Max Verstappen tops INCIDENT-FILLED free practice 3 as Carlos Sainz crashes

Verstappen in regen in Montreal — Photo: © LAT Images

Canadian Grand Prix FP3

Verstappen tops INCIDENT-FILLED free practice 3 as Sainz crashes

The rain-hit session saw a number of drivers lose control in the braking zones

Jack Walker

Saturday 17 June 2023 19:46 Updated: 23:01

Max Verstappen topped the timing screens with a 1:23.106 in a wet final practice session before qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc and Fernando Alonso completed the top three.

The standout performer of the session was Haas’ Kevin Magnussen who finished P4 with an impressive 1:24.715, but the times set in FP3 are not always representative of the cars’ true pace.

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The session was red-flagged when Carlos Sainz crashed at the midway point, losing his front and rear wings and giving his mechanics a lot of work to do before qualifying gets underway at 21:00 BST.

Tricky conditions

Beginning another push lap, the Spaniard hit the brakes but drove over paint on the right-hand side of the track. This caused him to lose control and veer into the wall, taking the front wing clean off on impact before the car span round and the rear hit the barrier.

It left the SF-23’s nose looking more like a Star Wars X-fighter than an F1 car.

🚩 RED FLAG 🚩

The session has been red-flagged

Carlos Sainz goes spinning off into the barriers at Turn 1#CanadianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/8cr2wogLCG
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 17, 2023

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez could only finish in 17th place, while Alpine’s Esteban Ocon struggled to put a fast lap together and ended in P19.

Fernando Alonso, Alex Albon, and Lewis Hamilton all also struggled to find the braking points in the wet conditions, each driver using the run-off areas between the final corner and Turn 2.

Albon then wanted Sainz reported to the stewards for holding up his fastest lap, an incident that is being investigated after the session.

The track was evolving with every passing lap, with a number of teams briefly popping into P1 before the more dominant cars got to grip with the weather.

Rain has arrived

The closing stages of FP3 saw heavy rain hit the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, with a large stream of water running down the main straight and into the pitlane. We all know that rain-hit qualifying sessions are often filled with action and mistakes, so it’s set up to be a cracker.