Max Verstappen ended FP3 at the top of the timing sheets, but the Red Bull driver only held a 0.070s advantage over the in-form Williams of Alex Albon.
The Anglo-Thai racer set himself up for a spot on the front row in qualifying, but local hero Sergio Perez in third position will be giving it his all.
Behind the leading trio, Mercedes’ George Russell and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and an impressive Valtteri Bottas rounded off the top six, while Lewis Hamilton concluded the session in tenth place
There was a sense of novelty as everyone prepared for FP3 as it had been a full month since teams and drivers had experienced a practice session on a Saturday!
Friday concluded under grey skies and a touch of rain but the sun shined bright as the field kicked into gear, with air temperature at 42°C while track temps were at 42°C.
While drivers were snuggled in their cockpit, there appeared to be no rush to get going. But eventually, Valtteri Bottas, Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso rolled out onto the pitlane and set off.
The bulk of the field followed suit, with the soft tyre the rubber of choice.
Sainz posted the first significant time, but the Spaniard was immediately dispatched by Leclerc, before Hamilton lowered the benchmark on his opening effort.
Russell then picked up the baton with a 1m18.644s while Pierre Gasly spun out of Turn 12 and came close to hitting the wall. The Alpine charger turned it around and continued on his way although his tyres were good for the bin.
Almost 25 minutes into the session, there was still no sign of the Red Bulls. But no sooner had this been realized than a loud roar from the crowd signaled Perez’s entry onto the pitlane, followed shortly after by Verstappen.
The Dutchman, running on the softs, quickly got down to business as he set the second fastest time, 0.076s behind Russell and just ahead of Hamilton.
Pressing on, Verstappen then went top, outpacing Russell by 0.215s while Perez had slotted into third ahead of Ricciardo whose strong momentum from FP2 extended into FP3.
As the session entered ‘qualifying sim’ mode, the man who produced a standout performance on Friday, Alex Albon, took center stage once again, the Williams charger pounding in a 1m17.957s that sent him to the top, 0.472s clear of Verstappen, and with three fastest sectors for good measure!
Russell made an attempt to dethrone Albon but in vain, although the Briton snatched P2 from Verstappen. However, with 10 minutes to go the latter reclaimed the lead but only by 0.070s.
Meanwhile, Sainz was forced to take evading action to avoid a crash with the slow-moving Aston of Stroll, an incident noted by race control. Coincidently, Leclerc suffered a moment with an equally inattentive Kevin Magnussen.
The positions at the front remained unchanged as the checkered flag was deployed, with Verstappen therefore set to head into qualifying as the overwhelming favourite.
But Albon in P2 will be carrying Williams hopes of perhaps a front row start along with Perez and Russell as far as the top-four were concerned.
Piastri was McLaren’s fastest driver in the session, the Aussie rounding off the top five. Bottas in P6 confirmed his FP2 pace as while Yuki Tsunoda was P7, edging Lando Norris, Ricciardio and Hamilton who closed out the top-ten.
Logan Sargeant led the second half of the field, the American hoping for another incursion into Q3 in qualifying. In P12, Zhou led the Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz in P13 and P15.
Both Astons lingered once again among the laggards, as did unexpectedly both Alpines, with Gasly and Ocon sandwiching Magnussen as the trio closed out the field.
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