The final practice session before qualifying at Silverstone got off to a delayed start, as officials needed five extra minutes to clear the track of gravel and debris left over from a support race. Compared to the hot Friday sessions, the track temperature had dropped, which made conditions a bit trickier for the drivers.

At first, there wasn’t much action, with only a few cars heading out. Lance Stroll had a small scare when he almost lost control, and Lewis Hamilton eventually set the early pace despite struggling with understeer. Oscar Piastri’s car was seen running with flow-vis paint as McLaren continued testing.

Charles Leclerc soon moved ahead of his Ferrari teammate Hamilton, but then reported over the radio that rain was starting to fall. Max Verstappen, meanwhile, was having problems with his braking system and wasn’t happy with the car. McLaren drivers briefly took over the top of the timesheets, but Leclerc snatched P1 back during a qualifying simulation run.

With just under ten minutes to go, the red flag came out for debris on the track. At first it wasn’t clear where it came from, but it turned out Oliver Bearman had hit the kerb hard and left parts of his Haas behind. The red flag ruined what looked like a promising flying lap from Hamilton.

The session restarted with a few minutes left, but it didn’t last long. Gabriel Bortoleto lost control at high speed through Maggots and Becketts, flew off the track and broke the front suspension of his Sauber, bringing out a second red flag and ending the session early. Luckily, Bortoleto was unhurt and climbed out of the car by himself.

Bearman also caused drama at the end after sliding into the pit lane wall and damaging the nose of his car. He was later noted for a red flag infringement.

With no more running possible, Charles Leclerc finished FP3 on top, followed closely by Oscar Piastri in second and Max Verstappen in third. Lando Norris was just behind in fourth, making it a strong session for McLaren. Yuki Tsunoda had a good run in fifth for Red Bull, ahead of Oliver Bearman, who ended up sixth despite his crash.

Alexander Albon placed seventh for Williams, just ahead of George Russell in eighth. Isack Hadjar was ninth, and Liam Lawson rounded out the top ten for Racing Bulls.