French GP 2019
JUNE 22, 2019
Practice 3 Report - Again and again
© The Cahier Archive
By Dan Knutson
Valtteri Bottas clocked the fastest lap time in Friday's practice for the French Grand Prix, and he was again the fastest in FP3 on Saturday. His Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton again made a mistake and wound up second. And the Ferraris were again no match for the Mercedes machines
The line-up for the weekend was: Mercedes – Hamilton and Bottas; Ferrari – Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc; Red Bull TAG Heuer –Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly; Renault – Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg; Haas Ferrari – Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen; McLaren Renault – Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris; Racing Point Mercedes – Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll; Alfa Romeo Ferrari – Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi; Toro Rosso Honda – Daniil Kvyat and Alexander Albon; Williams Mercedes – George Russell and Robert Kubica.
Bottas went quickest on Friday with a time of 1:30.937.
"Despite the balance issues, the car was quick out of the box which is always a good start," he said after FP2. "We've made good changes between the sessions and I felt much more comfortable in FP2, which is why the lap time was better. It's really warm out there, and it will only get warmer, so tires are going to be on the limit, especially on Sunday. We still struggle with the balance over the course of the entire lap, so we'll have a good look at the data tonight to see what we can improve for tomorrow."
Norris, seventh on Friday, was the first out in FP3 on Saturday.
The ambient temperature at the start of the 60-minute session was 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Centigrade).
Kvyat, who would start at the back of the grid because he had a new power unit in his Toro Rosso, was concentrating on race set up, clocked a time of 1:33.398 followed by a 1:32.744. Kubica was the only other driver to do a flying lap in the early going.
The Renault duo was the only others on the timing sheets in the first 15 minute, and Ricciardo, who had the upgraded engine in his car, took the lead with a 1:32.690. Hulkenberg, with the old spec power unit, beat that with a 1:32.417.
And now other drivers were venturing out. Twenty minutes into FP3 Bottas turned a 1:31.383. Leclerc slid wide on his fast lap but still got within 0.083 of a second of Bottas. Hamilton was third and Vettel fourth. They were all using Pirelli's soft compound slicks.
Then Leclerc took over first place at 1:31.118. A couple minutes later Hamilton sliced 0.010 of a second off of that.
Bottas retook the lead by posting a 1:30.853 just before the midpoint of the session. The order was now: Bottas, Hamilton, Leclerc, Vettel, Verstappen, Hulkenberg, Norris, Sainz, Albon and Gasly.
Pirelli's soft tire was holding up much better than on Friday now that there was more rubber on the track.
All the front runners were in the pits preparing for their qualifying simulations with 20 minutes remaining.
Bottas was the first to go for it, and he got down to a 1:30.159. Hamilton slid wide on his run, and Bottas did the same on his second lap.
Hamilton's second run yielded a 1:30.159.
The Ferrari runs saw Leclerc third, 0.446 slower than Bottas, and Vettel fourth, 0.651 of a second back.
Verstappen, saying he had no grip, claimed fifth, but was 1.3 seconds behind Bottas. Gasly was a fraction slower and sixth.
As on Friday, Norris and Sainz slotted in at seventh and eighth. Then, with just a couple minutes to go, Ricciardo split the McLarens.
The final top 10 were: Bottas, Hamilton, Leclerc, Vettel, Verstappen, Gasly, Norris, Ricciardo, Sainz and Raikkonen.