British GP FP3: Leclerc fastest, Verstappen better, but too close to call
F1 NewsSaturday, 05 July 2025 at 12:40
Charles Leclerc topped the final practice session for the 2025 British Grand Prix which saw Max Verstappen get back into the mix as the top four drivers were within one tenth of second.
Leclerc posted a 1:25.498, which was just 0.068s faster than McLaren's Oscar Piastri who was second and 0.019s clear of Max Verstappen in third.
Verstappen enjoyed a much better session as Red Bull Racing managed to have transformed the understeering RB21 over night as the reigning Formula 1 champion seemed to be running a low downforce setup with a skinny rear wing.
Lando Norris was fourth fastest in the second McLaren, 0.108s off the pace which sets the stage for an interesting qualifying later on Saturday.
Then came Yuki Tsunoda, in fifth, but over six tenths off the pace and ahead of Oliver Bearman in sixth while Alex Albon was seventh.
George Russell was eighth ahead of Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson who were ninth and tenth respectively at he end of the session that was interrupted twice by Red flags.
The first time was due to bodywork flying off Bearman's Haas while the second came out after a crash by Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto in the final moments of the session.
Lewis Hamilton was 11th fastest, but was on a decent lap towards the end which he had to abort due to Bortoleto's crash, so expect the seven-time F1 champion to be in the mix qualifying which should be a fight between the Ferraris, McLarens, and Verstappen.
As for Mercedes, they did not seem to gain the advantage expected from the cooler conditions but let's what and see what they do in qualifying.
Buildup towards FP3
While McLaren remained as favorites heading into the British Grand Prix weekend with Norris topping Friday's practice, Ferrari emerged as a serious threat for the Woking squad with Zak Brown and both his drivers admitting that.
Hamilton was fastest in FP1, and while Norris took over the top spot in FP2, both Ferrari's showed genuine pace and we all know Lewis always finds something extra at Silverstone.
Verstappen was unhappy with his Friday as his RB21 was understeering all over the place so it would worth it to see how Red Bull react.
While conditions were hot on Friday, they are expected to change on Saturday which should suit Mercedes who struggled on Friday, so how will they perform in the final practice and qualifying?
The wind will continue to play a role as conditions are expected to remain gusty on Saturday and if conditions cool down that should reduce McLaren's advantage over their rivals.
So let's head into FP3 and find out how the picture is ahead of qualifying.
FP3 Session Highlights
The session started in overcast conditions and while it remained gusty, the temperatures dropped considerably compared to Friday.
Track temperatures were 25 degrees Celsius while air temperatures were 20 degrees.
The session was delayed by five minutes as the marshals were cleaning that track from tyre marbles after the Formula 2 race.
Early on, we could see that Verstappen is going for a low downforce setup with a skinny rear wing bolted to his RB21.
But then the session started and while several drivers took their time before heading out on track, Pierre Gasly - Alpine had a tough Friday - was eager to head out and start his FP3.
Gasly finished a timed lap and was asked by his engineer about the balance. He said it was better but that he didn't have any grip. Colapinto then went faster.
Soon fan favorite, Hamilton started his FP3 and after an outlap, waving for the fans, he started his first timed lap on Soft tyres.
It was a sketchy start pf the lap for Hamilton who had to do a few corrections in the first sector, but then edged ahead in the remaining two sectors and went to the top, over seven tenths clear of Colapinto.
12 minutes into the session and Verstappen finally climbed into his RB21 and got strapped in preparing to head out on track.
Over 15 minutes into the session and Norris finally made his way out on track followed by Leclerc and Verstappen. Then Russell, Kimi Antonelli, Piastri, and Tsunoda joined. All on Soft tyres.
Piastri was soon warned by his engineer of tail wind while braking into Turn 3.
Norris went second fastest, almost half a second behind Hamilton, but then both were dropped by Leclerc who jumped to the top of the timing screens after his first timed lap in FP3.
Then Verstappen went second fastest behind Leclerc while Russell went fourth fastest on his first attempt.
First Soft runs for the top team yielded this order: Leclerc - Verstappen - Hamilton - Russell - Norris - Antonelli - Albon - Tsunoda - Piastri - Lance Stroll (Albon and Stroll posted their times on Medium though)
Meanwhile replay showed Stroll oversteering coming out of Luffield. He just manage to hold the slide and kept going.
The driver returned briefly to their pits and then head out on track again for more Soft-tyre running. Leclerc managed to find an extra couple of tenths while Antonelli improved to fourth and Russell to third.
Hamilton soon started his second qualifying simulation and improved but only to fourth. His lap started well but fell away as he went into the second and third sector.
Then Antonelli had a snap while going into Maggots and Becketts, but held it.
After that, Verstappen started his second qualifying run and posted the best first sector, and had a moment due to dirty air from an Alpine which meant he was remained second fastest.
However, it has to be noted that RB21 has improved overnight. However he complained about his brake bias saying it felt like a handbrake.
Albon was caught out by a slow Aston Martin entering Copse, and was affected by its wake and went wide on the kerbs. He radioed: "What was that?!!"
Then Leclerc reported a little bit of rain at Turn 9, aka Copse, but "nothing big" he added.
Russell the went marginally faster than Verstappen and took second place behind Leclerc by two tenths as Norris and Piastri head out track on a new set of Soft tyres.
The Leclerc "nearly lost it" going into the final corner while weaving to put some heat into his tyre ahead of a lap.
Gasly and Lawson had a close moment out on track with the stewards announcing they were looking into it. Lawson was given a black and white flag.
Norris then started his flying lap and went fastest while Piastri, behind him on track, also improved and went even faster and to the top of the timing screens.
Then Carlos Sainz had a snap while entering Copse and had to run wide into the run-off area.
Then Verstappen started another lap on a new set of Soft tyres. He went fastest, just 0.019s behind Piastri and splitting the McLarens.
The Leclerc went to the top of the pile, ten minutes from the end as the top four were within less than a tenth of second.
The Hamilton was on a hot lap and was improving, but then he had to abort the lap due to a Red flag brought out to retrieve a piece of bodywork out on track. That was seven minutes from the end.
The session was restarted with six minutes remaining as it turned out, the piece of bodywork came off Bearman's Haas.
The drivers rushed out on track trying to put in some running before the session was over. They created a long queue in the pitlane.
Russell started a lap but had a huge lockup and aborted his lap, but then the Red Flag came out again as Bortoleto was beached in the gravel with a damaged front suspension.
Replay showed the Brazilian lose control going into the Maggots and Becketts sequence and spun, going off track hitting a bump and breaking his suspension before ending up in the run-off area.
But the more bizarre crash came from Bearman who locked up heavily while entering the pits and lost his car, hitting the barrier and returning to the garage without his Haas' nose.
The session wasn't restarted.
British GP FP3 Classification
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