Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes set the fastest time in free practice Friday at the Qatar Grand Prix as the Formula One title fight enters the final three races of the season.
Bottas, set to leave for Alfa Romeo next year, was 0.209 seconds quicker than Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly, with championship rivals Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton third and fourth.
Just 14 points separate Red Bull’s Verstappen from Mercedes star Hamilton after 19 of 22 races this campaign, with grands prix to come in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi next month.
Dutchman Verstappen had clocked the best lap in the first practice run, with Gasly again second, as Hamilton lagged behind team-mate Bottas all day.