Max Verstappen held a half-second advantage over the field as the pace increased in Practice 3 at the Dutch Grand Prix.
The Red Bull looked on rails through the high-speed middle section of Zandvoort, and a nice tow from teammate Sergio Perez to the finish line helped too as Max posted a 1m09.623s.
Valtteri Bottas was second for Mercedes, two-tenths clear of Lewis Hamilton as Perez rounded out the top four but almost a second slower than Verstappen.
Fernando Alonso led the midfield group in fifth for Alpine, a tenth clear of Lando Norris, who escaped a minor off into the gravel at Turn 9.
Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel were covered by just 0.03s in seventh and eighth as Aston Martin continued their improved weekend.
Friday pacesetter Charles Leclerc dropped to ninth, while Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz ended his session in the barrier at Turn 3 following his hefty crash.
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
Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 10 for AlphaTauri.
Further down, Daniel Ricciardo sat 11th, with Nicholas Latifi a strong 12th for Williams, two-tenths clear of teammate George Russell in 14th.
After a strong Friday, Esteban Ocon dropped down to 13th in the second Alpine, as Antonio Giovinazzi also couldn’t continue his run of top 10s in 15th.
Yuki Tsunoda was 17th, ahead of Nikita Mazepin, as Mick Schumacher’s final lap was ruined by a trip across the gravel at the chicane.
Mick pulls out of the chicane and takes the off-road route back to the track
FP3 is about finding your limits ahead of qualifying, and the drivers are doing exactly that!#DutchGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/M76mpc6RdJ
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 4, 2021
Robert Kubica returned to action replacing the Covid-positive Kimi Raikkonen at Alfa Romeo, with the Pole 19th overall.
Back at the front, and the question is who can stop Max Verstappen delighting his ‘Orange Army’ from taking pole at Zandvoort?
Certainly it is going to take a mighty effort to deny the Dutchman at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Full results from Practice 3 can be seen below:
