2021 Austrian GP, Ferrari third practice report: Carlos P6, Charles P9. Ferrari third practice report.

Formula 1 championship leader Max Verstappen set the pace in final practice at the Austrian Grand Prix, finishing over half a second clear of the Mercedes duo. Verstappen produced a 1m04.591s to end FP3 0.538s quicker than the fastest Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas, while his title rival Lewis Hamilton was over six tenths behind having had a lap time deleted for a track limits breach.

A couple of very handy laps from Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in the last 15 minutes of FP3 sent the two Ferrari drivers in P3 and P4, just behind the two title contenders Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, in what was a much more positive practice session than FP2 yesterday. However, in final stages of the last practice session, Ferrari focused on the long runs, while other teams continued their qualifying simulations, as Carlos Sainz eventually ended up in P6 (1:05.356) and Charles Leclerc in P9 (1:05.484). At the same time, the two Aston Martin cars of Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll were very close to Ferrari and could prove a real challenge for the Maranello team in qualifying later today.

Qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix gets underway at 3pm local time (2pm BST) at the Red Bull Ring.

Results from the third and final practice session at the Austrian Grand Prix, Round 9 of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship.