Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen set the quickest time during final practice for Formula 1’s Spanish Grand Prix.
At the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, where Mercedes has not been beaten to pole position since 2012, Verstappen moved to the front with a time of 1:17.835s in warm and sunny conditions.
The effort, as drivers ran Soft tyres, left Verstappen 0.235s clear of World Champion Lewis Hamilton, who fronted Friday’s running.
Hamilton currently leads Verstappen by eight points in the standings
Close battle for third position
Much as in the title fight the front two pulled clear of a closely-contested chasing pack during final practice.
Ferrari fronted the group, with Charles Leclerc third and Carlos Sainz fourth, but less than four-tenths of a second covered the Monegasque from Esteban Ocon in 13th position.
That gaggle included Valtteri Bottas, who was a low-key fifth by Mercedes’ high standards, the McLaren and AlphaTauri duo, Kimi Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo, the Red Bull of Sergio Perez, and Alpine’s Fernando Alonso.
Aston Martin slips back
Sebastian Vettel had labelled Friday’s running as Aston Martin’s most promising of the season but he was left languishing down in 17th place on Saturday.
Team-mate Lance Stroll fared only slightly better, taking 14th, with George Russell 15th and Antonio Giovinazzi 16th.
Nicholas Latifi was within striking distance of Vettel while Haas finished adrift of the ack at the rear of the field, with Mick Schumacher six-tenths down on his nearest rival.
Schumacher nonetheless preserved his pace advantage over team-mate Nikita Mazepin.
Qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix is scheduled for 15:00 local time
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