Verstappen comfortably leads Ferrari drivers in French GP FP3

Max Verstappen was in a league of his own in the final practice session ahead of Saturday's French GP qualifying, the Red Bull driver running 0.354s clear of Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.

The Dutchman had set an early benchmark on the medium tyre that no one save Sainz was able to beat on the softs. However, the reigning world champion then relied on the red-rimmed compound to recoup the top spot.

Behind the top three, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were respectively fourth and sixth for Mercedes, the pair sandwiching the Red Bull of Sergio Perez.

• French Grand Prix Free Practice 3 - Results

Overnight changes for F1's team brought the hope of improvements at the outset of Saturday's final practice, but the proof would be in the pudding.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz concluded Friday at the top of the timesheet but the Spaniard was set to focus on his race set-up in FP3 as the Scuderia confirmed that it had added additional elements to his pool of engine hardware, ensuring him a back row start on Sunday's grid.

Red Bull's Sergio Perez, certainly one driver in search of improvements after a messy Friday, was the first to take to the track, the Mexican followed by a string of cars.

Perez set an early benchmark, but it was one that was quickly obliterated by Verstappen by almost half a second.

The early running saw both Red Bull drivers - running on the medium rubber - alarmingly clear of the field, with over 1.2s separating the bulls from their nearest competitor.

But 15 minutes in, a soft-shod Sainz split the two Red Bull, but the Ferrari charger was still 0.409s behind Verstappen. Meanwhile, Leclerc suffered an inconsequential 360° off at Turn 12.

Behind the top-three, as the session reached its mid-way point, AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly led the pursuers charge from Valtteri Bottas and Fernando Alonso, with all three tyre compounds in use.

Yuki Tsunoda had a moment when he stumbled upon the slow-moving Williams of Nicholas Latifi on the racing line.

Mercedes bolted on a set of softs on Hamilton's W13, but the Briton's flyer, while good for third, still left him 0.447s off the pace from Verstappen's best on the medium compound.

With 20 minutes to go, traffic and flyers increased. The flurry of laps times saw Leclerc edge Sainz and slot into second while Alex Albon and Latifi impressively crept into the top ten.

But Sainz pressed on and eventually overhauled Verstappen's early best by 0.182s. However, the Dutchman, now on the softs, recouped the top spot, clearing the Ferrari by a healthy 0.354s.

Verstappen thus had the last word and will head into qualifying as the outright favourite for pole, but Ferrari's drivers won't go down without a fight.

Hamilton and Russell, respectively P4 and P6, will be hoping to uphold their positions in Q3. Alonso concluded his session P7, but Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon was but a lowly P17. The Frenchman who has his own grandstand this weekend will be hoping for much better.

Albon's promising P8 and Latifi's P12 provided a big dose of encouragement for Williams, while Norris and Tsunoda rounded off the top ten.

Among the laggards, Aston Martin's Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel did little to brighten their prospects for this weekend.

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