What happened in third Dutch GP F1 practice

Max Verstappen set a blistering pace in the final Formula 1 practice session before Dutch Grand Prix qualifying at Zandvoort.

Key moments:

> Verstappen half a second clear

> Bottas, Hamilton second and third

> Sainz crashes, causes red flag

> Raikkonen stand-in Kubica 19th-fastest

On home soil, Verstappen topped FP3 on a 1m09.623s, set just over 10 minutes from the end of the one-hour session.

Verstappen benefitted from a tow from his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez on the run to the line, but he was also quickest in the first and second sectors without it.

Valtteri Bottas was the fastest Mercedes driver in second place, but 0.556s slower than Verstappen’s benchmark.

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton, on the back foot after missing almost the entirety of FP2, was almost eight tenths behind his title rival Verstappen and third in the session ahead of the second Red Bull of Perez.

Two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso was fifth-fastest for Alpine ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris, who had a brief trip visit to the gravel at the Turn 9 right-hander.

Sebastian Vettel survived a trip through the gravel on the exit of the Turn 10 left-hander early in the session to set the seventh quickest time, one place behind his Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll.

Sainz had lost control of his Ferrari on the exit of the Turn 2 right-hander and speared into the wall at the Turn 3 banking 20 minutes into the session.

There was visible damage to the front-left of his car, and it remains to be seen whether or not his Ferrari mechanics can repair his car in time for qualifying.

Carlos Sainz loses the rear and hits the wall on the entry to Turn 3

Thankfully he is okay and gets out of his car. We are now under a red flag whilst we wait for the track to be cleared#DutchGP 🇳🇱 #F1 pic.twitter.com/PQCVaVpZQC

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 4, 2021

Sainz’s Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc was ninth-fastest ahead of Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri.

Following Kimi Raikkonen’s positive COVID-19 test, Robert Kubica got behind the wheel of the Alfa Romeo for the first time this weekend.

Kubica, who will participate in his first F1 qualifying session since the 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, was 19th fastest, just under nine tenths slower than his team-mate Antonio Giovinazzi.

Practice 3 Results