Leclerc puts Ferrari ahead in 3rd practice of the F1 British GP; Bortoleto spins, but is 16th

In an intense battle between Ferrari and McLaren, Charles Leclerc set the fastest time in the third free practice session of the British GP, this Saturday, and left the Italian team more excited for the qualifying session, still this Saturday, and for the race on Sunday. The driver from Monaco set the fastest time of the weekend and beat Piastri, who had the second fastest time, and Norris, who was fourth, behind Max Verstappen.

A standout at the Austrian GP, Gabriel Bortoleto had the 16th best time, but spun his Sauber at the end of the session, lost the front tire and suspension and ended the practice early, one minute from the end, right after another red flag caused by Oliver Bearman.

The third practice session started 5 minutes late to remove the rubber from the track – the activity was preceded by the Formula 3 sprint race – but when the cars took to the track, Ferrari and McLaren resumed the duel that began on Friday. Hamilton, the fastest in the first practice session, set the fastest time, 1min26s529, on his first attempt, closely followed by Norris, the fastest in the second, 0s4 behind.

Unlike previous races, Ferrari showed good pace in the practice sessions at the Silverstone circuit and Leclerc took the lead with a time of 1min26s494, followed by Verstappen and Hamilton after 20 minutes of activity. On his first flying lap, Bortoleto was in last place, 2s1 behind Leclerc, but recovered and jumped to sixth place.

Leclerc improved his own time and was the first to run under 1min26, setting a time of 1min25s922, halfway through the session. McLaren was not performing well and was only in seventh place, with Norris, and eighth, with Piastri, both 0s7 behind the leader, behind Bearman's Haas. Bortoleto was 13th.

With 17 minutes to go, McLaren finally entered the race. Norris took the lead, but was then overtaken by 0.4s by his teammate, Piastri, who clocked a time of 1min25s566, ending Leclerc and Ferrari's dominance. Despite constant complaints about his Red Bull's brakes, Verstappen recovered second place. Bortoleto returned to the track and moved up to 11th, just behind Hülkenberg.

With 10 minutes to go, Leclerc clocked a 1min25s438s, the fastest time of the weekend, and beat his McLaren rivals. The red flag with 8 minutes to go – for removing a piece of Bearman's Haas from the track – cooled the race. The cars returned to the Silverstone circuit to do one last lap in the remaining 3 minutes, but Bortoleto spun on the track and ended the session early.

The drivers return to the circuit at 11 am this Saturday (Brasília time) to compete in the classification. On Sunday, the race start is also scheduled for 11 am.

Check out the results of the 3rd free practice session of the British GP:

1st – Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari), in 1min25s498

2nd – Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren), at 0s068

3rd – Max Verstappen (HOL/Red Bull), at 0s087

4th – Lando Norris (ING/McLaren), at 0s108

5th – Yuki Tsunoda (JAP/Red Bull), at 0s0606

6th – Oliver Bearman (ING/Haas), at 0s614

7th – Alexander Albon (TAI/Williams), at 0s621

8th – George Russell (ING/Mercedes), at 0s627

9th – Isack Hadjar (FRA/RB), at 0s631

10th – Liam Lawson (NZL/RB), at 0s758

11th – Lewis Hamilton (ING/Ferrari), at 0s834