F1 Canadian GP: Lando Norris recovers from “worst…

Lando Norris set the fastest time in the final free practice session ahead of qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix.

Having labelled Friday McLaren’s “worst of the year,” Norris recovered on Saturday and led the field with a time of 1m11.799s, with Charles Leclerc second ahead of George Russell and the second Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton.

While Norris’ weekend improved, team-mate and championship leader Oscar Piastri hit the final corner – hoping a clip of the ‘wall of champions’ might be a premonition for his season, even if here it simply led to a right rear puncture and a red flag to allow the marshals to clear away debris.

The Australian nursed his McLaren back to the pits and rejoined the session, but could not trouble the leaders with his lap times. Piastri ended the running down in eighth and seven tenths off his team-mate.

Nico Hulkenberg also had a spin out of the final chicane, but somehow kept it out of the wall himself. Quick reflexes from the German allowed him to recover his Sauber, while the Haas of Oliver Bearman also made contact at the same point later in the session.

Max Verstappen was fifth fastest overall while Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin was the only other car to get within half a second of Norris’ best effort.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari (Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images)

Andrea Kimi Antonelli was seventh ahead of Piastri, with the Willaims duo of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon rounding out the top 10.

Leclerc had been the early pacesetter on the medium tyre but, with the field seemingly split on the best compound on Friday, every driver set their best time in FP3 using the C6 – Pirelli's softest compound in Montreal.

Piastri’s small introduction to the fabled wall at the final corner brought out the red flag and he will be keen to follow his team-mate in improving when qualifying gets under way later today.

Isack Hadjar had a late spin as he set the 11th quickest time ahead of Pierre Gasly and Racing Bulls team-mate Liam Lawson.

It was a session to forget for Yuki Tsunoda, Lawson’s early-season replacement at Red Bull, as he finished last and is under investigation for a red flag infringement.

Photos from Canadian GP - Practice & Qualifying

F1 Canadian GP results - FP3

1 - 2
Cla	Driver	#	Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Interval	Tyres	km/h
1	L. Norris McLaren	4	McLaren	Mercedes	24	1'11.799		S	218.660
2	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16	Ferrari	Ferrari	29	+0.078 1'11.877	0.078	S	218.423
3	G. Russell Mercedes	63	Mercedes	Mercedes	20	+0.151 1'11.950	0.073	S	218.201
4	L. Hamilton Ferrari	44	Ferrari	Ferrari	26	+0.251 1'12.050	0.100	S	217.898
5	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	1	Red Bull	Red Bull	20	+0.273 1'12.072	0.022	S	217.832
6	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14	Aston Martin	Mercedes	21	+0.448 1'12.247	0.175	S	217.304
7	A. Antonelli Mercedes	12	Mercedes	Mercedes	21	+0.549 1'12.348	0.101	S	217.001
8	O. Piastri McLaren	81	McLaren	Mercedes	18	+0.720 1'12.519	0.171	S	216.489
9	C. Sainz Williams	55	Williams	Mercedes	22	+0.720 1'12.519	0.000	S	216.489
10	A. Albon Williams	23	Williams	Mercedes	22	+0.774 1'12.573	0.054	S	216.328
11	I. Hadjar Racing Bulls	6	RB	Honda	22	+0.852 1'12.651	0.078	S	216.096
12	P. Gasly Alpine	10	Alpine	Renault	27	+0.885 1'12.684	0.033	S	215.998
13	L. Lawson Racing Bulls	30	RB	Honda	27	+0.992 1'12.791	0.107	S	215.680
14	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18	Aston Martin	Mercedes	28	+0.995 1'12.794	0.003	S	215.671
15	O. Bearman Haas F1 Team	87	Haas	Ferrari	27	+1.026 1'12.825	0.031	S	215.579
16	E. Ocon Haas F1 Team	31	Haas	Ferrari	22	+1.028 1'12.827	0.002	S	215.573
17	F. Colapinto Alpine	43	Alpine	Renault	27	+1.261 1'13.060	0.233	S	214.886
18	N. Hulkenberg Sauber	27	Sauber	Ferrari	19	+1.273 1'13.072	0.012	S	214.851
19	G. Bortoleto Sauber	5	Sauber	Ferrari	22	+1.373 1'13.172	0.100	S	214.557
20	Y. Tsunoda Red Bull Racing	22	Red Bull	Red Bull	14	+1.774 1'13.573	0.401	S	213.388
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