2018 F1 Spanish GP FP3 — Hamilton leads Mercedes one-two

Saturday’s final practice session took place under cloudy skies as teams focused on confirming their qualifying set-ups. Lewis Hamilton led with a 1:17.281, just 0.013 seconds ahead of Valtteri Bottas, with the two Mercedes cars holding a clear advantage for the time being. This result also provided the team with an important reference for subsequent set-up work and its strategy for the weekend.

Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen were third and fourth, 0.269 and 0.300 seconds behind Hamilton respectively. Daniel Ricciardo was fifth and Kevin Magnussen sixth. Behind the leading teams, the midfield remained closely matched, with the fight for places in the top ten potentially continuing until the final moments of Q2.

A serious accident occurred late in the session when Brendon Hartley lost control at a high-speed corner and hit the barriers, badly damaging the rear of his car. Toro Rosso then had to inspect the car and prepare replacement parts. Hartley was unhurt after checks but could not take part in the qualifying session that followed.

Romain Grosjean was seventh, Carlos Sainz eighth, Fernando Alonso ninth and Pierre Gasly tenth. Both Spanish drivers reached the top ten, giving the home fans an encouraging sign. After his team-mate’s accident, Gasly became the only Toro Rosso driver to take part in qualifying. This result also provided the team with an important reference for subsequent set-up work and its strategy for the weekend.

Max Verstappen completed only five laps and was 12th, below his Friday performance. Esteban Ocon was 13th and Stoffel Vandoorne 14th. The two Saubers finished 15th and 18th, while Williams drivers Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin were 19th and 20th respectively. This result also provided the team with an important reference for subsequent set-up work and its strategy for the weekend.

Hamilton and Bottas completed 15 and 19 laps respectively, steadily working through their final preparations for qualifying. Hartley had completed 23 laps before his accident ended his session. The late red flag also reduced the time available for other drivers to make their final attempts. This result also provided the team with an important reference for subsequent set-up work and its strategy for the weekend.

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya places comprehensive demands on a car’s overall balance. High-speed corner performance and tyre temperatures would determine lap times in qualifying. Mercedes had shown the pace advantage in FP1 and FP3, but Ferrari and Red Bull still had opportunities to close the gap through their single-lap approach and slipstreaming strategies.

Formula 1’s official records show Hamilton fastest on 1:17.281, Bottas 0.013 seconds behind and Vettel third. The table below lists the fastest laps and lap counts of all 20 drivers in this session. Hartley’s accident occurred during FP3, and he subsequently missed qualifying. This result also provided the team with an important reference for subsequent set-up work and its strategy for the weekend.