No rain in FP3 at the Dutch GP. What was certainly noticeable was the impressive display of strength that McLaren put in during the final free practice session. Norris confirmed his advantage over his teammate, while all of Team Papaya's direct rivals were far behind. However, a close battle for the second row is expected: Russell and Verstappen are very close, while the two Ferraris seemed to be struggling slightly.
FP3 begins for the Dutch GP: few riders on track in the opening minutes
The green light has been given for the final free practice sessions of the Dutch weekend. The first car on the track is Hadjar's Racing Bull, with the latter hungry for kilometres after the abrupt interruption he had yesterday afternoon due to problems with his power unit. Great work during the night, however, for the Aston Martin mechanics, who have been engaged in a difficult race against time to allow Lance stroll to take to the track this morning. Meanwhile, another driver looking for redemption is Kimi Antonelli. The Italian took to the track on medium tyres, setting the fastest time of the session ten minutes into the session.
This record was short-lived, as it was broken first by Nico Hulkenberg, then by Colapinto, and finally by Bortoleto. All three drivers were on hard tyres. This underscores a fact that had already been noted in yesterday's commentary. Currently, There is little difference between the hard and medium compounds. This will certainly influence the construction of the various race strategies. Confirmation of this comes from Antonelli's second flying lap. The Mercedes driver, despite the advantage in compound he was unable to overtake Bortoleto. The effectiveness of the soft tyre, compared to the performance of the other two, is however still valid. The two Aston Martins took the lead, winning with Alonso took first place, while Stroll took third. In the middle we always find in the second box Antonelli, who further improved on his third attempt on the track.
Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull also take to the track
Weak start to the section, with the track only 6 teams in the first twenty minutes. At almost half an hour, McLaren, Ferrari, and Red Bull took to the track for FP3 of the Dutch GP. The two papayas fitted the soft tires, with Norris taking back the lead in the timesheets. He follows closely behind Oscar Piastri that his teammate seems to be suffering on this track. Behind them he entered MaxVerstappen, which, however, is running on medium tires. The other Red Bull, driven by Tsunoda, is in 15th place. Ferrari is still proving too slow compared to its closest rivals. Leclerc starts with a seventh-fastest time on medium tires, while Lewis Hamilton, on the same compound, follows him in ninth.
The Englishman, however, managed to improve his time after a second timed attempt, placing himself in third place, four tenths behind the two McLarens. The latter, moreover, were in third place for the first time this weekend. they have reversed positions. Now it is Piastri at the top of the rankings, who was almost a tenth and a half ahead of his teammate. Perhaps, slowly, the Australian is trying to match his teammate's performance. What is surprising, however, is the fourth fastest time of Ollie Bearman with his Haas, even set the fastest time on hard tyres. Mercedes was further back than yesterday, with Russell 11th and Antonelli 14th, both on medium tyres. However, the Englishman number 63, with almost twenty minutes to go in FP3 at the Dutch GP, manages to get back into third position, or rather in that part of the ranking where it was already sailing yesterday afternoon.
McLaren holds firm in the first two positions, the others far away
It's worth noting that since yesterday afternoon, Charles Leclerc hasn't been able to stay ahead of his teammate. With twenty minutes to go, the Monegasque is back for a new attempt on medium tyres, but only gains fifth place behind Lewis Hamilton. We'll see if this trend continues in qualifying today. Another important point to underline: while most teams are focusing on the functioning of different compounds, McLaren doesn't seem to need it. In fact, its drivers took to the track only on red tyres to practice qualifying laps. In the meantime, Lando Norris's Great Ride on new soft tires. Piastri does the same, but fails to gain a lead over his teammate, dropping back to second place.
The two Red Bulls also embark on a qualifying simulation. Russell and Stroll do the same. Despite the freshness of their new sets of tires, however, the gaps between them and McLaren are abysmal. Verstappen and Russell are almost a second behind Lando Norris's performance. Mercedes' Englishman, among other things, runs into a misunderstanding at the entrance to the pit lane with Fernando Alonso. However, there was no damage between the two British cars. At the end of FP3 at the Dutch GP, Carlos Sainz, on red tyres, set an excellent fourth fastest time. Leclerc, in the same conditions, was unable to go higher than sixth place. Hamilton also made a move, but aborted his attempt after a mistake in curve 3.
The third free practice session concludes, as have the previous two. McLaren confirms its devastating supremacy. Norris confirms his lead over Oscar Piastri, while everyone else is really far away. However, a very close fight for the second row is expected, given that the gaps between Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari, and Aston Martin are quite narrow, at least over one lap. But keep an eye on Williams, too, as Sainz and Albon performed quite well in FP3 of the Dutch GP.
