The teams tried to utilize FP3 as a preparation for each stage of qualifying, as they were now restricted to 11 sets of tyres per weekend instead of the previous 13.
This yielded all-out times across the full range of compounds, rather than simply bolting on softs as hot-lap preparation.
Temperatures exceeding 45C posed an additional challenge for the drivers in surpassing their FP2 lap times. This was particularly challenging because the track had cooled down due to rain earlier, and the rubber accumulated on Friday had been washed away by an overnight downpour.
Daniel Ricciardo was the first to complete a timed lap during the session. However, Kevin Magnussen swiftly surpassed his time with a lap of 1m20.454s. Shortly after, Sergio Perez took the lead with his first lap on a set of previously used medium tires.
Verstappen then dispatched his team-mate with a 1m18.478s having pressed a new set of mediums into service, as the Dutchman only used soft tyres in FP2 on Friday.
This withstood a series of runs on soft tyres, as Oscar Piastri’s 1m18.949s was not enough to beat either Red Bull despite setting a best middle sector.
Piastri finished his run using fresh soft tires, whereas his teammate Lando Norris and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly had already used sets for the remaining laps.
After maintaining their strong performance in FP2, Alfa Romeo drivers Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu managed to surpass one of the Red Bulls on new soft tires. Bottas came within 0.011s of Verstappen’s fastest time as the first third of the session had concluded.
Norris subsequently discovered a small amount of additional performance in his previously used tires, allowing him to surpass Perez and secure fourth place. Meanwhile, Perez expressed his difficulty in maintaining tire temperature on the scorching track.
Verstappen had held the lead for more than thirty minutes until Fernando Alonso took over, setting a lap time of 1m18.350s on fresh soft tires. This time was only 0.128s faster than the reigning champion’s.
The Spaniard was given more than five minutes at the top of the leaderboard, but then Norris used a new set of medium tires and surpassed Alonso’s time by 0.268s. As he crossed the finish line, Norris playfully swerved his McLaren MCL60.
During the last part of the session, the Mercedes pair decided to use the soft tire for their runs. George Russell’s attempt had a few unstable moments and he ended up in third place. However, Hamilton smoothly completed his run with exceptional sectors and secured the top position with a time of 1m17.811s.
Verstappen made an effort to surpass his main competitor for the 2021 championship by using fresh soft tires. However, he fell short by a quarter of a second compared to Hamilton’s best time. Despite experiencing a lack of traction, Verstappen managed to secure second place. Following closely behind, Perez secured third place, trailing his teammate by only 0.013 seconds.
The pair from Ferrari, who had primarily concentrated on long medium runs during the session, initially ranked low on the timesheets. However, when they tried to improve their position and move to the top, they couldn’t maintain their strong performance from the first sectors and ended up in sixth and seventh place.
Nico Hulkenberg surpassed both factory Ferraris and advanced to fourth place, while Magnussen’s strongest performance in the initial section was insufficient to place him among the top half of the rankings.
Perez made a last-minute attempt to surpass Hamilton and Verstappen at the top, but fell short by 0.006s compared to his teammate’s time, securing third place ahead of Hulkenberg.
Norris achieved a commendable performance, securing fifth place ahead of Russell, Leclerc, and Sainz in the top eight. Alonso’s previous standout performance placed him in ninth position overall, surpassing Bottas’ time. Lance Stroll positioned himself in 11th place, splitting the Alfa Romeos and leading Zhou.
The top 16 competitors were separated by only one second, while Logan Sargeant narrowly missed that margin by 0.003 seconds, finishing in 17th place.
Ricciardo outpaced team-mate Yuki Tsunoda by three tenths, with the two split at the bottom of the timesheets by Ocon.
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