FP3: Russell heads Mercedes one-two in final practice

Mercedes driver George Russell set the benchmark in the wet final practice session at the British Grand Prix, fractionally beating his team-mate Lewis Hamilton. F1Technical's lead journalist Balazs Szabo reports on Free Practice 3.

Although the rain stayed away from Silverstone for the majority of the opening day, it arrived for the final practice session. Surprisingly, drivers did not spend the sixty-minute session in their garages, but they were eager to collect data on the damp surface instead.

Initially, drivers found it very difficult to keep their cars on track with Max Verstappen having endured a 360-degree spin in the early stages of the session. However, as the practice progressed, drivers started to be more comfortable behind the wheel of their cars.

Conditions were tricky throughout the session as the track started to dry up quickly with many cars circulating around. However, a light rainshower arrived midway through the session which meant that there was no chance to use other than Pirelli's green-marked intermediate tyres.

In the end, George Russell set the benchmark with a 1m37.529s, but his team-mate Lewis Hamilton was only fractionally slower in P2.

McLaren's Lando Norris set the third fastest time, from Carlos Sainz in P4, Max Verstappen in P5, Charles Leclerc in P6 and Oscar Piastri in P7.

Having displayed an encouraging performance yesterday, Fernando Alonso finished in P8 in damp conditions, beating the Red Bull of Sergio Perez.

Haas introduced a comprehensive host of upgrades at Silverstone which appeared to work on Friday as the team expected. The American's team rounded out the top ten courtesy of Nico Hulkenberg, who completed only 15 laps, but his benchmark of 1m39.340s was enough for him to end the session in P10.

Alpine endured a difficult final practice. Esteban Ocon took only 16th, but his team-mate Pierre Gasly had an even more difficult session. The Frenchman lost control of his car under braking for Club, beaching it in the gravel and causing a red flag.

Williams looked to struggle for pace in the high-speed corners yesterday, but conditions might have helped Alexander Albon and Logan Sargeant. The Williams pair sandwiched the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll in positions P11 to P13, with Yuki Tsunoda and Valtteri Bottas leading the charge for their respective RB and Kick Sauber teams.

Kevin Magnussen was next up in 17th, in front of Daniel Ricciardo, who is set for a trip to the stewards after the session as he was unusually weaving his way down the fast lane.