The third practice session started with an unusual lead-in as Carlos Sainz had to withdraw from the remainder of the weekend due to illness (he was diagnosed with appendicitis) - Oliver Bearman stepped in to replace him.
The British driver, who secured the F2 pole position, found himself in the midst of the "party" at the worst possible moment, as starting a Formula 1 career during the third practice session is anything but optimal. Accordingly, Bearman was immediately out on track after the pit lane opened, striving to gather as many kilometers as possible behind the wheel of the Scuderia Ferrari. In a sense, the rookie was left to his own devices, as nearly half an hour passed and only seven drivers had set timed laps. Meanwhile, the top drivers took turns at the front, then came the "highlight" of the day: Guanyu Zhou lost grip and crashed his car quite badly. Fortunately, the Chinese driver escaped the accident without any scratches, but the session was interrupted with a red flag. After this, the field only had five minutes left to prepare for qualifying, which Max Verstappen managed best, ahead of Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez.
