The final practice session of the weekend made it clear that the fight for pole position will be tight. Oscar Piastri set the fastest time with a 1:15.921, closely followed by George Russell and Max Verstappen.

It was a session packed with action on track, with drivers and teams taking full advantage of the opportunity to fine-tune details ahead of the first qualifying session of the year. However, Ollie Bearman suffered another stroke of bad luck. After yesterday’s serious accident, which left him out of the race, Haas changed the power unit on his car. Even so, the young Briton suffered another incident that sidelined him again, affecting his preparations for qualifying. Liam Lawson also faced difficulties, as his team had to change the power unit, which limited his time on track.

In contrast, Max Verstappen showed notable improvement. After struggling the previous day and declaring that he thought it was “impossible to make Q3,” he posted very competitive times today, demonstrating that Red Bull has found solutions for its car. The Dutchman is once again positioning himself as a serious contender in the fight for the top spots.

For Mercedes, George Russell took second place, just 0.039 seconds behind Piastri, while his teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished fifth. Both drivers were comfortable with the car and had solid single-lap pace, which gives a positive impression for qualifying.

Despite Mercedes’ strong performance, McLaren and Ferrari remain the favorites. The Ferrari drivers set very competitive times, and Lewis Hamilton showed a better adaptation to the car compared to previous sessions. For McLaren, although Piastri posted the best time, Lando Norris missed out on a fast lap by lifting his pedal before completing it. However, his times in the first two sectors were impressive, suggesting he had enough pace to take the lead.

Another team that continues to surprise is Williams, whose drivers set competitive times, even placing in the top five. Their performance on hard tires was very positive, as they found grip favored them, although they struggled somewhat on soft tires. Even so, the team appears to be closer to the leaders than expected.

On the other hand, Aston Martin, Alpine, and Haas have had more difficulties. Their drivers made mistakes, and their cars didn’t look entirely comfortable on track, which could jeopardize their qualifying hopes. In contrast, Sauber and Racing Bulls showed good pace, which could allow them to enter the fight for the midfield.

With all these factors, the battle for pole position promises to be intense, as the times between the teams are extremely close. However, this circuit has a peculiarity: the winners usually start from the front rows, not necessarily from pole position.