Charles Leclerc set the pace in Saturday’s final practice for the British Grand Prix, however, several drivers – including Lewis Hamilton – didn’t put in a second soft tyre run.

There were two red flags in the final 10 minutes, first for debris and then for Gabriel Bortoleto’s crashed Sauber. The latter ended the session prematurely, with Oliver Bearman then crashing in the pit lane as he returned to the Haas garage.

Charles Leclerc sets the pace after two late red flags in FP3

The start of FP3 was delayed by five minutes due to gravel on the track that was kicked up during the historic car event.

Underway, Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto ventured out along with the Aston Martins, while the rest of the field stood in their garages, chatting to team personnel or visitors in the case of Max Verstappen, who was spotted in conversation with Harry King, one of his Verstappen.com drivers. A 1:28.5 was the benchmark set by Gasly before Colapinto shaved off 0.03s.

10 minutes in, there was a tad more action as Lewis Hamilton joined the fray and went quickest with a 1:27.3 despite notably suffering with understeer. A few minutes later the rest of the field finally took to the track.

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Charles Leclerc overhauled his team-mate at the front with Verstappen up to second ahead of Hamilton, with the trio separated by just 0.035s. As for the McLarens, they were only fifth and tenth on their first laps, with Lando Norris ahead of Oscar Piastri.

The track, it should be noted, was much cooler than on Friday, down to 26’C.

Fernando Alonso had a moment through Luffield and lost the backend of his Aston Martin in a big slide. The double World Champion went P10 on his first error-free lap.

Halfway through the session, Leclerc led the way with a 1:25.9, two-tenths ahead of Verstappen, George Russell, Hamilton, Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman. The Haas driver was lapping on the medium tyres.

Leclerc was back into the garage as Ferrari worked on his SF-25, removing the engine cover in what looked to be more than just a set-up change. Meanwhile, Kimi Antonelli reported: “Massive moment in 12. Mercedes replied: “Yeah, that’s what the data says.”

Verstappen was on a flier, purple in the first sector, but traffic in the form of Pierre Gasly meant he wasn’t able to improve. He let Gasly know his thoughts on that. Alex Albon also caught traffic from Alonso, “What the **** was that!” Liam Lawson, the cause of a traffic moment, was noted for driving erratically and given a black-and-white flag.

Verstappen’s troubles continued, as he complained: “Mate, this brake bias is ****. The off-set. It’s like a handbrake.”

Bolting on a new set of softs ahead of the final 20 minutes of action, Norris went purple in the middle sector to go fastest with a 1:25.6 only to be pipped by Piastri by 0.04s. Verstappen split the McLarens, 0.019s down on Piastri’s time.

But it was all-change again as Ferrari bolted on new soft tyres and Leclerc went fastest with a 1:25.4, 0.68s up on Piastri. Hamilton was even quicker in the first sector but the red flags were waved, which forced him to abort his lap as there was debris on the track from Bearman’s Haas.

The track was cleared with six minutes remaining, the driver queuing to put in a final run including Gabriel Bortoleto. The Sauber driver brought out the second red flag as he lost it on the kerbs, his Sauber’s front suspension breaking as he got air and went flying off the track.

Bortoleto climbed out of his car unaided, but there was huge damage to the front of the Sauber.

Bearman was also in trouble as he lost the nose of his Haas when he crashed in the pit lane, the driver complaining about cold brakes. Bearman was noted for a red flag infringement.

The red flags meant the drivers headed back to the pits, the session over with Leclerc P1 ahead of Piastri and Verstappen.

FP3 times at the British Grand Prix

1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:25.498
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.068
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.087
4 Lando Norris McLaren +0.108
5 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull Racing +0.606
6 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team +0.614
7 Alexander Albon Williams +0.621
8 George Russell Mercedes +0.627
9 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +0.631
10 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +0.758
11 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.834
12 Carlos Sainz Williams +0.834
13 Esteban Ocon Haas F1 Team +0.879
14 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +0.924
15 Nico Hulkenberg Kick Sauber +1.001
16 Gabriel Bortoleto Kick Sauber +1.003
17 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +1.396
18 Franco Colapinto Alpine +2.099
19 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +2.102
20 Pierre Gasly Alpine +2.380

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