FP3, third and final free practice session at Suzuka ended with the best time of Max Verstappen, followed by Sainz and Leclerc about 3 tenths from the Dutch. With Mercedes back to chasing 6-7 tenths from the leaders. Session returned to the new 60-minute format, with a dry track after the very wet FP1 e FP2. The great protagonist of this new day that will lead us to qualifying is Pierre Gasli, fresh out of contract with Alpine.
A very long wait but which with a single move places two pilots on the remaining seats, leaving only two free. The place of him in Alpha Tauri in fact it was intended for Nyck De Vries, a driver from the Mercedes youth team who made a lot of noise about himself, also thanks to his performance with Williams at Monza to replace Alexander Albon. Once these two positions are closed, only the seats of Haas remain, which has not yet decided to confirm Mick Schumacher and Williams. Returning to the action on the track, let's see what these busy FP3s tell us.
There are those who go dry and wet
Given yesterday's particular conditions, and the dry conditions this morning, the work for almost all the teams is aimed directly at verifying long-distance pace, although traffic clearly affected this session. In FP3 there was a question and answer between Red Bull e Ferrari. However, several teams, in view of a race that should be held in the wet, have opted for a configuration that is more congenial to this prospect. We would have expected a clear superiority from Red Bull but at the moment the comparison with the Reds remains rather balanced. Perez is the most suffering of the four at the moment but we can expect a great race from him, considering the fact that he now effectively has the same car as Verstappen, ready to be crowned world champion for the second consecutive year.
The Spanish driver is once again at Maranello Carlos Sainz he imposed himself on his fellow Monegasque Charles Leclerc, making a more millimeter difference. Sainz immediately found more speed than Leclerc, and a good race pace. After testing the new fund yesterday, and not having obtained the hoped-for data with Leclerc who complained of little feeling, Ferrari differentiated the work of the two drivers, mounting a soft on Sainz and medium on Leclerc, something also done by Mercedes and Alpine which they tried hard.
Not surprisingly, Mercedes struggled a lot in the dry in this session, somewhat reconfirming the values we've seen since the beginning of the season, with a performance at least 7 tenths below that of Red Bull and Ferrari. Russell and Hamilton finished FP3 respectively 6th and 7th. It's hard to think they could aspire to pole today, in these conditions. Different speech, however, for the race should it rain.
Alpine wildcard
After all the long runs the teams battled on time attacks with a very aggressive Alpine especially with Fernando Alonso, the fastest in the first session of free practice in the wet and 4th in this last session ahead of both the Mercedes drivers and Perez. Ninth his teammate, Esteban Ocon. The French team after announcing the arrival of an entirely "home" formation wants to close the gap with McLaren who showed slight signs of improvement in this session.
Qualifying will also start at 8:00 in dry conditions. We just have to wait and have breakfast in the meantime!
