FP3: Mercedes leading, but advantage has shrunk
Mercedes continued to dominate in Austria with another 1-2 in final practice, giving them a comfortable mindset for the upcoming qualifying session that start in two hours time.
Max Verstappen was once again the fastest contender for Red Bull Racing. His reduced disadvantage to the Mercedes duo will be pleasing, given that the team's protect against the DAS system has been rejected this morning by the FIA.
Sergio Perez continued to run strongly for Racing Point, once again several tenths and positions up on his team mate Lance Stroll, who managed just 8th in the 'pink Mercedes'.
Leclerc and Vettel were 5th and 7th, sandwiching the second Red Bull Racing of Alex Albon. Gasly and Norris completes the top 10, leaving the "very fast" Renault out of the top 10.
Further down, George Russell made it to a strong 16th position for Williams Racing, in between the Haas cars, and ahead of the Alfa Romeo racers. His team mate, Nicholas Latifi, veered off the track and ended up last, completing just 6 laps in the one-hour session.
Results
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:04.130 | - | 21 |
| 2 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:04.277 | +0.147s | 22 |
| 3 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:04.413 | +0.283s | 20 |
| 4 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point Bwt Mercedes | 1:04.605 | +0.475s | 19 |
| 5 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:04.703 | +0.573s | 18 |
| 6 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:04.725 | +0.595s | 22 |
| 7 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:04.851 | +0.721s | 19 |
| 8 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point Bwt Mercedes | 1:04.918 | +0.788s | 18 |
| 9 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alphatauri Honda | 1:04.949 | +0.819s | 19 |
| 10 | 4 | Lando Norris | Mclaren Renault | 1:04.950 | +0.820s | 22 |
| 11 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Renault | 1:05.037 | +0.907s | 11 |
| 12 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1:05.088 | +0.958s | 13 |
| 13 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Mclaren Renault | 1:05.177 | +1.047s | 24 |
| 14 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Alphatauri Honda | 1:05.290 | +1.160s | 24 |
| 15 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas Ferrari | 1:05.363 | +1.233s | 17 |
| 16 | 63 | George Russell | Williams Mercedes | 1:05.565 | +1.435s | 21 |
| 17 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 1:05.648 | +1.518s | 17 |
| 18 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 1:05.654 | +1.524s | 16 |
| 19 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 1:05.773 | +1.643s | 18 |
| 20 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams Mercedes | 1:07.049 | +2.919s | 6 |
