Portuguese GP: Bottas beats Hamilton by 26 thousandths and leads the third free practice in Portugal | Formula 1

The lead for the runner-up, his teammate Lewis Hamilton, was miniscule, just 26 milliseconds. Max Verstappen was third fastest and saw Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon complete the top 5.

Unlike on Friday, when multiple drivers escaped or traveled, a fire hit Gasly’s car and Stroll and Verstappen collided with each other, Saturday morning was much quieter. But not enough for Charles Leclerc to avoid a round. Fortunately for the driver, the car was undamaged, allowing him to get back on track safely.

It was Hamilton who also decided to explore an unusual and little traveled area of ​​the Algarve circuit, who ended up entangled in the gravel after escaping. Like Leclerc, the Briton from Mercedes had little trouble getting back on track.

With less than a minute to go to the third free practice session, the session was interrupted with a red flag. A cover for the runway drainage system came off and ended in the middle of the runway. Fortunately, no driver suffered the consequences of the breakdown on the circuit, which must be repaired for classification.

Apparently the drain cover came off after Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari pass.

The riders will soon return to the challenged Portimão circuit, at 10 am, for the training that defines the starting grid of the Portuguese GP.