Verstappen puts down a marker ahead of British GP qualifying

Max Verstappen put Red Bull at the top of the timesheets in Saturday's third and final free practice session ahead of the British Grand Prix.

Verstappen ended the first day of action at Silverstone back in fourth position, explaining that he was left "guessing" in FP2 after a rain-hit FP1.

But it was a smoother FP3 session for the Dutchman, as he showed strong short-run pace on the Soft compound tyre throughout.

Verstappen initially worked his way down to a time of 1:28.386, before returning to the track and pumping in a 1:27.901 – putting a clear margin between himself and the rest of the field.

This benchmark was more than a second quicker than Carlos Sainz's pace-setting Friday effort, with the dry track surface gradually gripping up.

However, spots of rain were seen in the closing stages of FP3, with wet weather a significant threat for qualifying.

Leclerc half a second back, Mercedes in the mix

Sergio Perez slotted behind Verstappen in the other Red Bull, albeit four-tenths adrift, as Charles Leclerc led Ferrari's charge in third.

Verstappen heads into the British Grand Prix 46 points clear of Perez in the standings, with Leclerc three points further back.

Mercedes continued their encouraging start to the weekend in fourth and fifth places – George Russell narrowly ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

But the Silver Arrows' deficit to the front was slightly bigger this time out, after they hailed a "step forward" with their updated W13 on Friday.

Sainz wound up sixth in the other Ferrari, as McLaren's Lando Norris, Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas, Haas' Mick Schumacher and Alpine's Fernando Alonso completed the top 10.

On what has been a relatively quiet weekend so far, there were no dramatic moments to report from the final practice session.