McLaren dominates final practice with Norris leading the way

Lando Norris set the fastest time in the final practice session, clocking an impressive 1:27.965. His teammate Oscar Piastri finished close behind, just 0.026 seconds behind him, demonstrating McLaren's outstanding performance. Third place went to George Russell, who finished 0.112 seconds off the fastest, completing a tight top three.

Photo: Mclaren

The session began with a red flag caused by a small fire on the track's grass. As we saw in the previous day's second practice session, the grass is very dry, making it easier for sparks generated by the cars in contact with the asphalt to ignite fires in certain areas.

After the interruption, the session resumed, and the teams took advantage of the opportunity to work on both race simulations and short qualifying runs. McLaren once again emerged as the fastest team, closely followed by George Russell's Mercedes. The Ferraris also began to look more competitive, especially in qualifying conditions.

As for Red Bull, Max Verstappen continues to struggle with an unstable car, still struggling to find his ideal pace. Yuki Tsunoda, meanwhile, although he finished behind Verstappen, remains fairly close in time, leaving a positive impression.

Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, and Isack Hadjar surprised with strong performances, breaking into the top 10 in this final session. Carlos Sainz, on the other hand, remains somewhat behind his teammate, unable to match Albon's pace.

Meanwhile, Liam Lawson has shown clear improvement since his return to Racing Bulls. He seems more comfortable in the car, especially compared to his first two races with Red Bull, where he struggled to find pace.

In contrast, Kimi Antonelli, who had two solid weekends finishing very close to George Russell, was practically absent this day, falling far short of his teammate's performance.

Jack Doohan made it to this session after the devastating accident he suffered the day before. Despite the impact, the Australian was able to get out on track to test different configurations on his car. It's worth highlighting the efforts of the Alpine team, whose engineers worked until 3:30 a.m. to get the car ready on time.

At the bottom of the table, Sauber continues to struggle, as does Haas. Aston Martin, meanwhile, struggled more than expected, something that hadn't happened in the previous two races.

The session ends with another red flag caused by another fire on the track.

Top 5

lando Norris

Oscar Piastri

George Russell

Charles Leclerc

Max Verstappen