George Russell fastest in last practice session in Barcelona

The final practice session before qualifying took place in very hot conditions at the Barcelona Circuit, with tyre degradation being one of the biggest challenges for the teams.

Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez were the first drivers to head out on track, completing several laps before Nico Hulkenberg joined them. The Audi driver briefly went fastest with a lap time of 1:18.2.

As more drivers entered the circuit, the pace quickly improved. Lando Norris, who topped the timesheets on Friday, moved to the front with a lap of 1:16.6, narrowly ahead of Charles Leclerc. McLaren continued to look strong after making overnight changes to both Norris' and Oscar Piastri's cars. By the halfway stage of the session, all 22 drivers had set a lap time, with George Russell leading the way for Mercedes on a 1:16.2.

The session was interrupted by a red flag after Bottas suffered a brake failure. The Cadillac driver lost control and slid into the gravel after Turn 9 before stopping safely at Turn 10. Over the team radio, Bottas reported that he had completely lost his brake pedal. The incident added to Cadillac's recent brake problems, which had already caused issues earlier this season.

Once the session resumed, drivers focused on qualifying simulations using fresh soft tyres. Russell produced an impressive lap of 1:15.679 to remain at the top of the timesheets. Piastri moved up to second place, while Leclerc secured third for Ferrari. Norris finished fourth, just a few thousandths of a second behind the Monegasque driver. Lewis Hamilton completed the top five, followed by Max Verstappen in sixth place.

Kimi Antonelli ended the session seventh after traffic disrupted his final runs, leaving the Mercedes rookie frustrated over the radio. Isack Hadjar continued his strong form with eighth place for Racing Bulls, while Nico Hulkenberg finished ninth for Audi. Arvid Lindblad completed the top ten, giving Racing Bulls two cars inside the top ten ahead of qualifying.