Verstappen tops wet FP3 as Mercedes struggle, Sainz crashes
Verstappen ended up 0.291s faster than Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso the next quickest driver, some 1.3s off the pace in third.
Kevin Magnussen put his Haas fourth, ahead of Sainz, who caused the only red flag of FP3 when he spun off into the barriers at Turn 1.
Sainz touched the painted white lines and lost control of his SF-23 which sustained heavy damage to both the front and rear-end.
It was a difficult session for the Spaniard, who has also been summoned to see the Canadian Grand Prix stewards for potentially impeding Alex Albon’s Williams.
After topping the only representative practice session on Friday, Mercedes went backwards in the wet.
Lewis Hamilton could only manage a lap time good enough for 10th, 1.9s off Verstappen, while teammate George Russell was down in 15th as both Mercedes drivers struggled to generate temperature in their intermediate tyres.
That will be a concern for Mercedes heading into qualifying, which is set to take place in similar conditions.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was sixth-fastest ahead of Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin and Yuki Tsunoda, who spun twice in his AlphaTauri.
Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and Hamilton completed the top-10 order.
Sergio Perez had a tricky session, finishing 17th and nearly three seconds adrift of Red Bull teammate Verstappen.
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