Charles Leclerc underlined that Ferrari appear genuine contenders at the British Grand Prix by setting the pace in a final practice session which saw little to choose from between the resurgent Italian team, McLaren and Red Bull.

Setting up what looks likely to be an almightily close battle for Silverstone pole between at least those three teams – live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Showcase at 3pm – Leclerc’s fastest time of 1:25.498 was less than a tenth of a second quicker than McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

Lewis Hamilton finished only 11th in the second Ferrari but was on course to better Leclerc’s best time through the first two sectors of his final soft-tyre lap before an untimely red flag for bodywork debris arrived just as he entered the lap’s final corners, forcing him to slow down.

“We’ll never know [how quick Hamilton’s lap would have been]. That’s a cliffhanger,” said Sky Sports F1’s Anthony Davidson

“One things for sure, I think Lewis Hamilton smells blood here. He’s got the crowd behind him and the car to do it. Can he elevate himself to the heights of last year?”

Lando Norris took fourth, just 0.108s back on Leclerc’s pace, in the second McLaren before an unusually-big gap to the rest of the top 10, led by Yuki Tsunoda in the second Red Bull and Haas’ British rookie Oliver Bearman.

That is the group where 2024 Silverstone victors Mercedes found themselves, with George Russell their lead runner in only eighth – also behind Williams’ Alex Albon – after a tricky session despite the arrival of the kind of cooler conditions on Saturday that their W16 car usually prefers.

Kimi Antonelli was down in 14th in Mercedes’ other car, while Racing Bulls again ended with both their drivers in the top 10.

The session ended in dramatic style with two high-speed incidents.

Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto brought the session to an effective early end when he spun off at high-speed into the sweeping Maggotts corner.

Seemingly taking too much kerb as he turned in, the Brazilian lost control of the car as it slewed across the circuit – first over the kerb and grass on the inside, where it broke its front-left suspension, before coming to a stop in the gravel on the other side.

But as cars made their way back to the pits for the red flag, sixth-fastest Bearman’s otherwise impressive session ended inexplicably when he crashed his Haas in a nose-first impact against the barriers in the pit-entry slip road.

That is not yet the end of the matter for Bearman either, with the Briton to face the stewards before qualifying on the charge of a red-flag infringement.

As expected, temperatures have dropped for Saturday’s running, with leaden skies above Silverstone replacing the sunny conditions of Friday.

The threat of afternoon rain showers has, however, subsided. Similar conditions are expected on Sunday’s race day.

Sky Sports F1’s British GP schedule

Saturday July 5
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: British GP Qualifying build-up*
3pm: BRITISH GP QUALIFYING*
4.55pm: F4 Race 1
5.40pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook

Sunday July 6
8.15am: F4 Race 2
9.25am: F3 Feature Race
11am: F2 Feature Race
1.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: British GP build-up*
3pm: THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX*
5pm: Chequered Flag: British GP reaction*
6pm: Ted’s Notebook*

*also on Sky Sports Main Event

Next up in the 2025 Formula 1 season is the big one, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone – live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Showcase with Sunday’s race at 3pm. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime.