Charles Leclerc went quickest in the final practice session for the 2025 FIA Formula 1 British Grand Prix, with the Ferrari driver outpacing McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in a session that was twice halted by red flags. 

At the start of the session Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton set the early pace on Softs with a time of 1:27.351 before working down to 1:26.529. His Ferrari team-mate Leclerc then raised the game with a lap of 1:26.494 to go 0.035s clear. Verstappen then split the two Ferraris with a lap just 0.005s off Leclerc's P1 time. 

The McLaren pair of Piastri and Lando Norris couldn’t match that pace in the first half hour of the session, but as they worked through a longer run and their fuel loads dropped, they began to edge closer. The gap was soon restored, however, when Leclerc posted an improved time of 1:25.922 to put clear air between himself and his rivals. 

Verstappen went for another attempt, and he again got close to the lead Ferrari, just 0.223s adrift, but the Dutchman was then pushed back by Mercedes’ George Russell who took second. 

Emerging again, the McLarens this time set the pace. Norris rocketed to the top of the leaderboard with a 1:25.606 on a new set of softs. Piastri found more time, however, and he stole P1 by four hundredths of a second. 

Verstappen, whose RB21 was much improved overnight, then split the McLaren duo to take P2 just 0.019s behind the Australian, but with 10 minutes to go Leclerc returned to the top of the pile with a lap of 1:25.498, 0.068s ahead of Piastri. 

Hamilton should have joined the party at the top of the table, but he was forced to abort his final flyer in sector three as the red flags appeared when Oliver Bearman’s Haas shed a piece of its floors. 

The session resumed with four minutes to go, but the flags were again shown when Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto spun off on the way through Maggotts/Becketts and his suspension broke in the gravel trap. The stoppage brought the action and the session to an end. 

The top four in the session were covered by just over a tenth of a second with Norris tucking into fourth, two hundredths behind Verstappen. Yuki Tsunoda has a positive outing in the second Red Bull and the Japanese driver posted a lap of 1:26.104 to take fifth, though he was sixth tenths off Leclerc.

The unfortunate Bearman also had a good session, and he finished in sixth spot ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon, Russell, and the RB pairing of Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson.        

2025 FIA Formula 1 British Grand Prix – Free Practice 3 
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:25.498 14 248.047
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 1:25.566 0.068 14 247.850
3 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:25.585 0.087 14 247.795
4 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 1:25.606 0.108 17 247.734
5 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull/Honda RBPT 1:26.104 0.606 13 246.302
6 Oliver Bearman Haas/Ferrari 1:26.112 0.614 13 246.279
7 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 1:26.119 0.621 15 246.259
8 George Russell Mercedes 1:26.125 0.627 13 246.242
9 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:26.129 0.631 14 246.230
10 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls/Honda RBPT 1:26.256 0.758 14 245.868
11 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:26.332 0.834 17 245.651
12 Carlos Sainz Williams/Mercedes 1:26.332 0.834 16 245.651
13 Esteban Ocon Haas/Ferrari 1:26.377 0.879 12 245.523
14 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:26.422 0.924 12 245.395
15 Nico Hülkenberg Sauber/Ferrari 1:26.499 1.001 19 245.177
16 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber/Ferrari 1:26.501 1.003 15 245.171
17 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:26.894 1.396 16 244.062
18 Franco Colapinto Alpine/Renault 1:27.597 2.099 14 242.104
19 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 1:27.600 2.102 14 242.095
20 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 1:27.878 2.380 16 241.330