» Huge Albon shunt ends FP3 early

A massive accident for Scuderia Toro Rosso rookie Alexander Albon brought the Chinese Grand Prix’s final practice session at the Shanghai International Circuit to an early finish.

The Anglo-Thai driver ran wide on to the Astroturf at the exit of the final corner and went into a tank-slapper as he tried to recover back to the circuit. His out-of-control STR14 was sent into the tyre wall at the entry of pit lane, with the impact ripping apart the left-hand side of the chassis and causing extensive front and rear damage.

Albon was shaken but unhurt, quickly escaping his battered car and heading to the Medical Centre for a mandatory check-up. He was soon declared unhurt, but the team quickly confirmed that the damage to his car is too extensive for him to take part in this afternoon’s qualifying session.

If ever we needed a reminder of how much Formula 1 has advanced in its safety standards on the eve of its 1,000th Grand Prix, this was it.

Albon’s accident brought FP3 to a close, leaving championship leader Valtteri Bottas – who was narrowly fastest in Friday’s second practice session – on top of the time sheets in the field’s final hit-out before qualifying.

Once again, the Mercedes-AMG driver was ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel on the time sheets, with a four-tenth of a second margin to the German and his teammate Charles Leclerc who finished third-quickest.

Bottas’ teammate Lewis Hamilton finished the session fourth-fastest after being unable to get a clear lap in the session, while Renault’s Nico Hülkenberg continued the factory team’s strong Chinese Grand Prix form from Friday by placing fifth in the session.

Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Räikkönen was an equally impressive sixth-fastest, with Max Verstappen a rather unrepresentative seventh in his Red Bull Racing Honda ahead of former Toro Rosso teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. in the McLaren.

Despite his accident, Albon was ninth-fastest with teammate Daniil Kvyat rounding out the top ten.

FORMULA 1 HEINEKEN CHINESE GRAND PRIX 2019 – FREE PRACTICE SESSION 3
	Driver	Team / Entry	Time	Gap	Laps
1.	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes-AMG Motorsport W10	1:32.830		11
2.	Sebastian Vettel	Scuderia Ferrari SF90	1:33.222	+ 0.392	12
3.	Charles Leclerc	Scuderia Ferrari SF90	1:33.248	+ 0.418	10
4.	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes-AMG Motorsport W10	1:33.689	+ 0.859	10
5.	Nico Hülkenberg	Renault F1 Team RS19	1:33.974	+ 1.144	11
6.	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing C38	1:34.246	+ 1.146	14
7.	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing RB15	1:34.447	+ 1.617	5
8.	Carlos Sainz Jr.	McLaren F1 Team MCL34	1:34.510	+ 1.680	9
9.	Alexander Albon	Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda STR14	1:34.600	+ 1.770	11
10.	Daniil Kvyat	Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda STR14	1:34.783	+ 1.953	10
11.	Lando Norris	McLaren F1 Team MCL34	1:34.938	+ 2.108	11
12.	Sergio Pérez	Racing Point F1 Team RP19	1:35.078	+ 2.248	9
13.	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault F1 Team RS19	1:35.142	+ 2.312	11
14.	Lance Stroll	Racing Point F1 Team RP19	1:35.223	+ 2.393	10
15.	Pierre Gasly	Red Bull Racing RB15	1:35.326	+ 2.496	8
16.	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing C38	1:35.729	+ 2.896	12
17.	Romain Grosjean	Haas F1 Team VF-19	1:35.771	+ 2.941	14
18.	Kevin Magnussen	Haas F1 Team VF-19	1:35.998	+ 3.168	15
19.	George Russell	ROKiT Williams Racing FW42	1:36.124	+ 3.294	10
20.	Robert Kubica	ROKiT Williams Racing FW42	1:36.176	+ 3.346	11