» Hamilton pips Verstappen in final practice

Lewis Hamilton made his first appearance at the top of the Brazilian Formula 1 Grand Prix practice timesheets this weekend ahead of Saturday’s highly-anticipated qualifying session.

The Mercedes-AMG driver, crowned a six-time World Champion last time out at the United States, edged Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen by just 0.026 seconds during their qualifying-style runs, with the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel keeping a close watching brief in third and fourth.

Hamilton’s quickest time, a 1:08.320, came with about fifteen minutes left on the clock in the final one-hour hit-out with his time toppling Leclerc’s then session-topping effort by almost three-tenths of a second.

After struggling for straightline speed in Texas, the Ferraris showed no such sluggishness around the Interlagos circuit. Leclerc – who will take a grid penalty for fitting a new engine – was the fastest driver in the first and third sector splits of the 4.309-kilometre lap.

Hamilton’s superior middle sector split times proved good enough to jump the Ferraris, and despite a late challenge from Verstappen – who was briefly confined to the garage while a front wing issue was rectified – he was able to hang onto top spot.

By contrast Hamilton and Verstappen’s respectively teammates, Valtteri Bottas (P6) and Alexander Albon (P5) were unable to unlock the same speed, although in both drivers’ defence they had scruffy laps that saw them roughly eight-tenths of a second off the ultimate pace.

Leading the ‘best of the rest’ charge was Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat. The Russian seemed to have recovered from his stoppage at the end of FP2 and lapped seventh-fastest, fractionally slower than Bottas and around a second off Hamilton’s benchmark lap time. That being said, he did slide off at Turn 1 due to fading brakes.

Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi popped up in eighth-fastest, ahead of the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz Jr. who were separated by just 0.003 seconds.

FORMULA 1 HEINEKEN GRANDE PRÊMIO DO BRASIL 2019 – FREE PRACTICE SESSION 3
	Driver	Team / Entry	Time	Gap	Laps
1.	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes-AMG Motorsport W10	1:08.320		17
2.	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing RB15	1:08.346	+ 0.026	18
3.	Charles Leclerc	Scuderia Ferrari SF90	1:08.611	+ 0.291	20
4.	Sebastian Vettel	Scuderia Ferrari SF90	1:08.664	+ 0.344	22
5.	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing RB15	1:09.136	+ 0.816	17
6.	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes-AMG Motorsport W10	1:09.201	+ 0.881	20
7.	Daniil Kvyat	Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda STR14	1:09.415	+ 1.095	22
8.	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing C38	1:09.462	+ 1.142	20
9.	Lando Norris	McLaren F1 Team MCL34	1:09.585	+ 1.265	18
10.	Carlos Sainz Jr.	McLaren F1 Team MCL34	1:09.588	+ 1.268	21
11.	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing C38	1:09.619	+ 1.299	21
12.	Pierre Gasly	Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda STR14	1:09.625	+ 1.305	19
13.	Nico Hülkenberg	Renault F1 Team RS19	1:09.650	+ 1.330	17
14.	Kevin Magnussen	Haas F1 Team VF-19	1:09.713	+ 1.393	18
15.	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault F1 Team RS19	1:09.761	+ 1.441	17
16.	Romain Grosjean	Haas F1 Team VF-19	1:09.798	+ 1.478	20
17.	Sergio Pérez	Racing Point F1 Team RP19	1:09.995	+ 1.675	19
18.	Lance Stroll	Racing Point F1 Team RP19	1:10.312	+ 1.992	16
19.	George Russell	ROKiT Williams Racing FW42	1:10.843	+ 2.523	19
20.	Robert Kubica	ROKiT Williams Racing FW42	1:11.205	+ 2.885	23