EL3 – Bottas in one breath, Ferrari wakes up

Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) took over from his teammate Lewis Hamilton by setting the best time in the last free practice session of the Brazilian Grand Prix held in Sao Paulo. The Finn is ahead of the recent world champion by a breath, exactly three thousandths.

On a cooler track than the day before (rain is expected for qualifying on Saturday afternoon), the Mercedes advantage has greatly diminished. Until a quarter of an hour from the end, Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) held the best mark, immediately followed by his colleague Sebastian Vettel. The gap between the Silver Arrows and the Team Ferrari is only five hundredths behind, which is to say almost nothing.

Apart from the top 4, the drivers are rejected one second from the lead. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull, 5th) evolved a few hundredths of a second faster than the surprising Fernando Alonso (McLaren, 6th).

Max Verstappen (Red Bull, 9th) found the limits of the track, sliding on a curb soaked by night rains. As for the beginner Lance stroll (Williams, 20th), his gearbox failed him in the first kilometers of driving. He does not record any time.

The best French is Esteban Ocon (Force India), author of the 7th fastest time, just ahead of his colleague Sergio Pérez. Romain Grosjean (Haas, 15th), ahead of his compatriot Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso). The qualifying session will begin at 17 p.m. French time.