Valtteri Bottas on top in P3 but Max Verstappen joins Portugal’s pole fight

Bottas faster, Hamilton finds the gravel, while Verstappen impresses; Watch the qualification live on Sky Sports F1 at 2pm

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Lewis Hamilton struggles at turn eight during P3 at the Portuguese Grand Prix.

Valtteri Bottas completed a hat-trick at the Portuguese GP before F1’s debut in the Portimao qualifying by setting the pace in final practice ahead of Lewis Hamilton, but Max Verstappen also appears to be a true contender for pole position.

It was a frantic last hour of practice in the Algarve sun after a very interrupted Friday, and there were different strategies throughout, as well as many mistakes, with the championship leader, Hamilton, finding the gravel.

Bottas finished the session 0.026s ahead of his Mercedes teammate, following his best times in P1 and P2 before qualifying at 2pm on Sky F1 – when he will look to seal his second consecutive pole in F1 2020.

But Verstappen is destined to be a threat to Red Bull, which has been closing in on Mercedes in recent weeks.

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The Dutchman finished just a tenth of a second slower than the Mercedes, setting his best time on the slower medium tire compared to the soft ones.

He was also momentarily the fastest of all in the session, before his time was erased for one of the many infractions of the track limits.

Pierre Gasly, whose Friday was interrupted after an AlphaTauri fire, also enjoyed an excellent session, just 0.276 seconds off Bottas’ leading time. He was just ahead of Alex Albon, the Red Bull driver who, like Verstappen, was in the middle.

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Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc turns at Turn 14 during practice three at the Portimao circuit.

Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, continued his strong start to the weekend for Ferrari, finishing sixth despite a spin after consecutive P4s on Friday, although his teammate Sebastian Vettel was only 11th.

But the pecking order of the midfield is harder to predict than ever.

Gasly’s time would have been a shock to many teams, including McLaren, who have made good progress this weekend, with Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris in the top 10 of P3 before qualifying.

Sergio Perez was Racing Point’s leading car in eighth, although Lance Stroll fell to 16th, while Daniel Ricciardo, in Renault form, was 14th after having a DRS problem in the session.