Charles Leclerc sets pace in final practice before rain arrives at Silverstone

By Philip Duncan, PA F1 Correspondent, Silverstone

Charles Leclerc finished fastest in a rain-hit final practice session for the British Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver set the pace in the dry running before heavy rain arrived at Silverstone.

Williams’ Alex Albon took second place, one spot ahead of Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso, with Pierre Gasly fourth for Alpine and Lewis Hamilton fifth.

Quiet FP3 for us so far. LH and GR still in the garage as we head into the final 15 minutes of the session. ⏰ pic.twitter.com/jZIkVOi9Mu

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) July 8, 2023

World champion Max Verstappen, quickest in both sessions at the Northamptonshire venue on Friday, was eighth.

Although the concluding one-hour running before qualifying started in the dry, it was not long before the forecast rain arrived.

In the initial slick conditions, Leclerc was the fastest out of the traps, seeing off Albon by a tenth.

🏁 END OF FP3 🏁

TOP 10
Leclerc
Albon
Alonso
Gasly
Hamilton
Sainz
Sargeant
Verstappen
Russell
Tsunoda #BritishGP #F1

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 8, 2023

Hamilton finished only 15th on Friday and said there was something wrong with his Mercedes.

But the seven-time world champion moved closer to the front on Saturday morning, finishing half-a-second off the pace.

Heavy showers could continue throughout the day with qualifying due to get under way at 3pm.