Sainz beats Alonso, Verstappen to top FP3

A flurry of final hot-laps interspersed among the final 10 minutes created a changing order after the Red Bulls moved to the top for a short spell, Max Verstappen capturing a 1m31.062s over team-mate Sergio Perez.

Alonso, who had been on top previously, reclaimed his advantage at the head of the field having become the first driver of the session to get below the 1m31s mark.

However, his countryman Sainz managed to pull 0.141s out of Alonso’s time, finishing the session atop the order for an all-Spanish 1-2.

Unrepresentative track conditions compared to those expected in qualifying and Saturday’s race ensured that FP3 would be of limited value, although it nonetheless offered track time to those looking to tie up any loose ends before the high-value sessions.

Track temperatures of 34 degrees C at the start of the session proved relatively undesirable, thus producing a six-minute wait before any track action took place; Lewis Hamilton broke the deadlock to gather some mileage for Mercedes.

The seven-time champion had the track to himself in the early phases and thus it was inevitable that he would move to the top; a 1m32.733s served as the initial benchmark on a set of soft tyres. Another hiatus followed when Hamilton pitted, although this was somewhat shorter as Ferrari duo Sainz and Charles Leclerc took to the road as the track temperatures began to fall.

Once the opening quarter of an hour came to an end, there were a few more takers willing to occupy the track; Leclerc posted a 1m32.677s to overturn Hamilton’s early hegemony over the times, while Sainz fell a tenth short of his team-mate.

With more track action, the times began to fall; Kevin Magnussen rose to the top by two tenths, before he was overturned by Lance Stroll in the Canadian’s initial run.

George Russell then burst onto the scene and posted a 1m31.821s to go fastest, half a tenth faster than Stroll’s earlier headliner. Leclerc got close with his next attempt but could not beat Russell despite setting the best final sector, but Fernando Alonso subsequently moved to the top with a 1m31.582s.

Amid the soft-tyre runs, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez put together some quicker laps on the hard tyre, and thus did not factor among the early squabbling over faster laps. Both Red Bull drivers aired grievances over their first laps, with Perez reporting a “bad” feeling with his downshifts…