Hamilton wound up just a few hundredths behind team mate Russell, with Norris completing the top-three positions in his McLaren from the lead Ferrari of Carlos Sainz, the aforementioned Verstappen and Leclerc, and Oscar Piastri.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was one of few drivers to improve in the closing stages to go eighth, edging out the other Red Bull of Sergio Perez, while Nico Hulkenberg kept his heavily-upgraded Haas in the top-10 places in the mixed conditions.
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Williams pair Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant sandwiched the other Aston Martin of Lance Stroll in positions P11 to P13, with Yuki Tsunoda, Valtteri Bottas and Esteban Ocon leading the charge for their respective RB, Kick Sauber and Alpine teams.
Kevin Magnussen was next up in 17th, in front of Ricciardo, who is set for that trip to the stewards after the session, as Zhou Guanyu (Kick Sauber) and the sidelined Gasly – who will take an engine penalty this weekend – bringing up the rear.