FP3: Perez leads Leclerc and Verstappen in final Miami GP practice

Sergio Perez put Red Bull top of the charts in final practice for the Miami Grand Prix, with championship leader Charles Leclerc slotting into second.

The Mexican clocked a 1m 30.304s on the soft tyres at the Miami International Autodrome, with his team mate Max Verstappen set to go quickest only to lock up on the run up to the chicane. He did well to keep the car out of the barriers and end up third overall – Leclerc splitting the Red Bulls.

READ MORE: 5 things we learned from Friday practice at the Miami Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso was the leading midfield runner in fourth, 0.732 off the pace. But it wasn’t so good for Alpine team mate Esteban Ocon, who crashed at Turn 14, bringing out the red flag.

The Frenchman was taken to the medical centre as a precaution, as the impact was over the G-force limit set by the FIA, but he was given the all-clear.

Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel was one of a flurry of drivers to set their best lap in the closing stages as the track rubbered in. He was fifth, ahead of the Haas of Mick Schumacher.

Carlos Sainz clocked up the mileage, having lost a bunch of time in FP2 after he crashed at the chicane, and was seventh quickest, half a tenth of a second ahead of Kevin Magnussen.

READ MORE: Wolff says Mercedes' Miami upgrades not ‘a ground-breaking solution’

Alex Albon continued his fine form in Miami by putting his Williams an impressive ninth, with McLaren’s Lando Norris completing the top 10, 1.290s off the pace.

Yuki Tsunoda was the leading AlphaTauri in 11th, his team mate Pierre Gasly saying his car was bouncing around “like a kangaroo” as he ended up down in 16th.

Lance Stroll was 12th, ahead of McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo and the Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas.

Mercedes had looked quick on Friday but on Saturday – while watched on by former First Lady Michelle Obama – they struggled to repeat that form.

WATCH: Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz take on the hilarious Miami track challenge

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was down in 15th while team mate George Russell, who during the session said on team radio that his tyres were “nowhere”, was 17th.

Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu was 18th, ahead of Nicholas Latifi, with Ocon propping up the classification having failed to set a lap time. His Alpine team now face a race against time to get the car ready in time for qualifying.

Qualifying begins at 1600 local time. Head to the RACE HUB to find out how and when you can watch it.

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