Formula 1 News: Verstappen tops FP3 for Saudi Arabian GP
Three-time World Driving Champion Max Verstappen turned a lap of 1m28.412s to top final practice for the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP.
–by Mark Cipolloni–
Verstappen turned his fast lap on the Pirelli soft red tires before the session was red-flagged with 20 minutes to go when Guanyu Zhou stuffed his Sauber into the barriers.
Related Article: Formula 1 News: Verstappen tops FP1 for Saudi Arabian GP
The went green again with 5 minutes left to run and there was a mad rush for the drivers that had not tried the soft Pirelli to set a fast time
Charles Leclerc was 2nd quick for Ferrari, 0.196s behind Verstappen.
Sergio Perez was 3rd fastest in the 2nd Red Bull Honda, 0.494s behind his teammate Verstappen.
George Russell was 4th for Mercedes, 0.552s behind while Lando Norris rounded out the top-5 for McLaren, 0.559s behind.
For Ollie Bearman, that session might have settled some nerves but he’s still got the small matter of qualifying to get through, complete with traffic chaos, unsighted corners and a car that comes alive when all the fuel is taken out.
Problems for Kick Sauber though, who have that rebuild to complete before qualifying if they want Zhou back out there and Williams are also completing some repairs to Sargeant’s car.
2024 Saudi Arabian GP Practice 3 Results
| POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | TIME | GAP | LAPS |
| 1 | 1 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING HONDA | 1:28.412 | +0.000s | 12 |
| 2 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | FERRARI | 1:28.608 | +0.196s | 15 |
| 3 | 11 | Sergio Perez | RED BULL RACING HONDA | 1:28.906 | +0.494s | 12 |
| 4 | 63 | George Russell | MERCEDES | 1:28.964 | +0.552s | 16 |
| 5 | 4 | Lando Norris | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:28.971 | +0.559s | 10 |
| 6 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:29.038 | +0.626s | 13 |
| 7 | 18 | Lance Stroll | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:29.127 | +0.715s | 13 |
| 8 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:29.213 | +0.801s | 10 |
| 9 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | 1:29.268 | +0.856s | 18 |
| 10 | 38 | Oliver Bearman | FERRARI | 1:29.306 | +0.894s | 21 |
| 11 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | HAAS FERRARI | 1:29.485 | +1.073s | 11 |
| 12 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:29.546 | +1.134s | 12 |
| 13 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB HONDA | 1:29.572 | +1.160s | 17 |
| 14 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:29.575 | +1.163s | 12 |
| 15 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | HAAS FERRARI | 1:29.675 | +1.263s | 10 |
| 16 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB HONDA | 1:29.740 | +1.328s | 14 |
| 17 | 23 | Alexander Albon | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:29.808 | +1.396s | 12 |
| 18 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:30.083 | +1.671s | 20 |
| 19 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:30.739 | +2.327s | 12 |
| 20 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | No Time | 2 |