Max Verstappen topped the timesheet ahead of Red Bull team-mate Sergio Pérez and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in a final practice that was disrupted by rain.
With the skies darkening over the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in the run-up to the last hour of practice, a long queue formed at the pit exit ahead of the start of the session, and when the green lights went on all 20 drivers quickly made their way out on track in dry conditions.
Verstappen set the early pace with a lap of 1:13.664, 0.250s ahead of Pérez, with Hamilton in P3, four tenths off top spot. Further improvements were not possible, however, as eight minutes into the session the red flags came out when William’s Logan Sargeant crashed.
The American driver went into the final corner too hot and after suffering a snap in mid-corner he went off track. The gravel trap did its job and scrubbed off most of the Williams’ driver’s speed but he still hit the barriers with the left side of his FW45 and the session was halted.
During the nine-minute delay that followed rain began to fall and when the session resumed all drivers opted to stay in their garages to see if conditions improved. McLaren’s Lando Norris ended the lull, taking to the track on intermediate tyres but the conditions worsened and after a nervous moment he returned to the pit lane.
The rain then abated and a number of cars went out but in the tricky conditions there were no improvements and Verstappen took top spot when the chequered flag was shown.
Home hero Carlos Sainz was fourth for Ferrari ahead of compatriot Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin, while Mercedes’ George Russell took sixth place ahead of Charles Leclerc in the other Ferrari.
Valtteri Bottas was eighth fastest for Alfa Romeo, ahead of AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda in ninth, with Lando Norris rounding out the top-10 for McLaren.
2023 FIA Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix – Free Practice 3
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:13.664 14 227.590
2 Sergio Pérez Red Bull Racing 1:13.914 0.250 14 226.820
3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:14.072 0.408 9 226.336
4 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:14.240 0.576 20 225.824
5 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:14.264 0.600 14 225.751
6 George Russell Mercedes 1:14.278 0.614 16 225.708
7 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:14.353 0.689 18 225.481
8 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo 1:14.360 0.696 15 225.459
9 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 1:14.659 0.995 16 224.556
10 Lando Norris McLaren 1:14.681 1.017 20 224.490
11 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 1:14.681 1.017 15 224.490
12 Nyck de Vries AlphaTauri 1:14.693 1.029 18 224.454
13 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:14.756 1.092 14 224.265
14 Nico Hülkenberg Haas 1:14.988 1.324 12 223.571
15 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:15.105 1.441 17 223.223
16 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1:15.266 1.602 15 222.745
17 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:15.534 1.870 12 221.955
18 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:15.841 2.177 14 221.057
19 Alexander Albon Williams 1:15.851 2.187 13 221.028
20 Logan Sargeant Williams/Mercedes 1:16.529 2.865 5 219.069