FP3 report: Bottas sets the pace in Mercedes 1-2 as Albon struggles continue
General
Mercedes set the pace in FP3 as Valtteri Bottas led Lewis Hamilton in the final session before qualifying. Mercedes weren’t so strong on Friday in the warmer temperatures, but as the weather cooled, their pace just got hotter.
Championship leader Hamilton will be looking for his seventh win at Silverstone on Sunday and he seems to be in the perfect position to do so.
Max Verstappen almost kept pace with the Mercedes duo in third, just three tenths behind Bottas.
After his crash at Stowe yesterday, Alexander Albon’s weekend took another twist as a battery problem stopped his running during the session.
The Thai driver was ready to go out onto the track, but the issue was detected in start-up and Albon had to get out of the car.
It was a sorry sight to see Albon’s car in pieces and surrounded by mechanics as he lost valuable time before qualifying.
It took Albon’s teammate Verstappen almost half an hour to get out on track, but he was immediately on the pace.
The Dutchman went third on his first flying lap, he is set to be one of few challengers to Mercedes this weekend.
McLaren looked good, with Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris both setting good lap times, ending the session P5 and P7 respectively.
Nico Hulkenberg continued his positive running this weekend, running similar pace to Lance Stroll for most of the session and sitting third at one point, before finishing down in 9th, a second off the pace.
Albon finally managed to get out on track with fifteen minutes to go, although a messy first flying lap was deleted for track limits at Turn 9.
Eventually he got a legal lap in, ending the session in P13.
There did seem to be some dark clouds around at the end of the session, and with qualifying just two hours away, we could be in for some spicy action!