Watch Hungarian GP Qualifying show from 1pm on Sky Sports F1 ahead of 2pm session start
Saturday 18 July 2020 13:05, UK
Valtteri Bottas edged out Lewis Hamilton to set the pace in Practice Three at the Hungarian GP, but Sergio Perez finished close behind as Racing Point emerged as Mercedes' nearest challengers.
Red Bull have been expected to run Mercedes closest this weekend on a track they claimed pole position at last year but they were only the fourth-quickest team in P3 - with Ferrari also unexpectedly ahead of them.
With dry conditions returning after a near-washout for P2 on Friday, Bottas' best lap of 1:15.437 was just 0.042s quicker than Hamilton's with a tight pole battle between the team-mates seemingly ahead in qualifying from 2pm.
"That's where the battle is," said Sky F1's Paul Di Resta. "But I'm keen to see what Red Bull do as they clearly overstepped the mark with their mechanical set-up in that session."
Red Bull used one of their curfew 'jokers' to work on the RB16 on Saturday morning as they try to settle on the car's best set-up but Verstappen finished only sixth with Alex Albon down in 12th. Verstappen also earlier spun at Turn 12.
Instead, Racing Point and Ferrari moved ahead with Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc finishing third and fourth respectively.
Ferrari's pace around a circuit that does not place a premium on engine power appears a marked improvement from Austria, where they slipped into the midfield and lost one car in both Q2 sessions over the double header.
But Sebastian Vettel was still 0.8s off the leading pace in eighth place.
Underlining the continued promise of Racing Point, Lance Stroll was fifth fastest, ahead of Verstappen, with Lando Norris the lead McLaren in seventh place.
AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly and Renault's Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the top 10.
Watch the Hungarian GP live only on Sky Sports F1 this weekend. Sunday's race begins at 2.10pm. Get Sky F1 for an extra £10 a month now.
