Bottas and Hamilton take command in final free practice
Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas topped FP3 ahead of this afternoon's British Grand Prix qualifying, the Finn leading teammate Lewis Hamilton around a cooler Silverstone that helped the Black Arrows outfit regain its traction on Pirelli's soft tyres.
Bottas best lap was a 1m25.873s that edged Hamilton by 0.138s and left Red Bull's Max Verstappen 0.300s behind in third.
Racing Point's Lance Stroll was fourth while McLaren's Carlos Sainz rounded off the top five.
A significant drop in air and track temperatures at Silverstone on Saturday augured for a more comfortable day at the office for teams and drivers, but also perhaps for a reshuffling of the running order as Mercedes was a little caught out by the wind and heat on Friday.
Routine installation laps brought the circuit to life as drivers did systems checks and compared track conditions to yesterday.
At the outset, an ominous cloud of worry breezed into the Red Bull garage where a power unit electrical issue left Alex Albon stranded. Not the best start to the day for the British-Thai racer who suffered a high-speed crash on Friday.
After a handful of laps, a soft-shod Hamilton posted a 1m26.825 that comprehensively beat yesterday's best time, the Briton followed in the early pecking order by Bottas and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
However, Bottas lowered his teammate's benchmark to 1m26.526 on his second run on the soft tyre, while Verstappen was late to join the action but when he did, the Red Bull charger was snapping at both Mercedes' heels in third.
The cooler temperatures were clearly having a beneficial effect on Pirelli's soft rubber. Yesterday's FP2 pace-setter, Lance Stroll, put in a effort that was good for P4 but the Canadian was one second adrift of Bottas.
His Racing Point teammate Nico Hulkenberg continued his apprenticeship onboard his weekend ride with a stellar lap that placed just 0.051s behind Stroll.
Mercedes' drivers continued to trade places at the top of the time sheet, with Hamilton lowering the best tie to 1m23.332s
Meanwhile, Albon's RB16 remained consigned to its garage, where Red Bull's crews continued to pour over the car's power unit, but its driver was at least sitting in his car.
Sebastian Vettel, despite sitting among the top ten, was seen fighting his SF1000 around Maggotts/Becketts and not necessarily winning the battle.
With 15 minutes to go, Bottas lowered the benchmark time once again thanks to a 1m25.873 that left Hamilton almost half a second adrift. The Briton responded but failed to overhaul the Finn.
With a little over ten minutes left on the clock, Albon finally rolled down the pitlane and not a moment too soon.
But the session ended with a status quo up front between Bottas-Hamilton-Verstappen trio.
A late fast run by Stroll allowed the Racing Point charger to seize P4, ahead of Sainz and Leclerc, with Lando Norris, Daniel Ricciardo, Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly closing out the top ten.
Albon put 10 laps on the board to end the session 13th, behind Kvyat and Ocon, and just ahead of a lowly-placed Vettel who cut his session short following another brake pedal issue.
The usual Haas, Williams and Alfa suspects brought up the rear, with Nicholas Latifi clocking in 2.239 seconds away from pace-setter Bottas.
Can Verstappen or Racing Point challenge for pole this afternoon and rain on merc's party? Tune in in two hours to find out…
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