Verstappen, who entered the session having been punished by the FIA for swearing in Thursday’s press conference, wound up 1.2 seconds off the pace, behind a group including Albon, Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton and the Haas and Aston Martin cars.
Hamilton was another to experience a challenging session, reporting “no rear end” and “massive understeer” early in the hour and replying “it’s unbelievable” when told over the radio that his soft-shod lap had only put him 11th, between Nico Hulkenberg and Fernando Alonso.
READ MORE: Verstappen punished by FIA over press conference language
Franco Colapinto – who mistakenly stopped at the wrong pit box when returning from a run – finished 16th in the second of the Williams machines, as the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly and the Kick Saubers of Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas brought up the rear.
Drivers and teams will now regroup in the paddock to dig through the data and prepare for final practice, which is set to begin at 1730 local time on Saturday – ahead of qualifying at 2100.
