The Mercedes drivers benefited from runs late in the session to leap ahead of Verstappen, who was also pipped by Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari. Alpha Tauri’s Nyck de Vries also had an accident early on that terminated his session. For Russell, it was an impressive recovery after losing about half the session because of a steering problem. He returned to the track later in the session and benefited from the best conditions when he set his fastest time right at the end of the hour, straight after Hamilton had jumped to the top of the times. Leclerc also jumped ahead of Verstappen in the closing stages after the Dutchman had set the pace earlier on his run on the soft tyres.

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