Sainz completes Ferrari practice sweep as Red Bull’s struggles continue
Sainz ensured Ferrari were fastest in all three practice sessions but was only 0.069s quicker than George Russell’s Mercedes, while Lando Norris was 0.238s adrift in his McLaren.
Max Verstappen could only manage a time good enough for fourth - and 0.313s off the pace - as the reigning world champion complained about “unacceptable” upshift issues.
The Dutchman did at least pip the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, who ended up fifth after having to abort his final lap following a sideways moment in the middle sector.
Lewis Hamilton was nearly half a second adrift in sixth, ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Sergio Perez, who once again was unhappy with the balance of his RB19 as he finished 0.7s down.
Nico Hulkenberg and Yuki Tsunoda completed a top-10 separated by less than a second for Haas and AlphaTauri respectively.
There is the caveat that FP3 was held in conditions not representative of those to come in qualifying, which will be held under the lights, but Red Bull appear to be genuinely off the pace as they look to maintain their invincible streak in 2023.
