Monday 10 December 2018 13:36, UK
Valtteri Bottas posted the fastest time in a heavily-compromised final practice session at the French GP as a torrential downpour wreaked havoc at Paul Ricard.
With heavy rain commencing minutes into Practice Three, only 15 drivers posted timed laps while even fewer completed their fliers on a dry track.
Of those who did, Bottas was quickest with a 1:33.666 for Mercedes, followed by Renault's Carlos Sainz and Sauber's Charles Leclerc in an unlikely top three.
But while the rain was an unwelcome sight in the pit-lane - only four teams sent out cars in the showers - the wet weather offers a tantalising prospect of an unpredictable qualifying.
"The forecast is that this wet weather may stick around for a little bit longer," said Sky F1 commentator David Croft. "And if it stays, you will not want to miss qualifying. It could be a very intriguing session indeed..."
In fact, there is a threat of storms throughout the weekend with the forecast also changeable for race day.
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Most drivers stayed in the pits once the rain started but Fernando Alonso, fresh from his Le Mans 24 Hours victory, was first to venture out for an installation lap for McLaren before both Toro Rossos and Leclerc followed.
Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin posted lap times for Williams and their wet tyre-efforts were half a second down on Bottas' benchmark, a sign of the conditions.
Championship rivals Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton were out of position in fifth and 12th, with the latter, who topped both of Friday's practice sessions, tentative on a slippery track.
Red Bull were also quiet, though team boss Christian Horner was hopeful that the rain would stay for qualifying to give Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen a better chance of pole position.
