FP3 Report | Perez top, ahead of Leclerc and Verstappen

It was Sergio Perez who topped the final practice session of the weekend. Followed by championship leader Charles Leclerc and then Max Verstappen as the Dutchman finally managed to complete a session without issues this weekend.

Big Crash for Ocon

Esteban Ocon crashed at turn 14, straight into the concrete barriers where Carlos Sainz crashed yesterday in FP2. Driver all right. However, there may be concerns about how much damage is on that Alpine car, and whether or not he will be able to make qualifying. Ocon cleared a medical check at the care centre after the incident.

Time dropped towards the end

We saw the sun go in, and then times started to tumble at the end of the session. Which saw both the Aston Martins and Alex Albon in his Williams break into the top 10, a good result for both the teams as they've struggled to open the season so far. The track rubbering in towards the end could lead to an interesting qualifying as the evolution could lead to the last lap wins session.

Mercedes not showing as much pace

The Mercs don't seem to not like the additional wind and heat today, as they struggled for rear grip at times. Especially at the end of the lap when the tyres start to overheat. George Russell finished P17, and Lewis Hamilton P15 as they seemed to suffer even more porpoising than in the previous session which would put a damper on any hopes they had at the pole this weekend.

Running time required for Verstappen and Bottas 

Verstappen was outright from the get-go to make up for his lost time yesterday due to a few compounding mechanical issues. However, that didn't stop the Dutchman from being one of the fastest on the circuit as he found himself at the top of the timesheets before the Ocon red flag, as he kept putting in fast laps in the first third of the session. Meanwhile, Valterri Bottas got a lot of running in as well as he also missed FP2 yesterday, the Fin was even in third at one point as he aimed to unlock the true pace of the Alfa Romeo before qualifying later today.