F1 Spanish GP: Sainz leads Norris, Leclerc in FP3

Carlos Sainz closed out Formula 1 free practice at the Spanish Grand Prix with the best time in FP3, ahead of Lando Norris by 0.03o seconds.

Sainz managed to beat Norris' soft-tyre benchmark in the final flurry of qualifying simulations, doing what the Mercedes duo and Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc could not.

A slow start to the session ensured that Lewis Hamilton had the circuit to himself in the opening five minutes, which he used to set the soft-tyre benchmark with a 1m14.178s - almost a second shy of his FP2 headliner.

He brought this down to a 1m13.865s shortly after Max Verstappen had set a 1m14.237s on mediums, but had to cede the advantage when George Russell punched in a 1m13.431s time to go fastest.

The two Mercedes were split by the Ferrari drivers; Sainz went up to second, just a tenth shy of Russell's lap, and Leclerc was a mere three-hundredths away from his team-mate after missing the bulk of FP2.

Norris then elbowed his way between Russell and the Ferraris on a lap with mediums, 0.001s clear of Sainz's previous lap. McLaren's preparation ahead of FP3 was almost derailed by a fire in its motorhome, but both drivers were able to take to the circuit with minimal loss in track time.

This early order-shuffling ended with a series of longer runs, ahead of a late-session tombola instigated by the final flying runs in preparation for qualifying.

Both McLaren drivers backed out of their initial flyers, Norris aborting his lap through Turn 7 and Piastri doing so before Turn 3, but Norris went again to claim a 1m13.043s on his next attempt.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W15 (Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images)

The Mercedes drivers found improvement and Hamilton clinched a purple middle sector, but a few snaps of oversteer cost him three tenths at the end of the lap. Russell, for his part, put in a time that was just 0.121s shy of Norris' effort.

Sainz overturned Norris' time, however, and punched in a 1m13.013s to put his Ferrari top. This looked set to be eclipsed by Charles Leclerc, but a slight wide moment at Turn 11 took some of the sting out of his lap and put him third - a mere 0.037s shy of Sainz's time.

Norris preserved second as there were no further improvements, although had a contretemps with Leclerc at the end of the session as the Monegasque cut across a slow Norris into Turn 6 and the two made contact, which will be investigated by the stewards.

Verstappen and Russell were fourth and fifth fastest, while sixth-placed Hamilton had his own contact at the end of the first sector with Lance Stroll.

Hamilton seemed to impede Stroll slightly and attempted to back out at Turn 5 to let the Aston through, but Stroll appeared to wash out mid-corner and took a swipe at the Mercedes driver, with the incident also under investigation.

Sergio Perez, who carries a grid penalty into qualifying, was seventh fastest, just 0.03s ahead of Williams' Alex Albon. Fernando Alonso and Piastri completed the top 10.

F1 Spanish GP - FP3 result

Main Information Additional Data Driver Info Driver Info

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Main Information Additional Data 1  -  2
Cla	Driver	#		Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h
1	C. Sainz Ferrari	55		Ferrari	Ferrari	19	1'13.013		229.619
2	L. Norris McLaren	4		McLaren	Mercedes	14	+0.030 1'13.043	0.030	229.525
3	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16		Ferrari	Ferrari	18	+0.037 1'13.050	0.007	229.503
4	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	1		Red Bull	Red Bull	24	+0.074 1'13.087	0.037	229.386
5	G. Russell Mercedes	63		Mercedes	Mercedes	20	+0.151 1'13.164	0.077	229.145
6	L. Hamilton Mercedes	44		Mercedes	Mercedes	26	+0.346 1'13.359	0.195	228.536
7	S. Perez Red Bull Racing	11		Red Bull	Red Bull	19	+0.710 1'13.723	0.364	227.408
8	A. Albon Williams	23		Williams	Mercedes	14	+0.740 1'13.753	0.030	227.315
9	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14		Aston Martin	Mercedes	21	+0.773 1'13.786	0.033	227.213
10	O. Piastri McLaren	81		McLaren	Mercedes	14	+0.894 1'13.907	0.121	226.841
11	E. Ocon Alpine	31		Alpine	Renault	18	+0.937 1'13.950	0.043	226.709
12	P. Gasly Alpine	10		Alpine	Renault	14	+0.951 1'13.964	0.014	226.667
13	N. Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team	27		Haas	Ferrari	20	+0.962 1'13.975	0.011	226.633
14	V. Bottas Sauber	77		Sauber	Ferrari	19	+1.011 1'14.024	0.049	226.483
15	K. Magnussen Haas F1 Team	20		Haas	Ferrari	27	+1.061 1'14.074	0.050	226.330
16	D. Ricciardo RB	3		RB	Red Bull	17	+1.148 1'14.161	0.087	226.064
17	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18		Aston Martin	Mercedes	16	+1.241 1'14.254	0.093	225.781
18	Y. Tsunoda RB	22		RB	Red Bull	22	+1.407 1'14.420	0.166	225.278
19	Z. Guanyu Sauber	24		Sauber	Ferrari	17	+1.559 1'14.572	0.152	224.818
20	L. Sargeant Williams	2		Williams	Mercedes	12	+1.716 1'14.729	0.157	224.346
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