FP3: Hamilton out in front, Bottas spins

Mercedes appears to hold the advantage heading onto qualifying as Lewis Hamilton topped the final practice session in Barcelona.

The Briton was over half a second ahead of Charles Leclerc in second place, while he, Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel were narrowly separated.

Vettel had a spin at the final chicane early on in the session, but was safe from the gravel and was able to return to the pit lane.

However, Bottas wasn't so lucky and caused a red flag when he spun into the gravel at Turn 5, beaching his car.

A second red flag was deployed at the end of the session when George Russell found himself skidding across the gravel at Turn 4, making light contact with the barriers.

Red Bull struggles as Haas looks strong

Red Bull looks to be facing an upward battle heading into qualifying, as Max Verstappen could only manage P8.

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner stated on Friday that he believed his team could get involved with the energy drink squad, and after FP3, it boasted a gap of over three-tenths over Red Bull.

Romain Grosjean got the better of teammate Kevin Magnussen, as both drivers are now running the updated package today following Grosjean's tests on Friday.

Alexander Albon was eighth in the Toro Rosso, while Kimi Raikkonen and Carlos Sainz rounded out the top ten.

It seems unlikely that the top teams will attempt to get through to Q3 on the medium compound due to a high-performance deficit and the difficulty of switching the middle compound on.

Qualifying from the Circuit de Catalunya gets underway at 15:00 local time.

ES Circuit de Catalunya - 11 May 2019

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