Overview
- Franco Colapinto finished 19th in Saturday's final practice after a spin and light barrier contact that caused no physical injury but left him visibly uncomfortable with the Alpine.
- Alpine sporting director Steve Nielsen said the team must work on Colapinto's car balance and specifically improve front traction and braking before the imminent qualifying session.
- FP3 running was cut short by a heavy crash from Oliver Bearman that brought out a red flag and limited clean qualifying runs for all teams.
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli topped the session with a 1:12.720 lap, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton close behind, leaving Colapinto well off the benchmark.
- Colapinto also received a 900-euro fine for exceeding the pit-lane speed limit and will need faster setup gains than teammate Pierre Gasly if he is to secure a strong grid slot on a circuit where overtaking is extremely difficult.