Max Verstappen fastest ahead of Charles Leclerc in wet final practice; Carlos Sainz crashes heavily and also faces investigation for impeding; Mercedes 10th and 15th; watch qualifying at 9pm on Sky Sports F1 with build-up from 8pm
Saturday 17 June 2023 20:38, UK
Max Verstappen was fastest in a wet and chaotic final practice session at the Canadian GP which saw Carlos Sainz crash heavily.
The Ferrari driver smashed into the barriers at Turn One after placing a wheel on the grass as rain came down in Montreal. Ferrari's engineers now face a busy two-and-a-half hours to get his car ready for qualifying, which takes place at 9pm.
Sainz also faced an investigation by the stewards after twice impeding Alex Albon through the final chicane, which the Williams driver described as "dangerous", but escaped any punishment.
Verstappen, though, was able to master the conditions to post a best time of 1:23.106 on intermediate tyres.
Charles Leclerc managed to get within three tenths of Verstappen's benchmark, but no-one else could get within a second of the world championship leader as the rain intensified during the final minutes.
Fernando Alonso was third for Aston Martin, 1.3 seconds behind Verstappen, while Kevin Magnussen was fourth fastest.
After topping Friday practice, Mercedes were 10th and 15th with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell respectively, and Hamilton at one point said he was "wasting time" as the Silver Arrows struggled with tyre temperatures.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told Sky Sports F1: "I think Ferrari [are the main threat], I think their car here looks competitive.
"I think Aston look like they are there or thereabouts in that session
"Mercedes just look like they struggled to be generating temperature. So it does seem to be moving from circuit to circuit."
The wet conditions, which are forecast to last all day, posed plenty of problems for the drivers throughout the session.
Yuki Tsunoda twice spun but managed to keep his AlphaTauri out of the wall, while Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez and Alonso were among a number of drivers to go off track after outbraking themselves.
And while Verstappen was topping the timesheet, Perez ended up down in 17th place, 2.7 seconds off the time set by his Red Bull team-mate.
Red Bull are seeking their 100th F1 victory this weekend, while Verstappen can draw level with Ayrton Senna's win tally of 41.
Sainz's time before his big crash was enough for fifth in the timesheet, just ahead of Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll, Tsunoda and Valtteri Bottas.
Bottas also found himself having to hold onto a loose mirror on his Alfa Romeo while trying to navigate the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in heavy rain.
