Max Verstappen finished ahead of everyone else for the third time this weekend before Qualifying kicks off. Only putting in nine laps in the whole session, Verstappen clocked a 1:16.284s lap to put himself at the top. Second to him was Lewis Hamilton who finished with a lap +0.254s slower. Most cars ran Hypersoft tyres late in the session, with some donning the green Intermediates to deal with the wet track.

Verstappen Does Fastest FP3 Lap Before Qualifying

Early Session Weather

The track didn’t see a whole lot of action due to the track drying up from rain previously in the day. Most cars did not put in a time until over halfway through the session. Teams were aware of a possible thunderstorm in the area coming. Pierre Gasly communicated to his team early on that on the track there was “A lot of dry patches but at the same time some corners are really wet.”

Concerns for Bottas and Verstappen

With 15 minute to go in the session Valtteri Bottas parked his Mercedes car in sector three with fumes coming from the back of the car. It was found out through his team radio that there was a hydraulic failure. With two minutes left in the session Red Bull’s Max Verstappen expressed concern about his car, saying “my battery is not charging”.

With Qualifying Coming Up

Qualifying is starting shortly with all eyes on Max Verstappen. If he can pull off his fourth successful session in a row, it would put him in pretty good shape to secure a race win. Lewis Hamilton looks to put on a fair performance Sunday to clinch his World Drivers’ Championship.

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