General
That was close: Verstappen manages to avoid wall after near-crash
Max Verstappen escaped a crash in the closing stages of the third free practice session. The Dutchman was pushing hard in the final minutes, but collided too hard with a kerb in the twisty second sector. Verstappen lost control of his RB18, but managed to avoid the wall.
Verstappen registered a purple sector in his flying lap and thus seemed to be on his way to the fastest time, but it didn't come to that in the end. The 24-year-old Dutchman was able to make it to the pit lane under his own power, but there was too little time to make another push.
Teammate Sergio Perez managed to set the fastest time. Charles Leclerc was second by two tenths, while Verstappen's time eventually proved good for third place. He had to concede just over three tenths to Perez.
"That is a LUCKY escape!"
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) May 7, 2022
Max Verstappen hits the curb but manages to recover unscathed pic.twitter.com/M5ekGFTEYW
