George Russell was eighth fastest, also on the medium tyres, while Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton was down in 13th. Verstappen’s pace-setting time came despite what appeared to be a difficult session for Red Bull. Verstappen had a number of off-track moments, at least as many as any other driver, and spent much of the session in a lower position before his final run. Verstappen is likely to win the title in Saturday’s sprint race – he will do so as long as he does not lose six points or more to team-mate Sergio Perez. There are eight points for a win, on a sliding scale down to one for eighth place. His team-mate Sergio Perez jumped up from last place to fifth with his soft-tyre run at the end of the session.

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