Charles Leclerc takes P1 back from Max Verstappen, who spins: Russian GP FP3 Results

Russian GP

Leclerc takes P1 back from Verstappen, who spins: Russian GP FP3 Results

Ferrari on form heading into quali.

Matthew Scott

Saturday 28 September 2019 12:00 Updated: 12:08

Charles Leclerc resumed his standing as the fastest man at the Russian Grand Prix by topping FP3 by three tenths of a second from Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

Leclerc traded P1 with Max Verstappen on Friday, but the Dutchman faded from single-lap contention in Saturday's early session and saw a soft-tyre lap spoiled by a pair of mistakes.

Verstappen went airborne after going over the kerbs and then spun later in the lap, kissing the barriers with his rear wing, to prompt a change ahead of qualifying.

Article continues under video

Both Verstappen and team-mate Alexander Albon will serve five-place grid penalties.

It remains to be seen if Mercedes can take the fight to Ferrari in qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton lamenting over team radio that a gap of 1.1 seconds to Leclerc was insurmountable.

Hamilton did manage to close the gap to four tenths by the end of the session, going quicker than Valtteri Bottas for the first time in the weekend.

Home fans will have been disappointed by the sight of Daniil Kvyat pulling over with a second engine issue of the weekend. He was already due to start the race from the back of the grid, but now will not take part in qualifying at all.

Russian GP FP3 results

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1:32.733
2. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 1:33.049
3. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:33.129
4. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 1:33.354
5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1:34.227
6. Romain Grosjean (Haas) 1:34.308
7. Alexander Albon (Red Bull) 1:34.371
8. Nico Hulkenberg (Renault) 1:34.421
9. Lando Norris (McLaren) 1:34.527
10. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) 1:34.546
11. Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso) 1:34.564
12. Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) 1:34.586
13. Carlos Sainz (McLaren) 1:34.607
14. Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo) 1:34.766
15. Sergio Perez (Racing Point) 1:34.860
16. Lance Stroll (Racing Point) 1:34.898
17. Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo) 1:35.714
18. George Russell (Williams) 1:36.011
19. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) 1:36.081
20. Robert Kubica (Williams) 1:36.942