Carlos Sainz emerged as the fastest driver in the final practice session of the Spanish Grand Prix, narrowly defeating Lando Norris by a margin of 0.030s. However, the focus turned to Sainz’s teammate, Charles Leclerc, after a controversial incident. Leclerc made contact with Norris during a maneuver that appeared to be an act of retaliation. Both drivers continued, but Leclerc expressed his anger over the team radio. The incident is currently under investigation and both drivers will have to appear before the stewards for further analysis.
Interestingly, this was not the only on-track conflict during the third practice session. Lance Stroll and Lewis Hamilton also got involved in a confrontation at Turn 5. Stroll found Hamilton in his way, resulting in contact between the two drivers. Stroll expressed his frustration with Hamilton, while the Mercedes driver claimed he didn’t see Stroll approaching. Like Leclerc and Norris, Stroll and Hamilton will also be summoned by the stewards to discuss the incident.
During the session, Norris set the fastest lap time, surpassing Hamilton’s reference from FP2. However, his lap was compromised due to traffic in the final sector, indicating potential for further improvement. Leclerc, on the other hand, demonstrated strong performance in the first and second sectors, but ended up settling for third place, just 0.037s behind his teammate Sainz. Max Verstappen secured the fourth fastest time for Red Bull, trailing Sainz by only 0.074s.
George Russell and Hamilton achieved fifth and sixth place, respectively, for Mercedes. Hamilton’s final lap was hindered by a brief excursion into the gravel. Oscar Piastri, driving for McLaren, faced a similar setback and finished in tenth place. Sergio Perez, who will serve a three-grid penalty, secured seventh place for Red Bull, followed by Alex Albon and Fernando Alonso.
