Breaking News
BREAKING: Bottas and Mercedes on top again in FP3
Valtteri Bottas completed a practice clean sweep by topping FP3 at the Portuguese Grand Prix. The Finn continued his excellent practice form this season, beating teammate Lewis Hamilton by less than a tenth. Max Verstappen was third for Red Bull.
Track limits still proved an issue for the drivers, despite the limits being extended to the red and white kerb at both Turns 1 and 4. Red Bull duo Alex Albon and Verstappen particularly suffered, with both having good lap times deleted for track extending.
Despite losing a good lap, Albon recovered and quickly posted a strong time, just a few tenths down on Verstappen as he fights to keep his seat for 2021.
Charles Leclerc had a good Friday, but ruined a set of tyres and a flying lap with a spin midway through the session.
Leclerc avoided the gravel, but Hamilton couldn't as he briefly lost control at Turn 8. He wrestled the Mercedes back, but had to take a quick trip through the gravel as Bottas returned to the top of the timesheets.
The session was brought to a premature end with a minute to go because of debris on the track and a loose drain cover, causing a red flag and spoiling the final laps of many drivers.
Pierre Gasly continued his strong season so far, setting the Xth fastest time of the session. However, podium hero from Germany, Daniel Ricciardo, struggled with a DRS failure.
Albon finished the session down in fifth, ahead of Leclerc, Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez. Lando Norris and Esteban Ocon rounded off the top ten.