Max Verstappen remains untouchable in Free Practice 3 for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Like on Friday, Max Verstappen once again dominated free practice, the third session, on Saturday in Saudi Arabia. The Red Bull driver even put in a real show with a time of 1’28”485 (just under three-tenths of last year’s pole position). He pushed his team-mate Sergio Pérez to more than six-tenths (+0”613). And the rest of the board? He’s a second behind with Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) still on top (+0”998). Teammate Lance Stroll appeared in His pace with fourth place (+ 1”024).

Good for McLaren

Long in difficulty, Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes, 5th in 1’083) and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari, 6th in 1’103) managed the “time” at the end of the session. Little surprise, McLaren had the best session of the weekend so far with a group shot of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, respectively seventh and eighth at 1’205 and 1’213. Followed by Pierre Gasly in the Alpine Series (+1′ 216′, while the performances of Carlos Sainz (10th at 1’276) and George Russell (11th at 1’326) call into question the true potential of Ferrari and Mercedes ahead of qualifying.

Note the 14th-place finish of Esteban Ocon on the other Alpine (+1”468), who was afraid of being on the verge of losing his single seat in a very fast section shortly after the middle of the session. Finally, Alpha Tauri had a little nightmare because Nyck de Vries could not drive at all due to a mechanical problem and Yuki Tsunoda finished 19th (but on medium tyres).