Valtteri Bottas headed a Mercedes 1-2 during final practice for Formula 1’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
In significantly cooler conditions than Friday, with air temperature at 21c rather than 36c, Bottas eclipsed team-mate Lewis Hamilton by posting a time of 1:25.873 on the Soft tyres.
The effort left him 0.138s in front of Hamilton, with only Red Bull’s Max Verstappen getting anywhere near the pair of W11s.
Verstappen classified third overall, three-tenths of a second behind Bottas.
Top three out in front
Lance Stroll led Friday’s running but on Saturday morning he was shuffled down to fourth, seven-tenths off the pace, as a gap developed to the top three.
Racing Point team-mate Nico Hulkenberg classified ninth, within three-tenths of Stroll, having been baulked by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel during the final few minutes.
Vettel finished only 14th as his miserable weekend continued though Ferrari partner Charles Leclerc fared better, classifying sixth, sandwiched by McLaren pair Carlos Sainz Jr. and Lando Norris.
Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, the aforementioned Hulkenberg and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly capped the top 10.
More woe for Albon
Alexander Albon suffered a hefty accident at Stowe during the second practice session and his Saturday morning was further compromised.
Honda detected an Energy Store problem upon fire-up and the time taken to undertake repairs meant the Anglo-Thai remained in the garage for all bar the final 15 minutes.
When he did appear his first flying lap left him near the back, an element which became redundant when stewards erased it for having breached track limits exiting Copse.
Another push lap was required but Albon mustered only 13th, over a second down on team-mate Verstappen.
Alfa Romeo at the back
Alfa Romeo has had the slowest package in qualifying at all three rounds and that trend looks set to continued.
Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Raikkonen classified 17th and 19th respectively, with the Finn’s frustrations enhanced further as he was baulked by his team-mate at Club corner.
Qualifying for Formula 1’s British Grand Prix is scheduled for 14:00 local time.
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | V. Bottas | Mercedes | 1:25.873 | 19 | |
| 2 | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:26.011 | +0.138 | 22 |
| 3 | M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:26.173 | +0.300 | 15 |
| 4 | L. Stroll | Racing Point | 1:26.576 | +0.703 | 14 |
| 5 | C. Sainz | McLaren | 1:26.664 | +0.791 | 22 |
| 6 | C. Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:26.771 | +0.898 | 19 |
| 7 | L. Norris | McLaren | 1:26.798 | +0.925 | 23 |
| 8 | D. Ricciardo | Renault | 1:26.841 | +0.968 | 15 |
| 9 | N. Hulkenberg | Racing Point | 1:26.872 | +0.999 | 15 |
| 10 | P. Gasly | AlphaTauri | 1:27.046 | +1.173 | 20 |
| 11 | D. Kvyat | AlphaTauri | 1:27.076 | +1.203 | 18 |
| 12 | E. Ocon | Renault | 1:27.158 | +1.285 | 16 |
| 13 | A. Albon | Red Bull | 1:27.178 | +1.305 | 10 |
| 14 | S. Vettel | Ferrari | 1:27.251 | +1.378 | 21 |
| 15 | R. Grosjean | Haas | 1:27.537 | +1.664 | 18 |
| 16 | G. Russll | Williams | 1:27.738 | +1.865 | 17 |
| 17 | A. Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | 1:27.825 | +1.952 | 16 |
| 18 | K. Magnussen | Haas | 1:27.860 | +1.987 | 15 |
| 19 | K. Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | 1:27.976 | +2.103 | 20 |
| 20 | N. Latifi | Williams | 1:28.112 | +2.239 | 16 |
Russell will change the game when he’ll be given a good car