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Leclerc closes in on total domination of free practice for the Spanish GP

Friday's dominating driver, Charles Leclerc, was unable to beat his TL2 time, but his 1min19s772 was enough to lead the final practice session before qualifying later today.

Leclerc closes in on total domination of free practice for the Spanish GP

Friday's dominating driver, Charles Leclerc, was unable to beat his mark in TL2, but his 1min19s772 was enough to lead the final practice session before qualifying later today.

The 2022 championship leader was 0s072 faster than his rival Max Verstappen, who complained to his Red Bull team that "the car just doesn't turn at low speed, turn 5 is terrible, the last chicane too."

George Russell and Lewis Hamilton continued Mercedes' promising recovery with the third and fourth fastest times. Russell was just 0s148 off Leclerc's time, with Hamilton another tenth behind.

Home hero Carlos Sainz was fifth fastest in the second Ferrari, with Sergio Perez also struggling to match his Red Bull teammate in sixth place.

Lando Norris was seventh in the updated McLaren, enjoying a much smoother session after a hectic Friday. Kevin Magnussen's Haas was eighth fastest ahead of Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas, who missed part of Friday with an engine problem, and Esteban Ocon's Alpine completed the top 10.

McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo was 11th fastest ahead of four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel in the controversial redesigned AMR22. Pierre Gasly's session ended after just a few minutes when smoke billowed from the back of his AlphaTauri while he was stopped in the pits.

Mick Schumacher's TL3 also came to an end when his rear brakes caught fire just a few minutes later. His Haas team was unable to repair them in time for him to properly participate in the session.

Check out the times:

POSDRIVERCOUNTRYTEAMTIME
1Charles LeclercMONScuderia Ferrari1'19.772s
2Max VerstappenNEDOracle Red Bull Racing1'19.844s
3George RussellGBRMercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team1'19.920s
4Lewis HamiltonGBRMercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team1'20.002s
5Carlos SainzESPScuderia Ferrari1'20.129s
6Sergio PerezMEXOracle Red Bull Racing1'20.260s
7Lando NorrisGBRMcLaren F1 Team1'20.403s
8Kevin MagnussenDENHaas F1 Team1'20.646s
9Valtteri BottasFINAlfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen1'20.781s
10Esteban OconFRABWT Alpine F1 Team1'20.882s
11Daniel RicciardoAUSMcLaren F1 Team1'20.910s
12Sebastian VettelGERAston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team1'20.944s
13Fernando AlonsoESPBWT Alpine F1 Team1'20.981s
14Guanyu ZhouCHNAlfa Romeo F1 Team Orlen1'21.201s
15Yuki TsunodaJPNScuderia AlphaTauri1'21.449s
16Lance StrollCANAston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team1'21.520s
17Alexander AlbonTHAWilliams Racing1'21.572s
18Nicholas LatifiCANWilliams Racing1'22.419s
19Mick SchumacherGERHaas F1 Team1'25.467s
20Pierre GaslyFRAScuderia AlphaTauriNo Time Set