Charles Leclerc continued his fine start to the Spanish Grand Prix weekend by setting the fastest lap in the third practice session ahead of qualifying this afternoon.
With track temperatures still high, Leclerc set a time of 1m 19.772s on the soft tyre to lead his championship rival Max Verstappen by just 0.072s. George Russell was 0.148s behind Leclerc in P3, while Lewis Hamilton finished in fourth.
In front of his home crowd, Carlos Sainz finished in P5, just ahead of Sergio Perez in sixth. Lando Norris recovered from his lack of running in FP2 to set the seventh fastest time of the session.
FP3: Leclerc leads Verstappen and Russell in final practice before Spanish GP qualifying
It was a tough session for Pierre Gasly and Mick Schumacher, who both returned to the pits with issues at the rear of their cars. Gasly had an overheating engine shield that caused the rear end to blow out smoke, while Schumacher’s brakes caught on fire.
Click on the video player above to watch the action for the third practice session in Barcelona as the drivers get set for qualifying.
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