FP3: Sainz edges out Russell in final practice in Singapore

F1 Grand Prix, GP Singapore, Marina Bay Street Circuit

Carlos Sainz continued Ferrari’s impressive form at the Singapore Grand Prix weekend by topping the timesheets in the third and final practice, edging out Mercedes driver George Russell. F1Technical's senior writer Balázs Szabó reports of Free Practice 3 at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Carlos Sainz continued where he left off yesterday, setting the benchmark time in the final practice at the Singapore Grand Prix. Ferrari's Spaniard recorded a 1m32.065s on Pirelli's soft tyres after completing several short stints on low fuel and a long stint on high fuel on the same set of medium in the first half of the session.

Sainz's benchmark indicated that Ferrari managed to carry over their form from Friday, although they do not have the advantage they had on the opening day. Charles Leclerc only managed a time good enough for fifth, three tenths of a second off the pace with the Monegasque having struggled for rear stability in the final part of the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Mercedes drivers looked mighty strong in the final one-hour session, particularly George Russell, who was just under a tenth slower than Sainz. His team-mate Lewis Hamilton was sixth fastest with both Mercedes drivers using two sets of the red-walled soft in FP3, indicating that they put more focus on their one-lap pace than their direct rivals.

Using his heavily updated McLaren MCL60, Lando Norris put his car in P3 after the British driver displayed encouraging pace not only on the softs, but also on the mediums in the first part of the practice session.

Four-time Singapore Grand Prix winner 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.

After their dismal weekend in Monza, Haas continued to impress with Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen ending up 9th and 11th fastest respectively with AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda slotting in between the German and Danish driver.

Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso appeared to be quick on Friday, but his best effort was only enough for 13th with the Spaniard just edging out his team-mate Lance Stroll in FP3.

Having received fresh power unit components for the final practice, Alex Albon recovered from his engine issues in FP2 to finish 17th for Williams. Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu were 18th and 19th for Alfa Romeo, while Logan Sargeant brought up the rear of the field.