Verstappen takes P1 yet again as rain hinders FP3

Max Verstappen took yet another P1 in practice at the Spanish Grand Prix, as he topped the time sheets in a red-affected FP3, with Williams' Logan Sargeant crashing out as a result.

Red Bull unruffled by upgrades

Many teams, including Ferarri, brought upgraded cars to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in an attempt to try and reel in the rapid Red Bull, which has dominated the 2023 season so far.

However, these upgrades have not helped their cause, as Verstappen and Red Bull dominated both FP1 and FP2, as the Dutchman topped the timesheets in each session and set blisteringly fast sector times.

But FP3 on Saturday would give teams and drivers a fresh start as they look towards qualifying later in the day, gaining data with the soft tyres and light fuel loads to maximise their performance.

As it happened

However, the chance to gain dry-running data for qualifying was hindered by the weather, as the rain that was forecast came down very quickly onto the circuit.

As a result, all 20 cars went out instantly as FP3 went green, as everyone on the grid worked on their one-lap pace before the rain set in, with the weather only allowing teams and drivers to complete a couple of flying laps in the dry.

There was little to no action for the rest of the session, with teams and drivers not wanting to risk anything as the rain continued to fall, as there was a 20-minute hiatus on track as a result of the conditions.

After just ten minutes in the session, all drivers had set lap times in the dry, and yet again it was Verstappen who placed his Red Bull into P1, once again highlighting his pace as he went a quarter of a second quicker than his teammate Sergio Perez in P2.

The W14 with its sidepods lifted Lewis Hamilton to P3 in the dry, as it seems a reversion back to sidepods for Mercedes has given them some extra speed, with Hamilton’s teammate George Russell placing his car in a respectable P6.

The highly upgraded Ferarri also looked racey in the dry, as Carlos Sainz was able to go P4 with some good one-lap pace, with teammate Charles Leclerc three places back in P7.

The other Spaniard, Fernando Alonso, rounded out the top five, as the hype train for the Aston Martin driver continues to build, with many hoping that he can earn victory at his home event and win the 33rd race of his career.