Report
FP3: Hamilton pips Verstappen and Vettel in shortened practice
Share
The sun finally shone on the Hungaroring on Saturday, but you struggled to see the light between the top three drivers, as just 0.082s covered Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
Valtteri Bottas was fourth in sister Mercedes, 0.271s down on Hamilton’s track-record 1m 16.084s, just ahead of Ferrari counterpart Charles Leclerc, with Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly a further three-tenths back.
Lando Norris was an impressive ‘best of the rest’ for McLaren, the Alfa Romeo of Kimi Raikkonen separating him from team mate Carlos Sainz in the times, with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen edging team mate Romain Grosjean to complete the top 10.
FORMULA 1 ROLEX MAGYAR NAGYDÍJ 2019Hungary 2019
Practice 3 results
Position | Team Name | Time |
---|---|---|
1 | HAMMercedes | 1:16.084 |
2 | VERRed Bull Racing | +0.013s |
3 | VETFerrari | +0.082s |
4 | BOTMercedes | +0.271s |
5 | LECFerrari | +0.308s |
After Friday’s damp conditions, all the teams were playing catch-up with race and qualifying preparations – and it didn’t help that FP3 was reduced to just 50 minutes.
That was down to a start delay, necessitated after a significant amount of oil was dropped at Turn 4 by a dramatic engine failure in the preceding F2 support race.
It made for a hectic final practice, and one in which the track got quicker and quicker as the cars gradually cleared the cement dust left by the marshals’ clean-up operation.
In the lower half of the pack, it was a low-key showing from Renault and Toro Rosso, with Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo 13th and 16th respectively for the former, Daniil Kvyat and Alex Albon 12th and 17th for the latter.
Williams’ improvements continued, however, with George Russell beating the Racing Point of Lance Stroll to finish 19th, less than two seconds off Hamilton’s leading time.
So with everyone still on the back foot slightly after Friday’s rain, and with little to separate the top three teams, we are set for an epic battle for pole position in this afternoon’s qualifying session.
FP3 HIGHLIGHTS: 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
News Verstappen and Tsunoda hit with grid penalties at Belgian GP after engine changes
News Sainz reflects on Binotto’s arrival at Audi as he explains whether that will influence decision on his F1 future
Feature NEED TO KNOW: The most important facts, stats and trivia ahead of the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix
Feature ANALYSIS: Why Haas singled out Ocon as the man they wanted – and what it says about the team's project
![Coming Up](https://media.formula1.com/image/upload/t_16by9North/f_auto/q_auto/v1721466457/trackside-images/2024/F1_Grand_Prix_of_Hungary___Qualifying/2162759452.jpg)