Max Verstappen ended final practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix just 0.002s shy of Mercedes pace-setter Nico Rosberg.
With Red Bull having been expected to be competitive in Hungary, Mercedes had an advantage of 0.6s after FP2 on Friday. However, final practice saw Verstappen post a late lap of 1:20.263 to all but match Rosberg and increase the anticipation of a close qualifying session.
While Rosberg enjoyed a smooth session, Verstappen completed only 10 laps but still pulled out his quick lap time late on. He was over 0.4s clear of team-mate Daniel Ricciardo in third place, with Ricciardo's time coming earlier in the session followed by a long run to check Red Bull's race pace.
Lewis Hamilton was fourth quickest, half a second adrift of Rosberg as he attempted to make up for time lost due to a crash in FP2. It was a disjointed session for Hamilton, who needed his front right wheel rebalancing after a lock-up and also had to change his seat, with the original one having been cracked in the impact on Friday afternoon.
Kimi Raikkonen was just 0.098s slower than Hamilton as Ferrari also closed the gap to Mercedes even further, but with Sebastian Vettel the best part of a second slower than Rosberg it appears Red Bull will be the team to fight with Mercedes for pole position this afternoon.
Fernando Alonso was seventh fastest for the third consecutive session, although the gap to Vettel was 0.4s. Valtteri Bottas finished the session eighth as he evaluated a new floor for Williams, with Sergio Perez ninth and Jolyon Palmer a surprise tenth for Renault.
It appeared to be genuine pace for Renault as Palmer's team-mate Kevin Magnussen finished the session 12th quickest. Jenson Button was 13th - 0.4s slower than Alonso - as both McLaren drivers completed just 11 laps in the session, compared to 25 for Rosberg.
One notable aspect of the session was the number of messages from race control regarding track limits, with a number of drivers highlighted as leaving the track at turns 4 and 11. The FIA has confirmed it will take a "zero tolerance" approach to track limits in qualifying, with lap times immediately deleted for anyone running off at those two corners.
AS IT HAPPENED: Hungarian Grand Prix - FP3
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| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:20.261 | 25 |
| 02 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:20.263 | 10 |
| 03 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:20.726 | 22 |
| 04 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:20.769 | 23 |
| 05 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:20.859 | 18 |
| 06 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:21.185 | 22 |
| 07 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:21.584 | 11 |
| 08 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:21.649 | 21 |
| 09 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 1:21.672 | 22 |
| 10 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1:21.935 | 19 |
| 11 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:21.975 | 28 |
| 12 | Kevin Magnussen | Renault | 1:21.989 | 13 |
| 13 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1:22.009 | 11 |
| 14 | Esteban Gutierrez | Haas | 1:22.142 | 15 |
| 15 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1:22.284 | 13 |
| 16 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:22.402 | 21 |
| 17 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:22.427 | 22 |
| 18 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1:22.541 | 18 |
| 19 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber | 1:22.816 | 23 |
| 20 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:23.219 | 23 |
| 21 | Pascal Wehrlein | Manor | 1:23.311 | 24 |
| 22 | Rio Haryanto | Manor | 1:23.513 | 23 |
