Max Verstappen cruised to the top of the time sheets in Melbourne while teammate and fellow championship protagonist Sergio Perez struggled throughout the session.
Friday’s weather and red flags placed added pressure on teams to make up for lost track time with a chance of rain still looming.
The final practice session was a comparatively straightforward affair with just one short red flag period for debris and rain keeping clear of the circuit until the final minutes of the session.
READ MORE: F1 2023 Australian GP – FP3 Results
Verstappen’s time of a 1:17.565 saw him narrowly faster than Fernando Alonso who set a 1:17.727.
Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly demonstrated some impressive qualifying pace, ending the session third and fifth respectively. George Russell was fast enough for fourth.
Sergio Perez reported issues under heavy braking for Turns 1 and 3, with inconsistent balance from corner to corner.
The Mexican driver had spent the first 20 minutes of the session in the garage and evidently was struggling for confidence having made mistakes in numerous attempts at a fast lap. He ended the session 6th fastest.
A red flag was brought out with 25 minutes remaining to clear debris from the AlphaTauri of Nyck de Vries. Cameras showed that a chunk of the sidepod had flown off the car, finding itself on the racing line at the entry of Turn 9.
Guanyu Zhou had a spin in Turn 2, hitting the outside barrier. The Alfa Romeo driver was lucky to escape with no damage.
Rain started to fall in the final minutes of the session which saw a number of drivers run deep into Turn 1 as they sought to make the most of the final practice session. Carlos Sainz had a moment after the chequered flag had waved, ending up in the gravel at Turn 11.
Whether the rain will impact Qualifying is yet to be seen. The teams have been running without Formula 1’s weather radar today, with Pat Symonds reporting the system was lost in the early hours of the morning, according to Pat Symonds.
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