Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who had a high-speed spin at Flip 4 earlier within the session, was fifth, forward of team-mate George Russell, who himself spun at Flip One.
Mercedes are among the many groups with a big improve on their automotive, together with Purple Bull, McLaren, Aston Martin and Alpine.
The weekend has began with an argument over a tool on the Purple Bull that can be utilized to regulate the peak of the entrance of the ground.
Purple Bull have responded by stating that McLaren have made modifications to their rear wing – an extension of the conversations they’d with governing physique the FIA after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the place it was seen to flex on the straight.
A McLaren spokesperson stated: “As beforehand talked about, McLaren proactively provided to make some minor changes to our rear wing following the Azerbaijan GP. We have now made minor changes to all our rear wings since Baku to various extents to make sure no additional points on this space.”
Liam Lawson, who has changed Daniel Ricciardo at RB, was thirteenth, 0.130secs behind team-mate Yuki Tsunoda in tenth.
It is a ‘dash’ weekend, with a shorter race on Saturday. Qualifying for that is at 22:30 BST on Friday, with the dash on Saturday at 19:00.
