Sergio Perez has fired a warning shot at his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen ahead of qualifying, the Mexican edging the Dutchman in the final practice session by 0.193s.
The bulls thus preserved their advantage over Mercedes rivals Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton who clocked in P3 and P4 in the final dress rehearsal session.
Further back, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda rounded off the top six.
Drivers took to the track amid predictably a warm and dry environment, with an air temperature of 17.5 °C and a track temperature of 35.3 °C.
Ahead of the start of the session, McLaren suggested that Lando Norris is set for a grid drop on Sunday following a Mercedes engine change in the papaya camp.
Drivers took a cautious approach to the opening laps of FP3, as a streak of cement covered an oil spill from a previous support race.
The action remained subdued during the first 15 minutes but gradually the traffic increased as the track cleaned up and got faster.
The Mercedes and Red Bull drivers traded places at the top of the timesheet until Ferrari's Charles Leclerc broke up the front-runners' party with a 1m18.213s.
But a very determined and soft-shod Perez immediately recouped the top spot by dipping into the 1m17s. However, the Mexican was dispatched in short order by Verstappen who shaved almost four tenths off his teammate's best time.
A flyer from Bottas allowed the Finn to split the bulls while Hamilton languished in P7, the Briton taking to the run-off area at Turn 1 after locking up his front-right, a plight also suffered by Norris and Alpine's Fernando Alonso.
With less than 10 minutes on the clock, Perez overhauled Bottas for second while Hamilton moved up to fourth, behind Bottas and just ahead of Sainz and Leclerc.
The local crowd erupted into a loud roar as the session entered its final minutes when Perez outdid Verstappen by 0.193s to lead the field.
But the Dutchman then emerged on a fresh set of shiny softs to try and reclaim the lead. To no avail however as Perez concluded the final practice workout at the top the timing screens by 0.193s.
Behind the two Red Bulls and the Mercedes duo, Sainz led an impressive Yuki Tsunoda, Ricciardo, Gasly, Leclerc and Norris who closed out the top ten.
The second half of the field included both drivers from the Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo, McLaren, Alpine and Haas outfits.
Can Perez uphold his edge over Verstappen and snatch a sensational pole for his home race? Check back later to find out…
Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Somewhere in the Czech Republic last weekend, while the F1 paddock was busy elsewhere doing…
Jenson Button took the first win of his Formula 1 career on this day in…
George Russell’s battle against Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes is already a daunting challenge on pure…
Williams’ 2026 season was supposed to be the next step in a carefully plotted rebuild.…
Former FIA Formula 2 champion Theo Pourchaire is back in the single-seater saddle, with the…
For much of 2025, the paddock conversation around Sergio Perez was surprisingly straightforward: a driver…