In a repetition of yesterday’s training units, several drivers had to use the escape routes on the dusty street circuit, with Mercedes-Valtteri Bottas soon directly reflecting on T3 and Red Bulls Max Verstappen his change in T4.
It took 15 minutes for the drivers to set representative lap times, with Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez taking the lead with 1: 44.044 minutes, followed by 1: 44.165 on Hards.
His team was enhanced by AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, who used Pirelli’s softest blend to achieve a 1: 43.447 minute after 20 minutes.
The Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz briefly grabbed second and third place with times on the media.
Tsunoda’s team-mate Gasly took the lead instead, taking three tenths off the Japanese rookie with a 1: 43.187s and then a 1: 43.051s on softs, while Verstappen shared Perez and Sainz and temporarily finished fifth.
Confused by its out of shape on Friday, the Mercedes team fought on ahead of qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton reporting a lack of grip.
Hamilton was tenth at the beginning, behind Antonio Giovinazzi, Daniel Ricciardo and Lance Stroll, while Bottas was even further behind.
With 35 minutes remaining, Verstappen got a red flag by locking himself in at Turn 15 and sliding into the barriers, reflecting Leclerc’s evasive action in FP2 on Friday.
While the damage to the Red Bull’s front looked minor, the Dutchman couldn’t turn back and had to leave the scene.
After a 10-minute break, practice resumed, with both Mercedes drivers trying to find time on the medium, tires that, given the large difference in durability with Pirelli’s softest compound, could be the preferred compound for Q2 and the start of the race.
Before qualifying, the red marked C5 tires were the main compound of choice, with Leclerc taking the lead in the final quarter with 1: 42.778 minutes, immediately surpassed by 1: 42.595 minutes by Perez.
A flurry of fast laps in the last 10 minutes was interrupted by George Russell, whose unresponsive Williams stalled in the first sector.
After a brief caution, Gasly took the lead of the AlphaTauri with 1: 42.251 minutes, while Hamilton finally jumped from 17th to third place thanks to a smooth lap of 1: 42.697 minutes, a tenth behind second-placed Perez, who was driven by a large drag benefited from behind the Mexican.
Ferrari couple Leclerc and Sainz finished fourth and fifth, respectively, ahead of McLaren’s Norris and Alpines Fernando Alonso.
Tsunoda landed in eighth place, Alpine Esteban Ocon and McLaren driver Ricciardo rounded off the top ten.
The Aston Martin duo Vettel and Stroll finished 11th and 12th, followed by a frustrated Bottas and Alfa Romeo Kimi Räikkönen.
Verstappen was relegated to 15th place after his early exit, while Williams’s Nicholas Latifi took 16th place ahead of Giovinazzi’s second Alfa Romeo and the ailing Russell.
Haas stayed at the bottom of the table, Mick Schumacher got four tenths ahead of his teammate Nikita Mazepin, who tore off a front wing end plate after hitting the wall.
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