Max tops the board again in Canada at the final practice

Published on 09 June 2018 by Mike Motilall

Max Verstappen has topped the leaderboard again at the final free practice for the Canadian Grand Prix. The Dutchman remained ahead of both Ferrari-drivers and Lewis Hamilton on the hyper-softs with a 1:11.599. The top four remained within a tenth and a half of each other.

Under an almost clear blue sky, the final free practice gets underway in Montreal. Marcus Ericsson is the first one to report on deck but Kimi Raikkonen is the first one to get a time on the clock. The Finn does a 1:12.931 on the hyper-softs, which he betters not much later by almost six tenths.

After almost fifteen minutes, the first yellow flag of the session is brought out by Stoffel Vandoorne who runs off track at Turn three. It takes a while before the Belgian driver is able to point his McLaren in the right direction and continue on because of the narrow run off area.

After twenty minutes, Max Verstappen also heads out. The Dutchman has had the ultra-softs strapped on to his RB14 and after his first lap he does a 1:12.552. Max betters his time not much later to a 1:12.435, which puts him fourth.

After half an hour, the complete top five is within half a second of each other. Sebastian Vettel is leading the charge with a 1:12.235 done on the hyper-softs. Lewis Hamilton keeps the gap in check as he slots in on the ultra-softs a mere tenth a stray. Kimi Raikkonen (1:12.359), Max Verstappen (1:12.435) and Valtteri Bottas (1:12.666) follow.

The times are getting bettered after the drivers stop briefly for  a new set of tyres. Both Vettel and Raikkonen get under the 1:12 mark on the hyper-softs. They get a firm grip on P1 and P2. The difference between both Ferrari-drivers is only just two thousandths of a second. Daniel Ricciardo, Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen round up the top six with a little over fifteen minutes to go.

Towards the end of the session, there are some changes in the ranking. Max gets back on track on a new set of the hyper softs. The Dutchman betters Vettel’s fastest time with a 1:11.599, taking over the lead from the German. The difference however, is a bare minimum as the top four, formed by Verstappen, Vettel (1:16.648), Raikkonen (1:11.650) and Hamilton (1:11.706) are all within a tenth and a half of each other.

Max’ time is not bettered for the remainder of the session. The Aston Martin Red Bull Racing-driver is now able to check off all free practices of the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend as the quickest.

Qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix will start at 20.00 hrs. local Dutch time.

Enter our Canadian Grand Prix contest with a chance to win the new t-shirt and shoes from the MV Collection 2018

Results third free practice Canada: