Sergio Perez wants to finish the season second - behind world champion Max Verstappen - and showed in the final free practice that his form is fine. The Mexican finished the session fastest, over a tenth ahead of his teammate Verstappen.
It was the very last free practice of the season. In it, it became clear that the proportions on the grid are slowly shifting. Indeed, it was once again not Ferrari - long blessed with the fastest car on the grid - but Mercedes that was Red Bull's main challenger. Lewis Hamilton finished the session third.
Moreover, Hamilton was the man of the session. Not so much because of his third time, but because of an incident halfway through the session. Then he passed a Haas under the red flag. Possibly this will earn Hamilton a penalty.