Spielberg bei Knittelfeld (Austria) (AFP)

Briton Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) set the fastest time in the third free practice session of the Austrian Grand Prix, first round of the Formula 1 World Championship, on Saturday at the Red Bull Ring (4.318 km) in Spielberg.

Already the fastest of the two sessions of the previous day, Hamilton, who can equal this year Michael Schumacher's record of seven crowns, further reduced his time to 1 min 04 sec 130/1000, 147/1000 better than his Finnish teammate Valtteri Bottas.

Behind this duo, we find Red Bull, Ferrari but also Racing Point, with the Mexican Sergio Pérez 4th at 475/1000 and the Canadian Lance Stroll 8th at 788/1000.

By drawing heavily on the Mercedes victorious in 2019 to design its 2020 single-seater, the British team has come considerably closer to the best.

The session was interrupted for several minutes by a red flag after a runway excursion by debutant Nicholas Latifi (Williams), who repeatedly came up against the security barriers. The Canadian has been examined and is doing well, said his team.

The qualifications will take place at 3:00 p.m. local (1:00 p.m. GMT), the teams revealing for the first time in 2020 all the assets in their game.

The season should have started in mid-March in Australia but was delayed by the new coronavirus pandemic. It begins, at a minimum, with a series of eight races in Europe until early September, for the time behind closed doors and respecting a strict health protocol.

. 3rd free practice session:

Lewis Hamilton (GBR / Mercedes) 1: 04.130 (21 laps)

Valtteri Bottas (FIN / Mercedes) 1: 04.277 (22)

Max Verstappen (NED / Red Bull-Honda) 1: 04.413 (20)

Sergio Pérez (MEX / Racing Point-Mercedes) 1: 04.605 (19)

Charles Leclerc (MON / Ferrari) 1: 04.703 (19)

Alexander Albon (THA / Red Bull-Honda) 1: 04.725 (22)

Sebastian Vettel (GER / Ferrari) 1: 04.851 (20)

Lance Stroll (CAN / Racing Point-Mercedes) 1: 04.918 (18)

Pierre Gasly (FRA / Toro Rosso-Honda) 1: 04.949 (19)

Lando Norris (GBR / McLaren-Renault) 1: 04.950 (22)

Esteban Ocon (FRA / Renault) 1: 05.037 (11)

Daniel Ricciardo (AUS / Renault) 1: 05.088 (13)

Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP / McLaren-Renault) 1: 05.177 (24)

Daniil Kvyat (RUS / Toro Rosso-Honda) 1: 05.290 (24)

Romain Grosjean (FRA / Haas-Ferrari) 1: 05.363 (18)

George Russell (GBR / Williams-Mercedes) 1: 05.565 (21)

Kevin Magnussen (DEN / Haas-Ferrari) 1: 05.648 (18)

Antonio Giovinazzi (ITA / Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari) 1: 05.654 (16)

Kimi Räikkönen (FIN / Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari) 1: 05.773 (19)

Nicholas Latifi (CAN / Williams-Mercedes) 1: 07.049 (6)

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© 2020 AFP