Max Verstappen dominates final practice ahead of qualifying

Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen dominated the third and final practice for the Austrian Grand Prix ahead of qualifying later Saturday.

The Red Bull driver finished well clear of Mercedes pair Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton in warm and sunny weather, when cloudy conditions had been anticipated.

He was .54 seconds ahead of Bottas and a sizable .69 in front of his title rival Hamilton, the defending F1 champion.

Verstappen's main time gains were in terms of straight-line speed — a familiar strength this season — and on corners 1 and 3.

"Breaking too early and carrying too much speed into the apex," was the answer given to Hamilton by his race engineer, when Hamilton asked why he was losing time on Turn 3.

Frenchman Pierre Gasly was an impressive fourth for AlphaTauri, while four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel was 10th for Aston Martin. The track announcer wished a happy birthday to the 34-year-old German before the session started.

Verstappen waited until nearly the halfway point of the hour-long run before coming out on track and rocketed up the leaderboard.

Earlier on Saturday, Hamilton agreed to a two-year contract extension with Mercedes, taking him until the end of 2023.

He is having a tough fight this season.

Verstappen is 18 points ahead of Hamilton after eight races, leading him 4-3 for wins and 3-2 for pole positions.