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Formula 1
Spanish GP
F1 Spanish GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP3 & Qualifying
Updates from Saturday's F1 FP3 and qualifying sessions ahead of the Spanish GP.
After a week's break, F1 returns to action back in Europe for the Spanish GP.
Charles Leclerc leads the F1 drivers’ standings by 19 points from Max Verstappen following the Dutch driver’s Miami GP victory last time out, as Ferrari heads the teams’ standings by just six points from Red Bull.
An extensive range of upgrades have been delivered by almost every F1 team, which could shake-up the pecking order as teams push on with the development of the new cars.
FP3 for the Spanish GP gets underway at 12.00pm BST (1.00pm local time), followed by qualifying which starts at 3.00pm BST (4.00pm local time).
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Ricciardo in the other McLaren now posts his soft-tyre time and it's a 1m20.910s, so goes 11th. Again, that's about half a second behind his team-mate Norris
But, perhaps more notable than the position of Norris, it's the gap to Leclerc. He's only six tenths down on Leclerc's table-topping effort - which is pretty impressive
Finally, the McLarens have bolted on the softs. Norris sets a 1m20.403s to go seventh and take that best of the rest spot behind the Ferraris, Red Bulls and Mercedes.
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But the Silver Arrows are instantly knocked down to third and fourth as Verstappen goes just 0.072s slower than Leclerc. Game on!
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Forget Verstappen, it's Hamilton on the march as he goes up to third, just a tenth behind team-mate Russell
Verstappen starts a new flier - let's see what the Red Bull driver can manage
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The controversial Aston Martins have now bolted on the soft tyres and Vettel has gone ninth and Stroll 12th. That just leaves the McLarens yet to use the red-walled rubber
Gasly, meanwhile, is sat on the pitwall so, after his earlier fire, it looks like both he and Schumacher will be on the sidelines for the remainder of the session
That's an impressive time from Russell. It's almost exactly a second faster than team-mate Hamilton, who is back in the pits. Can the world champion close that gap?
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Russell goes second, that's much more encouraging for Mercedes! He is now just 0.15s behind Leclerc as he splits the Ferraris
Ah, is that a purple sector from a Mercedes we see? Yes, that rare sight is thanks to Russell. But can he sustain that time around the rest of the lap?
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But despite that slightly awkward moment on the radio, Hamilton has now gone faster than Russell and is into seventh - still behind Bottas and Magnussen, before even mentioning the Ferraris and Red Bulls
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Hamilton's been given a data trace from Russell's lap but the world champion isn't happy - he wants to see that of the fastest driver, not his fellow Mercedes racer!
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The Ferraris are on a charge. Leclerc improves to a 1m19.772s (just a tenth slower than yesterday), while Sainz goes second but is approaching four tenths slower than his team-mate
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Meanwhile, one driver who is delivering the goods is Magnussen. He goes fifth, faster than the two Mercedes (by half a second) with a 1m20.646s
For all the talk of Aston Martin's upgrade package, it's not helping the team's drivers deliver strong times in this session. Yes, they haven't used the softs yet - but they're down in 16th and 17th at present
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And it's a 1m21.170s for Hamilton as he jumps to sixth but is still the best part of a second slower than Leclerc
Hamilton, with his Mercedes's DRS fixed is now out on the softs for another attempt. Let's see what the Silver Arrows is really capable of
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Verstappen says the car "just doesn't turn at low-speed" when asked by Red Bull for any recommendations
As we approach the middle of the session, it's Leclerc, from Verstappen, Sainz and Perez, with Bottas and Ocon splitting the Mercedes cars in fifth and eighth
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But that time is instantly eclipsed by Verstappen as he splits the scarlet cars - two tenths down on Leclerc's time
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Perez is the latest to improve on the softs as he sets a 1m20.541s, to go two tenths slower than the Ferraris
Speaking of the pits, and Verstappen has now departed for the first time as we approach the mid-point of the session
Back in the pits, and Schumacher's brake is still smouldering and the disc has been badly destroyed from the flames
Sainz's latest effort on the softs has him setting the ultimate best in the first sector but he failed to improve in the rest of the lap. Seems as if he's already up to speed with his new chassis
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Hamilton is told on the radio that he's got a DRS issue and will be heading back to the pits to get it resolved
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Russell's opening effort sends him to third, while Hamilton goes sixth, four tenths slower than his team-mate
Among the improvers, Ocon goes fourth, while Albon is now seventh on the leaderboard
There's a flurry of activity as other drivers head out - only Verstappen is now yet to leave the pits
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Leclerc now clocks a 1m20.278s to take over top spot
Sainz has now set his time and it's a 1m20.484s on the softs - eight tenths faster than Bottas, and the same margin slower than Leclerc's best from yesterday
Back in the pits, the Haas is still smoking away and it appeared that Schumacher struck one of his mechanics as the brake issue meant he was unable to stop
Meanwhile, the Ferraris have headed out on track for the first time, as Alonso moves up to second with his opening gambit
There was clearly some damage on the rear right brake as Schumacher came in before it became engulfed in flames as he came to a stop
Crash
More pitlane drama! Schumacher has just arrived in the pits with the back of his car on fire!
Verstappen is still outside of his car, so is clearly in no rush to join the handful of drivers currently out on track
Replays show Tsunoda's AlphaTauri clattering over the kerbs at the final chicane - that explains why his first effort is some 3s off the pace
Both Haas drivers become the third and fourth drivers to set times, but they aren't representative efforts
Almost 10 minutes into the session and, unsurprisingly, half of the grid have yet to venture out on track
The Finn has a little slide at the final corner but still goes 2s faster than Norris's earlier effort
By: autosport.com
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