Who would have thought that we would see a top-3 composed of Alonso, Gasly, and Vettel? That's right: things that only rain, which finally came, can provide. Still, the last free practice of Formula 1 in Montreal had very little track action
The long-awaited and promised rain finally showed up in Montreal. The third and final free practice session of Formula 1 in Canada, held this Saturday (18), was not under normal conditions, therefore. And in such a scenario, who was responsible for interrupting Max Verstappen's 100% record at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit was Fernando Alonso and Alpine.
The last free practice session in Canada was not only rainy, but also sleepy. Understandable: the weather conditions implied a fear of the teams to put their respective qualifying practice sessions at risk. In addition, with the race forecast on a dry track, it was difficult to do any kind of setup adjustment and data analysis thinking about the race.
To give you an idea: Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez did exactly 10 laps (only). Charles Leclerc, who will start from the back of the grid after changing his engine, didn't even set a time. The leader in completed laps in TL3 was Yuki Tsunoda, with only 25.
As such, Alonso led the timesheets - which saw a sharp change in the order of strength: Pierre Gasly second, Sebastian Vettel third. Esteban Ocon, Daniel Ricciardo, Lando Norris, George Russell, Pérez, Verstappen, and Carlos Sainz completed the top-10, in order.
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Check out TL3 of the F1 Canadian GP:
Last placed in TL1, Kevin Magnussen was the first to experience the wet Circuit Gilles Villeneuve - as soon as the timer allowed. As promised, the rain was present in Montreal - as was the intense cold.
Beside the Dane on the track, only his Haas teammate Mick Schumacher - who complained about the track conditions with swear words - and the Ferrari duo. Understandable: the Italian squad didn't want to waste any time, after seeing Max Verstappen and Red Bull dominate the first day of F1 action in Canada.
While Aston Martin was launching its drivers on the circuit, the FOM broadcast showed a carefree Esteban Ocon, out of the car and wearing jeans, joking and chatting with Alpine employees.
On the wet track, Carlos Sainz was going all out to be the first driver from the front to set a fast lap, already seven minutes into the session, but Ferrari called the Spaniard into the pits. The provisional lead therefore remained with Kevin Magnussen - not that there was heavy competition, of course.
With 15 minutes of TL3 gone, it was still impossible to ride on intermediate tires - only blue stripe tires on the track. The action, however, was still sleepy: McLaren was the only one that sent its drivers to the company of Sebastian Vettel, Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda.
40 minutes to go and Alfa Romeo finally sent Valtteri Bottas out on track. The Finn did not participate in TL2 due to faults in his car. Anyway, the loss was already 'guaranteed', since the tendency is to race on a dry circuit - riding on the wet track would be of little help in terms of setup and the like. Meanwhile, Bottas turned in 1min37s909 and remained in the lead of the session.
This changed when Ferrari finally returned with Sainz on track: 1min36s831 for the Spaniard, in his first recorded fast lap. Detail: already with more than 25 minutes of TL3. The Italian team also threw Charles Leclerc on the circuit - only the two of them and Ocon were on the track.
Sainz improved his own time, down to 1min35s858, as more cars finally appeared on the track. Still, short lap sequences: nobody wanted to risk staying on the track for too long.
In the second half of TL3, there were few changes in the timesheets. Significant, however: Fernando Alonso and George Russell went to the top, but it was Vettel who was responsible for beating Sainz: 1min35s821 for the four-time world champion.
With 17 minutes to go, Alpine put Alonso on intermediate tires. After a slow lap, the Spaniard climbed to the top of the timesheet: 1min34s836. The green banded compounds were proving to be a ways off - which is precisely why Sainz and Vettel were next to try them out.
The two-time world champion lowered his own pace even further in the next round, clocking 1min34s229. Verstappen went to the track, still on heavy rain tires, but made a mistake at the chicane and aborted his lap - he soon returned to the pits.
Little by little, the intermediates became predominant. Vettel pushed Alonso out of the lead with a time of 1min33s891. The two-time world champion did the same: 1min33s836. So, those who were putting on the green tires were climbing up the time table: Sainz, Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly...
With six minutes to go, Magnussen ran off the track and, stopped on the grass, caused a yellow flag regime. Verstappen, on a slow lap and at the same point of the track, spun alone. The rain intensified at the end of the session.
Ocon even promised to take the lead from teammate Alonso at the end, but a mistake in the last sector left him only fourth. Gasly moved up to second and overtook Vettel, but the lead remained with the Spaniard.