Verstappen P1 in FP3 as Zhou crashes out in Jeddah

Max Verstappen tops the standings in the final free practice session at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after Zhou Guanyu crashed out.

The Chinese driver lost control of his Kick Sauber car at turn seven, spinning out at turn eight and slamming into the barriers. A lot of work will need to be done by the Sauber mechanics to make sure Zhou is back out for qualifying.

The crash brought out the red flag with 17 minutes to go, with the session only getting underway with five minutes left on the clock. Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez improved on their times to take P2 and P3 behind the Dutchman.

Bearman replaces unwell Sainz

Before FP3 got underway around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, news broke from the garage of Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard, who had been feeling unwell the day before, came down with appendicitis, meaning he requires surgery and will miss the rest of the weekend.

As a result, Sainz was replaced by the F2 driver and 18-year-old Oliver Bearman. The British driver, who earned the pole in F2 qualifying on Thursday, became the first driver since 1970 to make their debut for Ferrari. He is also the 12th British driver to race for the Prancing Horse, with Eddie Irvine being the previous driver.

It was a quiet start to the final free practice session, with only six drivers setting a lap time in the opening 15 minutes, but Bearman looked at home as he got behind the wheel of the SF-24, topping the time sheets on the medium tyres.

Red Bull ramp up the pace

As the session continued, the rest of the grid slowly filtered out of the garage, with there being an even split between the soft and medium tyres as qualifying preparations continued.

The fastest sectors and laps were traded between Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari and George Russell in the Mercedes, with both teams hoping to improve on a disappointing opening race in Bahrain.

However, the Red Bulls showed the pace they possess with their RB20, which they didn't show in yesterday's running. Max Verstappen laid down the fastest lap on the soft tyres and finished a tenth quicker than Leclerc.

Russell finished the session in P4 ahead of Lando Norris in P5 in what was an improved day for McLaren. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll took P6 and P7, Norris' teammate Piastri was eighth fastest, and Lewis Hamilton and Bearman rounded out the top ten.