EL3 – Great Britain: Verstappen alone in the world, Mercedes confirms

This is what we call a productive work evening. Disabled like all his counterparts by the rain during Free Practice 1, Max Verstappen had complained a lot about the behavior of his car in certain corners, so much so that he was not even in the top 3 of EL2, beaten by Sainz, Norris et Hamilton notably. Except that the engineers of the Austrian team visibly worked well on Friday evening because Max Verstappen dominated, and very largely, the third free practice session of the weekend contested under black skies but in the dry.

The Dutchman is in fact the only driver to have gone under the 28 minute mark, with a time set in 1’27″901. Proof that the Red Bull seems particularly fast on a lap, it’s Sergio Perez who signed the second time, (+0″410) of the session. On the side of Ferrari, Charles Leclerc, author of six of the nine poles since the start of the season, is almost half a second behind the reference time. The Monegasque loses the entire delta that separates him from Verstappen on the straights and no longer even has the fastest car in the fast corners. 

Mercedes half a second away

The fastest in these turns are in fact the Mercedes ! We know that the Silverstone track is probably the one that best suits the W13, due to the type of curves and the smooth nature of the track. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton are at the same time as the Ferraris and have also inserted themselves between Leclerc and Sainz, half a second from the Dutchman. “No bouncing” also released George Russell at the start of the season, thus reassuring the Mercedes wall about the pumping phenomenon which has handicapped them since the start of the year. The W13 seems truly glued to the ground. 

The stability of the Mercedes at Silverstone 😮#British 🇬🇧 | https://t.co/t7uFs3yVeh pic.twitter.com/8wngAjeZQI

— CANAL+ F1® (@CanalplusF1) July 2, 2022

Nice performance once again from Lando Norris, who sets the 7th time when Daniel Ricciardo ranks far in 18th place. On the French side, Alpine placed Fernando Alonso et Esteban Ocon in 10th and 11th rows, almost a second and a half from Verstappen. Complicated session on the other hand for Pierre Gasly, only 15th. Alex Albon signs him the 14th fastest time thanks in particular to his brand new on-board package. Meet at 16 p.m. French time for qualifying, which will be followed live with commentary on AUTOhebdo.fr. 

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