Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz ended the third practice session at Formula 1’s Spanish Grand Prix with the quickest time on the board as he edged McLaren’s Lando Norris.
The Spaniard posted a 1:13.013s late in proceedings on the Soft compound to log a 0.030-second margin over Norris, who split the Ferraris with Charles Leclerc third.
Leclerc was the quickest driver through the first two sectors, but the Monegasque driver was unable to sustain that as a wide moment saw him come up 0.037s short.
Max Verstappen showed an improved turn of pace from Red Bull in the final practice hour as he elevated his RB20 up into fourth, within a tenth of the benchmark lap.
The two Mercedes drivers came in next, with George Russell turning the tables on team-mate Lewis Hamilton as the Silver Arrows continued to be located at the front.
Sergio Perez managed an improvement as he wound up seventh, but the Mexican driver remained over six-tenths down on Red Bull team-mate Verstappen’s lap time.
Alex Albon propelled his Williams into a surprise eighth with a fine run as Fernando Alonso also ramped up the pace in his Aston Martin to end up ninth on the board.
Oscar Piastri struggled through the entire session and languished 10th, while team-mate Norris reported damage amid a minor touch with Leclerc’s Ferrari at the end.
Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly in the two Alpine cars were line astern, with Valtteri Bottas’ Sauber separating Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen’s Haas chargers.
Daniel Ricciardo was the lead RB as the upgraded VCARB 01 once again appeared to possess lacklustre speed, with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll beating Yuki Tsunoda.
Guanyu Zhou in the second Sauber car and Logan Sargeant brought up the rear, as the drivers and teams now turn their respective attentions towards qualfying later.
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