For the first time this weekend, Red Bull showed their pace as Max Verstappen set the fastest time in final practice in Spain, finishing the session ahead of title rival Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
With less than 10 minutes remaining, Verstappen used the soft tires to set the fastest middle sector for a time of 1m 17.835s, to go 0.235s faster than Hamilton's existing benchmark.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was 0.238s behind Hamilton in P3, and Carlos Sainz followed in fourth, another tenth off his teammate as the Scuderia continued their improving form this season.
That left Valtteri Bottas fifth, 0.588s off his teammate's pace – while Sergio Perez was down in 10th, 0.771s behind his Red Bull teammate Verstappen.
Aston Martin's Lance Stroll finished 14th and his four-time champion teammate Sebastian Vettel 17th, between the 15th-place George Russell of Williams and 16th-place Alfa Romeo driver Antonio Giovinazzi.
Nicholas Latifi finished 18th and the Haas pair rounded out the table, Nikita Mazepin in P20 for the third time this weekend behind Mick Schumacher.
Qualifying is up next as Verstappen, Hamilton and Bottas vie to become the first repeat pole-sitter of 2021. Will someone else crash the party? Find out with F1.com's live coverage beginning at 1430 local time.
Standings:-
| 2021 F1 SPANISH GRAND PRIX - FREE PRACTICE RESULTS (3) | ||||
| POS | DRIVER | NAT. | TEAM | TIME |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | NED | Red Bull Racing | 1m17.835s |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team | 1m18.070s |
| 3 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow | 1m18.308s |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow | 1m18.410s |
| 5 | Valtteri Bottas | FIN | Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team | 1m18.423s |
| 6 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren F1 Team | 1m18.494s |
| 7 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1m18.535s |
| 8 | Daniel Ricciardo | AUS | McLaren F1 Team | 1m18.582s |
| 9 | Kimi Raikkonen | FIN | Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen | 1m18.597s |
| 10 | Sergio Perez | MEX | Red Bull Racing | 1m18.606s |
| 11 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | Alpine F1 Team | 1m18.662s |
| 12 | Yuki Tsunoda | JPN | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1m18.673s |
| 13 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | Alpine F1 Team | 1m18.700s |
| 14 | Lance Stroll | CAN | Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team | 1m18.887s |
| 15 | George Russell | GBR | Williams Racing | 1m19.005s |
| 16 | Antonio Giovinazzi | ITA | Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen | 1m19.214s |
| 17 | Sebastian Vettel | GER | Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team | 1m19.363s |
| 18 | Nicholas Latifi | CAN | Williams Racing | 1m19.392s |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher | GER | Uralkali Haas F1 Team | 1m19.999s |
| 20 | Nikita Mazepin | RUS | Uralkali Haas F1 Team | 1m20.237s |
-by Amaan Attar
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