F1: Verstappen over Hamilton in final GP of Portugal practice

In a session that saw many drivers spin on the slippery track asphalt, Red Bull Honda’s Max Verstappen turned a lap of 1m18.489s to top final practice for the GP of Portugal at Algarve.

Chief 2021 title rival Lewis Hamilton was 2nd fastest for Mercedes 0.236s behind the Dutchman.

Valtteri Bottas was 3rd quick in the 2nd Mercedes 0.331s back.

Sergio Perez in the 2nd Red Bull Honda (+0.351s) and Esteban Ocon (+0.371s) in his Alpine Renault rounded out the top-5.

So, advantage Verstappen? With the pole neck and neck between the Dutchman and Hamilton, it’s anyone’s guess.

Washed up Sebastian Vettel was so slow his Aston Martin ended behind the slug Haas of Mick Schumacher and the slug Williams of George Russell.

Next up is qualifying.

Practice 3 Results

POS	DRIVER	NAT.	TEAM	TIME
1	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing	1m18.489s
2	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes AMG Petronas Team	1m18.725s
3	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Mercedes AMG Petronas Team	1m18.820s
4	Sergio Perez	MEX	Red Bull Racing	1m18.840s
5	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Alpine F1 Team	1m18.860s
6	Charles Leclerc	MON	Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow	1m19.001s
7	Carlos Sainz	ESP	Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow	1m19.050s
8	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren F1 Team	1m19.272s
9	Pierre Gasly	FRA	Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda	1m19.374s
10	Kimi Raikkonen	FIN	Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen	1m19.415s
11	Yuki Tsunoda	JPN	Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda	1m19.485s
12	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	McLaren F1 Team	1m19.582s
13	Antonio Giovinazzi	ITA	Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen	1m19.588s
14	Fernando Alonso	ESP	Alpine F1 Team	1m19.949s
15	Lance Stroll	CAN	Aston Martin Cognizant Team	1m20.007s
16	Mick Schumacher	GER	Uralkali Haas F1 Team	1m20.033s
17	George Russell	GBR	Williams Racing	1m20.127s
18	Sebastian Vettel	GER	Aston Martin Cognizant Team	1m20.214s
19	Nicholas Latifi	CAN	Williams Racing	1m20.681s
20	Nikita Mazepin	RUS	Uralkali Haas F1 Team	1m20.690s