Watch Emilia-Romagna GP qualifying from Imola live at 1pm on Sky Sports F1, with build-up from midday; Red Bull’s Max Verstappen fastest by 0.4s in final practice with Lewis Hamilton third for Mercedes
Last Updated: 17/04/21 11:36am
0:47
Max Verstappen goes airborne after hitting the kerb on turn 13 hard during Practice 3 in Imola but still ended up topping the session
Max Verstappen rebounded from Red Bull’s lost time on Friday to set an impressive pace over the field in a final practice session that continued the action-packed start to the Emilia-Romagna GP.
The Dutchman, F1’s polesitter at the Bahrain season-opener three weeks ago, was four tenths of a second clear by a chasing pack led unexpectedly by McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Lewis Hamilton was 0.557s adrift in the lead Mercedes, with Sergio Perez close behind in fourth in the second Red Bull.
It remains to be seen whether Verstappen and Red Bull will carry that level of superiority into qualifying, which begins at 1pm live on Sky Sports F1, but the combination did beat Mercedes to pole by 0.4s in Bahrain.
In cold conditions in Italy, drivers continued to regularly run wide around the narrow and challenging Imola track with the best lap times often achieved on a car’s second timed lap out of the pits.
Williams’ Nicholas Latifi was the only driver to crash, spinning off and tapping the barriers with his car’s front wing at Turn Three, but the team were still able to get the Canadian back out onto track for the closing minutes.
1:29 Nicholas Latifi damages the front wing of his Williams car as he crashes out on final practice in Imola
Antonio Giovinazzi, Pierre Gasly and Valtteri Bottas were among the many drivers to run wide off track.
Sky F1‘s Damon Hill, a two-time race winner at Imola, said: “I’ve never seen so many cars leaving the track. They’re all really tricky corners, you have to be precise as possible – otherwise you’re in trouble.”
0:29 AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly found himself on the grass on turn 7
More to follow…
Emilia-Romagna GP Practice Three Timesheet
| Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1) Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:14.958 |
| 2) Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.456 |
| 3) Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +0.557 |
| 4) Sergio Perez | Red Bull | +0.593 |
| 5) Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.780 |
| 6) Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | +0.932 |
| 7) Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +0.950 |
| 8) Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | +0.950 |
| 9) Fernando Alonso | Alpine | +1.228 |
| 10) Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +1.270 |
| 11) Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | +1.272 |
| 12) Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +1.287 |
| 13) Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | +1.295 |
| 14) Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | +1.431 |
| 15) George Russell | Williams | +1.469 |
| 16) Mick Schumacher | Haas | +1.490 |
| 17) Nicholas Latifi | Williams | +1.579 |
| 18) Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | +1.654 |
| 19) Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | +1.845 |
| 20) Nikita Mazepin | Haas | +2.440 |
