Charles Leclerc continues to get the best out of his F1-75. By setting the fastest time in the third free practice session in extremis after having dominated the first two, the Monegasque is the favorite for the qualifying session in Jeddah (6 p.m.). At the cost of a supersonic last lap, the leader of the world championship was ahead of Max Verstappen by 33 hundredths. The world champion himself beat his partner Sergio Perez (+0.098), proof of the good performance of Red Bull, especially in pure speed.
It remains to be seen whether the mechanical problems glimpsed in Bahrain will remain behind the teams equipped with Honda engines, especially since Pierre Gasly (7e session time just behind Esteban Ocon), had to stop early due to a problem with his Alpha Tauri. Note the 5th lap of a radiant Valtteri Bottas at the wheel of his Alfa Romeo.
On the other hand, the situation is more critical for the teams powered by Mercedes, all relegated beyond the second behind the time of Leclerc… except Lewis Hamilton (11e, + 0”972), appeared quite helpless at the end of the session. His teammate George Russell, who acknowledged the delay in turning on Mercedes, signed the 14e time behind rookie Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo). Further still, Daniel Ricciardo (16e) and Lando Norris (19e) look just as helpless behind the wheel of their McLaren.