Max Verstappen set the fastest time in Free Practice 3 of the Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix, narrowly edging out Kimi Antonelli as Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari suffered a mechanical problem.
The looming threat of rain forced all drivers to rush to the track, particularly Nico Hulkenberg, whose Audi suffered a terminal problem at the hands of rookie Freddie Slater during FP1, preventing him from taking part in the second session. These laps were therefore the German’s first this weekend.
Everyone focused on the medium tire compound in the first 40 minutes of the session, with Kimi Antonelli fastest in 1m12.209s, edging Verstappen by 0.075s – although the new world champion reported a steering wheel problem, while the four-time title winner reported his steering was “heavy on the right”.
Charles Leclerc was third, 0.230 seconds behind, while George Russell, Liam Lawson and Oscar Piastri were half a second behind Antonelli. Lawson, who set the fastest time in sector three, was almost 0.5 seconds faster than his Racing Bulls teammate Arvid Lindblad, and almost a second faster than any other driver in the midfield.
Hamilton, who reported “strange vibrations” emanating from his new powertrain and “heavy engine braking”, was only eighth ahead of Hadjar, who described his RB22 as “almost impossible to drive”. Ferrari driver’s problem would later lead to ‘smoke in cockpit’ amid worrying noise.
As the peloton switched to soft tires, Verstappen narrowly edged out Antonelli to set the fastest time, clocking 1m11.622 to the Mercedes driver’s 1m11.647. Lando Norris moved his McLaren into third, 0.131 seconds behind, followed by Russell and Leclerc, meaning the top four teams completed a lap in 0.274 seconds.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Alastair Staley / LAT Images via Getty Images
This time Lindblad was a tenth quicker than Lawson, with both men still around half a second quicker than Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly in midfield. Hadjar also found himself behind both Racing Bulls in the standings, with a deficit of 0.591 seconds to leader Verstappen.
Hamilton’s problem meant he was confined to the garage and did not complete any runs on the soft tyres, finishing 12th in the final results.
Debutant Rafael Camara finished 15th, 0.128 seconds faster than teammate Oliver Bearman.
Lance Stroll backed the order after experiencing a suspected ERS issue 15 minutes into the session, which proved terminal.
Brazilian F1 GP – FP3 Results
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