Leclerc pips Piastri and Verstappen in action-packed British FP3

The Ferrari driver finished less than a tenth of a second ahead of both Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen, setting the fastest time of the session with a 1m25.498.

Lando Norris was just over a tenth behind in fourth, with the top four featuring three different teams, separated by only 0.108s.

Leclerc’s teammate Lewis Hamilton, who set the early pace in the session, also appears to be in the fight for pole despite finishing the session in 11th.

The defending British Grand Prix winner was on a lap that looked likely to beat Leclerc’s time before the first of two red flags interrupted the session.

The 60-minute session, which was delayed by five minutes due to debris on track from earlier demonstrations, featured two red flags and two crashes, as well as several other incidents.

There were even spots of rain, with temperatures hovering in the low 20s under overcast skies—much cooler than on Friday.

Yuki Tsunoda will be buoyed by improved pace in final practice, finishing fifth, albeit more than half a second behind his teammate in second. He ended the session just ahead of the Haas of Oliver Bearman, who had a very eventful FP3.

Bearman caused the first red flag after a piece of bodywork appeared to fall off his Haas as he entered Stowe corner. The stoppage was brief, with the session resuming after five minutes.

His eventful run didn’t end there—later in the session, the British driver hit the wall after losing his rear brakes while entering the pits, just after the second red flag brought FP3 to an early end.

The second red flag occurred when Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto lost control of his car as he entered Maggotts corner.

The Brazilian managed to correct the slide but broke his front wing and suspension as he bounced over the curbs into the runoff area at Becketts.

Alex Albon finished the session in seventh, ahead of George Russell. The Mercedes driver will be hoping the cooler conditions persist into qualifying, having historically performed better in lower temperatures.

Rounding out the top ten were the Racing Bulls pair of Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson, who continued their strong form with a third consecutive top-ten showing this weekend.

Lawson’s session wasn’t without drama, however, as the Kiwi received a black-and-white flag for erratic driving after an incident with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.

Replays showed Lawson seemingly backing off to impede the Frenchman into Copse, with the New Zealander venting his frustration over team radio at Gasly’s driving.

Qualifying for the British Grand Prix gets underway at 3 p.m. local time (12 a.m. AEST).