Pierre Gasly fastest in red-flag disrupted session! Official F1 Journal Free Practice 3 Report

Pierre Gasly was quickest in a damp and non-eventful practice session on Saturday due to a lengthy red flag, after a big Logan Sargeant crash.

Gasly for Alpine was quickest on the weekend of Oliver Oakes' debut as Team Principal, in what was a heavily disrupted session due to a red flag, where the big crash from Logan Sargeant saw the session suspended for the majority.

Sargeant found the barrier at turn 4 after getting on the grass at turn 3 after dipping a wheel on the grass. This caused huge damage to his car and the barrier, which took a lengthy period to be repaired, as it was in an unsafe condition to continue the on-track running.

There would be two minutes left when the session restarted, which left some drivers not making it to the line to start one flying lap before the end of the session. Gasly would finish fastest, just ahead of Haas' Kevin Magnussen, who was second. Valtteri Bottas made it an impressive third for Kick Sauber.

How the action unfolded

Saturday meant qualifying day at Zandvoort ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix after two practice sessions on the Friday, which saw two Brits in Lando Norris and George Russell, end the sessions fastest. 

However, there would still be one to go on Saturday morning ahead of the day's later qualifying. Like FP1, it would be wet to start the session and drivers would be slow in heading out with Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen of Haas and Valtteri Bottas of Kick Sauber being the first out there to test the conditions.

Hulkenberg would swap his full wets for intermediate tyres as the conditions were fit for them but his braking issues were apparent once again and he went straight on at turn 11 and grazed the barriers - damaging his front wing.

Drivers were able to get a few laps set and Fernando Alonso would set the benchmark time in the early stages, pipping the McLaren of Oscar Piastri who initially was fastest. Alonso's teammate Lance Stroll also had a decent lap to go third.

George Russell and Oscar Piastri would have small excursions at turn 1, as they were pushing the limits.

However, a huge smash involving Logan Sargeant saw a halt to all proceedings as he got caught on the grass at the exit of turn 3 and turn 4  and became a complete passenger in a huge smash, making his car a complete wreck and part of the rear caught fire.

The red flag was brought out almost immediately and the most important thing is that Logan was okay and climbed out of his car. However, the track and his car would not be in good condition to continue running and would be unlikely to be mended in time for qualifying. 

Most of the session would be under the red flag with a potential restart announced from 12:25 local time, which would be five minutes of running remaining. This would be pushed back to 12:27 local time for three minutes remaining. 

Although the session would restart, there would be only limited drivers able to set a lap time as some had not got to the line in time. As the 20 drivers were heading out, home hero Max Verstappen would be wanting to get on with it and therefore would pass a McLaren in the pit lane exit and he would also pass George Russell while crossing the white line.

This would be failing to follow the race directors instructions, allegedly, and he would be investigated after the session.

With the lap times competed as the chequered flag would be out, a surprise top three would come out of it at the end. Pierre Gasly would be the driver who would maximise the track time to go fastest overall for the Alpine team, with something celebrating Oliver Oakes' first Grand Prix as team principal with the Endstone outfit.

Gasly would be fastest ahead of Haas' Kevin Magnussen, who had his top spot pipped in the very latter stages of the final laps. While, the Kick Sauber of Valtteri Bottas would make the top three, with a great lap from the podium finisher around this circuit - in 2021.

Lando Norris was fourth for McLaren, ahead of Fernando Alonso who completed the top five. Esteban Ocon finished sixth for Alpine, a good result for the Alpine team.

Oscar Piastri was seventh for McLaren ahead of Lance Stroll for Aston Martin, making it two McLarens and two Aston Martins inside the top 10. Nico Hulkenberg was ninth and Carlos Sainz rounded off the top 10.

After a non-eventful session, action will return for qualifying on Saturday afternoon where the hunt for pole position will be on and the state of weather as unpredictable.

2024 FIA Formula One World Championship: Round 15 - Dutch Grand Prix free practice 3 result

1. Pierre Gasly (France, Alpine F1 Team)
2. Kevin Magnussen (Denmark, Haas)
3. Valtteri Bottas (Finland, Kick Sauber)
4. Lando Norris (Great Britain, McLaren)
5. Fernando Alonso (Spain, Aston Martin)
6. Esteban Ocon (France, Alpine F1 Team)
7. Oscar Piastri (Australia, McLaren)
8. Lance Stroll (Canada, Aston Martin)
9. Nico Hulkenberg (Germany, Haas)
10. Carlos Sainz (Spain, Ferrari)
11. Zhou Guanyu (China, Kick Sauber)
12. Logan Sargeant (United States, Williams Racing)
13. George Russell (Great Britain, Mercedes)
14. Alexander Albon (Thailand, Williams Racing)
15. Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain, Mercedes)
16. Charles Leclerc (Monaco, Ferrari)
17. Max Verstappen (Netherlands, Red Bull Racing)
18. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia, Visa Cash App RB)
19. Yuki Tsunoda (Japan, Visa Cash App RB) NO TIME
20. Sergio Perez (Mexico, Red Bull Racing) NO TIME

Brandon Whiteside
​Writer - F1 Journal