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French GP
F1 French GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP3 & Qualifying
Saturday's updates from Formula 1's French GP weekend at Paul Ricard
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Well, it's not the kind of improvement Gasly would be looking for as he moves up to P9, just ahead of Ricciardo.
Gasly, up in fourth earlier, has now been shuffled back to P12 but is on a hot lap that could put him back amongst the sharp end.
Verstappen quickest in the second and third sectors outright, but Bottas still retains the fastest first sector time. So perhaps still more room for Red Bull to improve? That's a scary thought, as Verstappen currently sits on a 0.74s advantage.
Stopwatch
And now for a statement lap from Verstappen - it's a 1m31.300s for the Red Bull man, who becomes the first driver all weekend to break into the 1m31s bracket.
There's a turn-up for the books. Sainz now goes second for Ferrari on a 1m32.195s, while Perez turns a somewhat disappointing session around with a 1m32.238s to go third quickest.
While we were watching the Mercedes, Ricciardo moves up to fourth on a 1m32.759s.
Bottas improves again, this time to a 1m32.047s - which would be fractionally slower than Verstappen's time that was deleted earlier. He stays on top spot, as Hamilton's improvement only lifts him to a 1m32.266s.
No sign of Mercedes switching to hard tyre running though - Hamilton and Bottas are out for another crack on the softs.
We don't really need to tell you the corner (yep, it's Turn 6 again) but Giovinazzi becomes the latest to have a lap deleted for track limits.
After lapping 15th and 16th yesterday, Vettel and Stroll are P13 and P17 in the session so far, and may be in danger of Q1 elimination if Russell can once again pull a rabbit out of the hat in his Williams.
Drivers are starting to switch to the hard tyre to conduct some race runs. Vettel and Stroll are the earliest adopters for Aston Martin, in perhaps a clue that the team will be banking on race strategy rather than one-lap pace to get a result out of the weekend.
Amid that excitement, Hamilton improved his best time to a 1m32.667s, but is still 0.358s behind his team-mate. Gasly meanwhile launches up to P4 on a 1m33.154s. Impressive lap from the AlphaTauri man.
With Bottas' lap legal, he now has a 0.028s cushion over Verstappen in top spot. Practically a month by comparison with the FP2 gap...
Replays show Verstappen had a mid-corner oversteer snap which just took his right-front wheel over the white line to have all four tyres off. Fair cop.
Not wanting to be left out, Tsunoda adds his name to the Turn 6 naughty list, so stays P15.
After Bottas improved to a 1m32.309s on a new set of softs, Verstappen went faster still on a 1m32.024s - but it has been deleted for track limits at, you guessed it, Turn 6.
Just half an hour remains in this session, which has suddenly burst into life after an opening salvo that might be charitably compared to yesterday's England v Scotland 'thriller'.
On his second go, Gasly punches in a 1m33.339s which puts him P7, just ahead of Sainz. We've currently got both Alpines, both McLarens, both Ferraris and both Mercedes in the top 10 - but only one Red Bull, with Perez down in P11.
Gasly is still at the bottom of the timesheets for now - that's because his last lap was deleted for track limits at Turn 6, for which Raikkonen has also been penalised.
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It was 0.008s between Verstappen and Bottas in FP2, and he's now stretched the advantage to 0.009s. I know we talk about marginal gains in F1, but that's just ridiculous.
Stopwatch
And Verstappen goes fastest! It's a 1m32.337s for the Dutchman, which puts him into P1 by 0.009s.
Hamilton goes top on a 1m33.167s, but that is immediately quashed by Bottas on a flying 1m32.346s. Now what can Verstappen do?
Now at last we have the two Mercedes and Verstappen out on track. Who will prevail in their battle of wills?
Tsunoda meanwhile has run wide at Turn 12 and got a load of muck on his tyres, which prompts a visit to the pits.
Leclerc's first time puts him fourth, on a 1m33.736. Meanwhile Sainz and Norris both have times deleted for abuse of track limits at Turn 6.
Mazepin has a spin in the Haas at Turn 2, in a near carbon-copy of what Carlos Sainz Jr did yesterday. No harm done, but his tyres will be wrecked from going over the ultra-abrasive red Tarmac run-off.
Ricciardo slots into second with a 1m33.592s, as both Ferraris, Vettel and Norris also head out. Mercedes keeping Hamilton and Bottas home for the time being, along with Verstappen, Gasly and Stroll.
Stopwatch
Now Ocon's time is lowered further by his team-mate Alonso, who clocks a 1m33.206s.
Stopwatch
Perez briefly goes quickest on a 1m33.775s, but is pipped by Ocon with a 1m33.707s, while Raikkonen goes third ahead of Russell and Latifi.
Several more cars emerge now, including Baku winner Perez, 2005 French GP winner Alonso, the Williams of Russell and Latifi and Ricciardo's McLaren - everybody using soft tyres.
Mazepin posts the session's first timed lap, a 1m34.966s, which is quicker than Schumacher's first effort of 1m35.296s. It's a Haas 1-2 - for the time being.
Now a few more drivers come out to play. Here's Esteban Ocon in the Alpine, fresh from signing a new deal with the team that goes through to 2024, and 2007 French GP winner Kimi Raikkonen - whose future is rather less certain. Both are on soft tyres.
He's followed out of the pits by team-mate Mick Schumacher. If you missed it, on the final lap in Baku Mazepin lost charge in his battery and moved to block Schumacher as he drafted up behind - drawing ire from the German. Mazepin though was non-plussed on Thursday, saying he cannot "expect to have it too easy". Here's the full story: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/mazepin-schumacher-cant-expect-to-have-it-too-easy-after-baku-move-anger/6578291/
Ten minutes of FP3 complete and we at last have our first car out on track. It's the Haas of Nikita Mazepin, who has a set of soft tyres to try out.
If we're to insist on awarding a point to the driver who sets fastest lap (normally a conciliatory gesture to the lowest-placed driver from the top two teams), then why not award one to the driver who comes out of the pits first for each practice session?
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Antonio Giovinazzi is putting his helmet on at least. A signal of intent that we may see some track action soon.
Looks like nobody is in any hurry to do more laps of the Circuit Paul Ricard today. So why not catch up on the action from a thrilling F3 race earlier that was decided with a pass for the win the final lap? Here's Megan White's report: https://www.autosport.com/fia-f3/news/france-f3-smolyar-takes-dramatic-last-lap-win-from-martins/6584901/
We wonder if Jonathan Wheatley did manage to secure the return of the front wing part that was ripped from Verstappen's Red Bull by the Turn 2 kerbs yesterday. His radio message to race director Michael Masi reminded me of being the little kid on the playground. "Excuse me, can I have my ball back please?"
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