Charles Leclerc fastest at FP3 in Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, Mercedes put in worrying performance

Charles Leclerc recorded the fastest time in the third practice session at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Saturday. With the end of the session closing in he put in a time of 1:29.735, just 0.033s ahead of current champion, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen. Ad/> Third fastest was Sergio Perez’s, Red Bull’s second driver, and Ferrari closed out the top four with Carlos Sainz.

Formula 1Button unsure if Hamilton will retire at end of seasonAN HOUR AGO Until that dramatic last effort, it had seemed that Red Bull would reassert their dominance after a catastrophic ending to their efforts in Bahrain last Sunday. Verstappen had been looking likely to challenge Leclerc in the dying moments of the first race of the season but he suffered a fault with a fuel pump which led to him losing almost all his power in lap 54. Three laps later with the race almost over, his teammate Sergio Perez spinning out and also failing to finish.

That allowed Lewis Hamilton to claim a surprise third-place finish after struggling for much of the weekend. /> Third fastest was Perez’s, Red Bull’s second driver, and Ferrari closed out the top four with Carlos Sainz. While many expected Ferrari and Red Bull to again set the pace, former world champion Hamilton and his new teammate George Russell will be alarmed that they are even less competitive than they had been in Bahrain at last weekend’s season opener.