Verstappen tops very wet and challenging FP3

Max Verstappen has topped the third and final free practice, which was troubled by three red flags in wet conditions. It looks as though McLaren and Mercedes will be the Dutchman's closest challengers. Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris constantly raised the bar throughout the session, with George Russell and Fernando Alonso getting involved in the closing stages.

The leaderboard changed dramatically at the end of the session because a dry line emerged. Verstappen went purple in the first sector on his final lap but ran wide, suggesting there was even more time in the Red Bull car. Russell finished the session in P2, with Perez rounding out the top three. Alex Albon, Alonso and Lewis Hamilton made late moves into the top six. It was a disappointing session for Ferrari, who kept running wide at turn one.

Daniel Ricciardo's crash in Friday's FP2 session caused a fracture in his hand, so AlphaTauri had to call upon reserve driver Liam Lawson. The New Zealander has experienced an F1 practice session before but will make his first appearance in an F1 qualifying session this afternoon. Sunday will mark his F1 Grand Prix debut. Lawson was one of the first drivers on the circuit as he looked to get as much track time as possible.

The wet conditions weren't ideal for Lawson. He had to tiptoe around on the full wet weather tyres to start with. Despite the wet weather, the amount of running was relatively high because the forecast suggests more rain will fall during the meaningful sessions. It's the first time F1 have experienced wet conditions at Zandvoort since the venue returned to the calendar in 2021.

A few slides occurred, including from both Red Bull drivers. Kevin Magnussen spun at turn three and caused the first red flag of the session. Running resumed, and conditions were good enough for the drivers to push on the intermediate tyres. Guanyu Zhou tried the intermediates but spun into the gravel in sector 3 to trigger the second red flag.

The various run plans made it very difficult to get a read on the session, but Norris was often closest to Verstappen. In the final 20 minutes, Piastri got himself into the mix and raised the bar before Lawson caused the third red flag of the session in the final corner. The AlphaTauri driver brushed the wall but could turn around and return to the pits. The session resumed with the best track conditions of the session, and Verstappen ensured he used those conditions to his advantage.