Silverstone, FP3: Verstappen quickest in final practice

Max Verstappen topped the timesheet in the final practice session for the 2022 FIA Formula 1 British Grand Prix, beating team-mate Sergio Pérez by four tenths of a second as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took third place.

Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll were first on track in the hour-long session but after early P1 times from Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and the McLaren pairing of Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris it was Leclerc who established the first true benchmark, with the Monegasque driving becoming the first driver to cross the line in under 1m30s thanks to a lap of 1:29.452. Sainz then slotted into second place ahead of was next to put in a flying lap but settled for second, reporting struggles in high speed sections of the track of the Alfa Romeo pairing of Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.

Pérez then appeared and the Mexican was quickly into the battle for top spot as he split the Ferrari driver and took P2 with a lap of 1:29.629. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton then rose up the order to push Sainz down to fourth. Pérez then improved to steal P1 from Leclerc but his stay in P1 was brief. Leclerc circled again and retook P1 with a lap of 1:29.021.

With 20 minutes on the clock, Verstappen made his first appearance and the world champion immediately vaulted to the top of the timesheet setting a 1m28.541. He continued to improve, first to a 1m28.498s before lowering the benchmark by a further 0.15.

Leclerc did put in a late challenge to the Dutchman’s time but he fell 0.002s short before Verstappen improved again to top the session. Pérez also delivered a late flyer that boosted him from sixth place to second.

Behind Leclerc, Mercedes’ George Russell took fourth place with a lap of 1:28.426. That dropped team-mate Hamilton to fifth. Sainz, who was quickest in FP2, finished sixth with Norris seventh ahead of Bottas, Haas’ Mick Schumacher and the top 10 order was rounded out by Alonso.