Valtteri Bottas led teammate Lewis Hamilton in FP3 at the Eifel GP, the Mercedes drivers edging the surprisingly competitive Ferrari of Charles Leclerc in the race weekend's single practice session.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen clocked in fourth, just ahead of Sebastian Vettel, a running order that augured of an interesting qualifying session ahead that may well see the return at Racing Point of super-sub Nico Hulkenberg following Lance Stroll's absence from the morning session due to feeling unwell.
Compared to Friday's dismal conditions, the F1 community woke up to a glorious day at the Nürburgring, with the sun shining bright although the ambient temperature remained a chilly 8° C while track temps were a mere 15°C.
So the chilly environment coupled with the lack of running is leaving teams with plenty of challenges to surmount for qualifying and the remainder of the weekend.
The session kicked off without Lance Stroll, the Canadian feeling under the weather and Racing Point assessing its driver's condition for qualifying. Could Nico Hulkenberg make another return to the grid? Wait and see.
Unsurprisingly, there were no laggards when the light went green at the end of the pitlane, with everyone eager to get down to business with only 60 minutes of track time to contend with.
However, caution was in order as everyone eased into the groove and either got reacquainted or acquainted with the Ring onboard an F1 car.
Mercedes drivers were in no hurry to unleash their speed, working diligently on data collection as they clocked in the laps.
As drivers picked up the pace, Renault's Esteban Ocon - shod with the soft tyre - put the first significant time on the board, but the Frenchman was then overhauled by McLaren's Lando Norris despite the latter skimming over the grass on the exit of the final corner.
But when the big guns got going, it was Bottas and Verstappen who took command, the Finn popping in a 1m26.968s that edged the Red Bull charger by 0.103s.
However, with just a handful of minutes to go, Hamilton and Leclerc put in flyers that slotted the pair respectively P2 and P3 just behind Bottas.Verstappen remained fourth while Sebastian Vettel confirmed Ferrari's seemingly improved pace in fifth place.
A competitive Norris was McLaren's fastest driver in sixth, the Briton heading Perez, Ricciardo, Albon and Gasly who rounded off the top ten.
While fans were treated with a familiar Mercedes 1-2 at the end of FP3, but circumstances have opened up the possibility of an exciting qualifying session this afternoon. Stay tuned…
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