860 28 12 Alex Albon Williams Mercedes FW44 1:31.946 26 13 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo Ferrari C42 1:31.971 24 14 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin Mercedes AMR22 1:32.222 25 15 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari VF-22 1:32.290 23 16 Mick Schumacher Haas Ferrari VF-22 1:32.366 24 17 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri RBPT AT03 1:32.377 26 18 Guanyu Zhou Alfa Romeo Ferrari C42 1:32.385 24 19 Nicholas Latifi Williams Mercedes FW44 1:32.868 26 20 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri RBPT AT03 1:32.881 24