Max in P4 in last free practice in Spanish GP

Published on 22 June 2024 by Florence Cobben

Max Verstappen has ended the last free practice of the Spanish Grand Prix in fourth place. On the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain, Carlos Sainz went fastest in his Ferrari, just ahead of Lando Norris in P2. Charles Leclerc for Ferrari claimed P3. Max's Red Bull and George Russell's Mercedes completed the top five. Max's Oracle Red Bull Racing teammate, Sergio Perez, went seventh fastest. 

Before the session, a small fire broke out in McLaren's hospitality unit, with no reprecussions for the start of FP3. The start of the session is graced with a 25 degrees temperature and a slightly cloudy sky. Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes is the first driver to appear on track. The Brit is underway on a new set of soft tyres and the first driver to set a time.

After five minutes Max makes his first appearance on track. Fresh medium tyres have been secured under his RB20. During his first flying lap, he sets a purple first sector and a green second and third sector. While there is still a gap to Hamilton, it's early days; the session is yet to get properly underway. 

After the first twenty minutes, Russell is fastest, followed by Norris' McLaren and Sainz's Ferrari. Max is in P6 and in the pits. The teams are busy with collecting useful data for the race, and are biding their time till the qualifying simulation that will start later in the session. 

As the first drivers are finally getting ready for a stint on the soft tyres, there is still 22 minutes on the clock. Williams, Haas and McLaren are the first on track to run the qualifying sim. Alex Albon shows his mettle and briefly claims P5. Norris is also well underway in his McLaren and claims P1. Hamilton is still warming up the tyres underneath his Mercedes, and both Red Bulls are still in the pits. 

After Hamiton completes a flying lap, he closes in on Norris in P2. Sometime later Russell takes P2 from his teammate and we see both Red Bulls appear on track on new softs. With only 8 minutes left on the clock, Sainz has soared to P1. Max puts his Red Bull on P3, seven-hundredths behind Sainz. Perez, in contrast, stays far behind the front of the field in P7, with a seven-tenths difference to P1. In the closing phases of the race, Leclerc still manages to squeeze his Ferrari in between Norris and Max's cars, thereby concluding the session. 

Contest GP Spain: win a by Max Verstappen signed Verstappen.com Racing cap!

Results third free practice Spain: