Leclerc fastest again in practice as Ferrari eyes pole at GP

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc posted the fastest lap time in final practice for the Austrian GP on Saturday, a day after also leading the second session.

The Monegasque was the only driver to clock a time below 1 minute, 3 seconds, edging Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

Leclerc's teammate Sebastian Vettel was fourth as Ferrari and Mercedes set the pace ahead of qualifying in the afternoon.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain leaves the pits during the third free practice session for the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, southern Austria, Saturday, June 29, 2019. The race will be held on Sunday. (AP PhotoRonald Zak)

Last year's winner Max Verstappen was fifth in his Red Bull.

Leclerc presented himself as a main candidate to take pole position, having also led Friday's afternoon session, which was interrupted twice after crashes from Bottas and Verstappen. Hamilton was fastest in the opening practice.

Leclerc earned his first career pole and led the race at the GP in Bahrain in March but missed out on what looked like a certain victory because of engine problems with 10 laps left.

Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas of Finland steers his car during the third free practice session for the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring racetrack in Spielberg, southern Austria, Saturday, June 29, 2019. The race will be held on Sunday. (AP PhotoRonald Zak)

Nico Hulkenberg became the third driver to pick up a grid penalty for Sunday's race after Renault decided before the final practice to use the Spec B engine for the rest of the weekend.

It's Hulkenberg's fifth internal combustion engine this season, and the German will lose five places on the grid.

Earlier, McLaren's Carlos Sainz and Toro Rosso's Alexander Albon were relegated to the back of the starting pack for using new power unit elements. Sainz was coming off a season-best sixth place in the French GP last week and had scored points in four of the last five races.

Striving for his third straight drivers' championship and sixth overall, Hamilton leads Bottas by 36 points, while Vettel trails by 76 points in third.

Mercedes has won four of the five Austrian GPs since the event's return to the F1 calendar in 2014.

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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A race car veered off the track during a competition in Sri Lanka on Sunday and rammed into a crowd of spectators and race officials, killing seven people and injuring 20 others, officials said.

Thousands of spectators looked on as the mishap took place during a race in the town of Diyatalawa in the tea-growing central hills, about 180 kilometers (110 miles) east of the capital Colombo.

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the mishap.

Police spokesman Nihal Thalduwa said one of the cars veered off the track and crashed into spectators and officials of the event. Seven people, including four officials, were killed and another 20 were being treated at a hospital, said Thalduwa. He said three of the injured were in critical condition.

Thalduwa said police have launched an investigation into the accident, which was the 17th out of 24 events scheduled. The race was suspended after the accident.

About 45,000 spectators had gathered at the race circuit at a Sri Lankan military academy. The event was organized by the Sri Lankan army and Sri Lanka Automobile Sports.

People attend to the injured after a racing car crashed into the spectators during the Fox Hill Supercross, a motor racing event organized by the Sri Lanka's army, in Diyatalawa, Sri Lanka, Sunday, April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/STR)

People gather around a car that had crashed into the spectators during the Fox Hill Supercross, a motor racing event organized by the Sri Lanka's army, in Diyatalawa, Sri Lanka, Sunday, April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/STR)