F1 results: FP3 timings from Singapore Grand Prix practice

Thomas Maher 16 Sep 2023 11:36 AM

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz on track at the Singapore Grand Prix. F1 results — Ferrari's Carlos Sainz on track at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Here are the complete results from the third and final practice session at Marina Bay ahead of this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix.

Ferrari’s strong showing on Friday continued on into Saturday’s practice session, with Carlos Sainz popping in an unmatchable time with 10 minutes to go in FP3.

The Spaniard did a 1:32.065 on his qualifying simulation to beat Mercedes’ George Russell by under a tenth of a second as the British driver got the better of McLaren’s Lando Norris right at the end of the session.

Red Bull’s troubles continue into Saturday

With Red Bull having to settle for seventh and eighth in Friday’s FP2 session, things weren’t much better for their drivers on Saturday. Max Verstappen finished down in fourth, just over three-tenths of a second down on Sainz on the same tyre compound.

Verstappen had been complaining about his gear upshifts throughout the session, getting on the radio to brand them ‘unacceptable’ as race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase acknowledged the issue in the closing minutes of the session. The Dutch driver had been visibly uncomfortable on track, running off into an escape area under braking early on, while also having to make use of the escape area at Turn 1.

He popped in his personal best lap right at the end of the session, rising to fourth with a more competitive lap.

Sergio Perez finished in eighth, revealing over team radio that the handling of his RB19 was still on edge in a similar fashion to Friday’s running.

McLaren’s Lando Norris, who had briefly been the quickest man in the early phase of the qualifying simulations, finished third and just under a quarter of a second as the upgraded MCL60 fared well at the tough challenge of the Marina Bay lap.

Behind Verstappen in fourth was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with the Monegasque having put in the fastest first-sector time in the closing seconds of the session. But a big slide in the second sector forced him to abort the lap, indicating further potential in his pace.

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was sixth, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in seventh. Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda rounded out the top 10.

Singapore Grand Prix: Carlos Sainz quickest in FP3 as Red Bull’s troubles continue