Spain – EL3: The pass of three for Leclerc, the Mercedes in ambush

Third best time in three practice sessions for Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) in Spain. The Monegasque once again finished at the top of the timesheet with a time of 1'19″772. A time slower than one tenth compared to Free Practice 2. The championship leader demonstrated that he was the favorite of the qualifying session (from 16:00 p.m.) with this new performance.

His main opponent Max Verstappen (Red Bull) failed just 0'072 behind the Ferrari driver. The Dutchman, who took to the track 25 minutes into the session, was not entirely satisfied with his car. “The car does not turn in slow corners” he told his engineer during his first qualifying sessions.

Behind, the two Mercedes confirmed their good form from the day before. George Russell (Mercedes) took 3rd place in the last practice session, less than two tenths behind Leclerc while Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) finished just behind his teammate, 0'230 behind the best time. The seven-time world champion encountered a small problem with his DRS during the session, without consequences.

The top 6 is completed by the local of the weekend Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and Sergio Perez (Red Bull), respectively 0'357 and 0'488 behind Charles Leclerc's best time. Lando Norris, who had to make up for lost time on Friday during the 2nd free practice session, finally achieved the 7th fastest time in 1'20″403 with its new chassis. In the rest of the top 10, we find Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) and Esteban Ocon (Alpine).

Heat stroke for Gasly and Schumacher

In the second part of the table, we find Fernando Alonso (Alpine), more in difficulty after a good day on Friday and only 13th in EL3. Both Aston Martin de Sebastian Vettel, 12th, and Lance stroll, 16th, have not yet lived up to expectations.

Bad luck on the other hand on the side of Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri). The Frenchman was not able to complete a single complete lap during these FP3. The AT03 encountered a problem at the start of the session: smoke was coming out of its exhausts as it returned to the pits.

Early problems for Pierre Gasly 😣

He's been wheeled back into the garage for the team to take a closer look 🔎💨#SpanishGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/taV0XvRKNJ

— Formula 1 (@F1) May 21, 2022

Under the heat of Barcelona, ​​the mechanics suffered and this was also the case for Mick Schumacher. The German saw his right rear brake catch fire. He managed to get back into his box as best he could, but several damages were reported, particularly to the rear wing. Haas clarified that the team is “confident” to get the car ready for Q1. The gearbox will be changed as a precaution, announced the American team.