Sergio Perez got the final hour of practice at the hot Le Castellet underway, the Red Bull driver also the first driver to get a conditional time on board with a 1m33.628s on Pirelli medium tyres.
Perez’s team-mate Max Verstappen also made an unusually early exit after admitting that Red Bull had carried out some experiments in FP2, taking to the track after just a few minutes to try a different set-up.
The reigning world champion promptly took eight-tenths off Perez’s time to top the intermediates with a 1m32.837s and then improved to 1m32.808s, just three-tenths off Carlos Sainz’s best time from FP2.
Perez came within half a second of the Dutchman on his second attempt, while Ferrari’s Sainz separated the two Red Bulls with a 1m33.217s effort.
Shortly after his team-mate Leclerc spun at the difficult left-hander Turn 12, Sainz also had to end what looked like a potential fastest lap after going wide through Bose’s leading double right-hander.
A series of Ferrari errors meant Verstappen’s time remained unchallenged until the far half.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was briefly third in 1m33.255s on soft shoes, a prelude to a string of more soft shoe attempts.
Sainz briefly reclaimed second with a lap of 1m33.172s, only to be relegated again by Leclerc’s 1m32.909s, still a tenth off Verstappen’s mid-level time.
Sainz, due to start at the back of the grid after taking a new Ferrari engine, finally overhauled the Red Bull in the final 10 minutes thanks to a lap of 1m32.626s, proving quicker in sectors one and three.
But Verstappen immediately responded on his first lap of the softs, eventually reclaiming the top spot with an effort of 1m32.272s.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Sainz and Leclerc finished the session in second and third, three and five tenths behind respectively, followed by Hamilton in the Mercedes, the Briton a second behind Verstappen’s time.
Perez and Hamilton team-mate George Russell followed in fifth and sixth, ahead of Fernando Alonso, who set a promising seventh time at Alpine’s home race with a late improvement.
Williams’ Alex Alban impressed with a shock eighth, while Lando Norris once again led the line for McLaren in ninth, with AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda rounding out the top 10.
The second McLaren of Daniel Ricciardo was 11th, just ahead of the second Williams of Nicholas Latifi.
Laitfi relegated AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly to 13th, followed by Alfa Romeo duo Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.
Kevin Magnussen, who will also start at the back of the grid due to an engine penalty, was 16th in the first Haas, followed by Alpine’s Esteban Ocon.
Aston Martin remained at the bottom with Lance Stroll 18th and Sebastian Vettel last, the pair separated by Mick Schumacher’s Haas second, who spent the middle part of the session in the garage.
Vettel was unable to complete his final run due to damage to his car, the Aston Martin team announced on Twitter.
F1 French Grand Prix: Full results from FP3
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