The session began with immediate drama in the pit lane. Arvid Lindblad and George Russell made contact as they left the pits, with Russell reporting that the Racing Bulls driver had hit his front wing. The incident will be reviewed by the stewards after the session.

There was also a tense moment on track when Franco Colapinto suddenly slowed down on the pit straight with his car in neutral. Lewis Hamilton had to take quick avoiding action as he approached at speed. This incident will also be investigated.

Further problems followed in the opening minutes. Max Verstappen came to a stop in the pit lane and had to be pushed back to the Red Bull garage, while Sergio Perez remained in the pits with a sensor issue on his Cadillac. Despite the early chaos, drivers soon began setting competitive lap times, with Hamilton initially going fastest ahead of Russell and Antonelli.

Fernando Alonso made his first appearance on track of the day about 15 minutes into the session after missing the earlier practice due to technical problems. However, his first run was short and he returned to the pits after just two laps. His teammate Lance Stroll completed more laps during the first half of the session but was still well down the order.

As the session progressed, Mercedes briefly held the top two positions with Antonelli ahead of Russell. Piastri was running on harder tyres at the time and remained close to the front before switching to soft tyres. Once on the faster compound, the Australian moved to the top of the timesheets with the fastest lap of the session.

There were more incidents in the final stages. Verstappen had a big moment when a sudden snap of oversteer sent him across the grass and into the gravel before he returned to the pits. Williams also confirmed that Carlos Sainz would not continue in the session due to a technical issue with his car.

Perez eventually returned to the track in the closing minutes but stopped his car near Turn 12 shortly afterwards and was the only driver who did not set a lap time.

At the end of the session, Piastri remained fastest ahead of Antonelli and Russell, giving Mercedes two cars in the top three. Hamilton finished fourth for Ferrari, just ahead of his team-mate Charles Leclerc in fifth. Verstappen placed sixth for Red Bull.

Lando Norris ended the session seventh for McLaren, while Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad finished eighth. Isack Hadjar secured ninth place for Red Bull, and Esteban Ocon completed the top ten for Haas.