Charles Leclerc fastest in FP3 in Jeddah!

Charles set the pace in the final practice session in Jeddah ahead of qualifying for the second round of the 2022 Formula 1 season, finishing top of the timesheets for a third consecutive practice session.Max Verstappen was second, ahead of team mate Sergio Perez as Mercedes continued to struggle, with neither Lewis Hamilton or George Russell managing to crack the top ten.

It wasn't certain that we'd see cars on track following yesterday's missile attack and subsqequent fire at an Aramco petrol plant not too far from the circuit, but after late night talks, the weekend is set to go ahead as normal.

Star performer from last week Valtteri Bottas was first out on track, with the Ferrari pair of Leclerc and Carlos Sainz the first to set lap times, trading fastest lap times in the early stages.

Red Bull sent their drivers out soon after, with Perez splitting the Ferraris in P2 and Max Verstappen going fourth. Alpha Tauri also showed their pace, Pierre Gasly usurping Perez for second and Yuki Tsunoda claiming fifth.

Moments after Verstappen jumped to P1, Gasly ground to a halt on the pit lane exit, complaining of driveshaft problems on the radio. He was told to stop the car and had to push it back to his garage. Luckily, it wasn't terminal and the Frenchman was back on track soon after.

Trying to further improve his time in the final stages, Verstappen ran slightly wide at Turn 22 and bounced over the kerbs at Turn 23, as Leclerc improved up to third, behind the two Red Bulls.

As the chequered flag fell, Leclerc put in the lap of the session, going purple in the first sector and setting the pace.

The Red Bulls of Verstappen and Perez followed, with Sainz fourth. Bottas was fifth, ahead of Alpine's Esteban Ocon. 

Depite his issues, Galy claimed seventh, with Haas' Kevin Magnussnen, Fernando Alonso and the Alpha Tauri of Yuki Tsunoda, meaning none of the eight Mercedes powered cars made the top ten.