FP3: Bottas tops session as rain interrupts running

By on
F1 Grand Prix, GP France, Circuit Paul Ricardfr

Valtteri Bottas topped the timesheet at the end of FP3, thanks to a reasonable quick installation lap early on in the session. As rain arrived 10 minutes later, no one was able to improve on the dry times, with just a few venturing out on track to get a feel for the wet track.

Most drivers were out early to get an installation lap done in dry conditions. Just three minutes later, Ricciardo already reported "a couple of drops on my visor".

Some tried out the wet conditions, including both McLaren and Williams drivers, but as Hulkenberg pointed out, drivers only have 3 sets of full wet tyres available, "so we need to save them a little bit". Indeed, more rain is expected, with qualifying or the race likely to be influenced by water.

Results

Pos.No.DriverCarTimeGapLaps
177Valtteri BottasMercedes1:33.666-3
255Carlos SainzRenault1:34.953+1.287s3
316Charles LeclercSauber Ferrari1:35.012+1.346s5
414Fernando AlonsoMcLaren Renault1:36.365+2.699s4
55Sebastian VettelFerrari1:36.756+3.090s5
62Stoffel VandoorneMcLaren Renault1:37.547+3.881s4
710Pierre GaslyScuderia Toro Rosso Honda1:38.317+4.651s5
89Marcus EricssonSauber Ferrari1:38.450+4.784s3
911Sergio PerezForce India Mercedes1:39.641+5.975s4
103Daniel RicciardoRed Bull Racing Tag Heuer1:39.738+6.072s3
1131Esteban OconForce India Mercedes1:40.087+6.421s4
1244Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:40.743+7.077s3
137Kimi RäikkönenFerrari1:49.711+16.045s3
1418Lance StrollWilliams Mercedes2:02.399+28.733s4
1535Sergey SirotkinWilliams Mercedes2:04.093+30.427s5
1620Kevin MagnussenHaas Ferrari--1
1728Brendon HartleyScuderia Toro Rosso Honda--3
188Romain GrosjeanHaas Ferrari--1
1927Nico HulkenbergRenault--2
2033Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing Tag Heuer--3