The leader of the championship quickly rose to the top in the beginning of the session. But later on, he faced difficulties as his car didn’t feel balanced. A mistake at Turn 17 ruined one of his laps, and he couldn’t complete another lap because of a problem at the chicane.
Despite these challenges, he managed to get back on track and set the fastest time with a lap of 1m28.595s. Charles Leclerc’s spin caused a red flag, interrupting the session for about five minutes. Sergio Perez briefly took the lead, but Carlos Sainz soon surpassed him.
As the session progressed, drivers focused on longer runs. Towards the end, many drivers switched to soft tires for qualifying simulations. Pierre Gasly surprised everyone by setting the fastest time with a lap of 1m 29.175s.
But it was Max Verstappen who eventually topped the timesheets with a cohesive lap. Oscar Piastri came close behind him, followed by George Russell and Lance Stroll.
Lewis Hamilton finished just behind Perez, with Yuki Tsunoda, Esteban Ocon, and Pierre Gasly rounding out the top 10.
