Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Just as he (Verstappen) was turning in you could see the rear of the car starting to slide and then once he barrelled into the corner that was it, he had to turn out of it because he was going to spin all the way round. Even though he is up there in fourth, that Red Bull doesn't look particularly nice to drive.

Have things improved for Sergio Perez and his Red Bull? "Not really," says the Mexican driver. "There is still a sliding on entries".

Meanwhile, championship leader Max Verstappen runs wide and is told by his engineer to box the lap.

Easy question when a team is running a special design.

Thumbs at the ready.

Left for McLaren's Stealth Mode livery.

Right for Williams' Gulf livery.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

A Mercedes one-two. Lewis Hamilton joins his team-mate in the best seats in the house with a 1:33.105. The seven-time champ is also on the C5 soft compound.

Ferrari have looked so far during these Singapore practice sessions but could Mercedes be the ones to watch this weekend?

George Russell, still on his soft tyres, jumps back to the top of the board with a 1:32.883 - a time which is three tenths quicker than Spaniard Carlos Sainz.

Zak Brown is chatting to Sky Sports on the McLaren pit wall but the American briefly stops talking to have a look at the TV screen. The action that has caught his eye is the sight of Liam Lawson sliding across the track in his Alpha Tauri. The yellow flag is waved for a few seconds as the 21-year-old corrects his mistake and continues safely on his way.

Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

That's a good time on a medium set of tyres there, he (Sainz) just seems to be having the edge a little bit over Charles, enjoying himself there at Ferrari. Getting a pole position gives any driver confidence, it doesn't matter who you are, what your name is.

George Russell was the red runner in a small pond of medium tyres but the Mercedes man crosses the line after another lap to go fastest of the five with a 1:33.440.

His team-mate Lewis Hamilton lifts himself into the top five (also on the soft compound) but here comes Carlos Sainz, who looks determined to demonstrate he has the goods to secure pole position again this weekend, to clock a time over two tenths quicker, still on the medium tyre.

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 1:33.660

2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.003

2. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +0.118

3. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.274

4. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.434*

*Russell's time was on soft tyre, other drivers were mediums

Harry Benjamin
BBC F1 Commentator

Verstappen still struggling out there this time with upshifts, normally we see Verstappen finding these issues on a Friday and then normally they are fixed, but carrying on through to a Saturday.

"These upshifts! What the ****!

Max Verstappen is beaten by the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz, who clocks a 1:33.778 on the same medium rubber.

The reigning world champion is able to steal the top spot back with a time 0.118 seconds quicker than the Spaniard, but he's far from happy with the performance of his dominate Red Bull.

Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

It's a very demanding (circuit), you've got a lot of turns, 19 of them if you include the couple of kinks you've got dotted around the circuit. You don't get much rest, it's hard on the brakes, it's hard on the car, it's hot.

The same issues are cropping up from Friday for Red Bull in the opening moments of this final practice session. "The rear is still on the edge," says Sergio Perez to his pit wall. "Feels a bit too pointy."

Perez's team-mate Max Verstappen, also on the medium tyres, is top of the timesheets with a 1:34.402. But the Dutchman, aiming to extend his consecutive wins record in Singapore, gets a bit lost on track during a cooldown lap, and has to shuffle himself into position to get back on the right path.

With Zhou Guanyu confirmed as an Alfa Romeo driver for 2024, there are now only three seats left on the grid for next year's campaign.

Both seats are up for grabs at Alpha Tauri, which are currently occupied by Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda and the injured Daniel Ricciardo, while over at Williams, Alex Albon is yet to be told if American Logan Sargeant will still be his team-mate or whether a new driver will fill the role instead.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Image source, Getty Images

Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu will stay with the Alfa Romeo Sauber team for the third consecutive year in 2024.

Bottas, who joined from Mercedes in 2022, was under contract for next season but there had been some doubt about the future of his team-mate.

Representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi said the team had chosen "stability" as they continue their transition into the factory Audi effort by 2026.

The team are ending their relationship with Alfa Romeo after this season.

They will race under a new name next year but this has not yet been revealed. Although Audi is already a part-owner, the German car giant's name is not expected to be used until it officially enters F1.

Bravi said: "Valtteri and Zhou are drivers of known talent and skill and they work really well together: they are well-matched and can push each other.

"Valtteri has taken a real leader's role within the team, pushing us all to give our best; Zhou has made impressive steps forward in the last two years and we expect him to continue on this trajectory in 2024."

Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu have come out early on the soft tyres and have clocked times in the 1:35s and 1:36s.

The pair had some news to share with the Singapore paddock on Thursday...

Image source, Getty Images

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

It does look like this is the best chance for a while for someone to at least threaten Red Bull. We will have to see how Red Bull get on in this session for indications as to whether they've improved the car over the weekend. I'm not that surprised to see Ferrari quick, they are particularly good in slow speed, short duration corners.

BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Hello, Rosanna Tennant, Harry Benjamin, Andrew Benson and Alice Powell.

Click the audio icon at the top of the page to listen to third practice.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Image source, Getty Images

Max Verstappen said Red Bull were "worse than we expected" after he ended Friday practice at the Singapore Grand Prix with eighth fastest time.

Both Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Perez, who was seventh, were fighting a lack of rear grip as Carlos Sainz led Charles Leclerc to a Ferrari one-two.

Verstappen said balance was an issue and he "never got the car together".

He added: "[There's] just a few things that we don't understand. I will try to improve but it is quite a big gap."

Team principal Christian Horner said between the Friday sessions: "This track is going to be one of the toughest of the season for us. The characteristics don't play naturally to the strengths of the car and we are going to have to play right at the top of our game to keep this winning run going.

"High speed has been strong for us and combined [braking and turning corner] entries, whereas 90-degree corners have been more of a challenge for us. But we can still be there."

Red Bull were assessing a new floor, Verstappen running it in the first session and Perez in the second.