His Dutch teammate Max Verstappen, leader of the Formula 1 World Championship, achieved the second fastest time at 137 thousandths. Third was the Spanish Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) at 777 thousandths of Pérez.
The Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), 2nd in the World Championship with 80 points before this 14th race on Sunday, only signed the 7th time.
Ahead of the qualifying session, at 2:00 p.m. GMT, Verstappen and Leclerc will not be eligible for pole position after being sanctioned for having installed new components in their cars beyond the authorized limit per season. Both will come out from the bottom of the grid.
Pérez and Sainz, respectively 3rd and 5th in the World Championship, appear as the favorites for pole position.
Lando Norris (McLaren), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) and Mick Schumacher (Haas) were also suspended. The fastest of those sanctioned in the qualifying session will start ahead of the slowest.
. 3rd free rehearsal session:
Sergio Perez (MEX/Red Bull) 1:45.047
Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull) 1:45.184
Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP/Ferrari) 1:45.824
Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:45.965
Fernando Alonso (ESP/Alpine-Renault) 1:46.061
George Russell (GBR/Mercedes) 1:46.071
Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari) 1:46.120
Sebastian Vettel (GER/Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:46.166
Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine-Renault) 1:46.601
Pierre Gasly (FRA/AlphaTauri-Red Bull) 1:46.604
Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/McLaren-Mercedes) 1:46.646
Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 1:46.769
Nicholas Latifi (CAN/Williams-Mercedes) 1:46.811
Alexander Albon (THA/Williams-Mercedes) 1:46.836
Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Alfa Romeo) 1:46.881
Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:46.975
Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas-Ferrari) 1:46.982
Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/AlphaTauri-Red Bull) 1:47.035
Zhou Guanyu (CHN/Alfa Romeo) 1:47.089
Mick Schumacher (GER/Haas-Ferrari) 1:52.494
