A flurry of soft-tyre runs in preparation for qualifying later on Friday defined the final 10 minutes of practice, and Verstappen was one of the earlier takers to punch in a 1m35.912s to overturn Alex Albon's timesheet-topping lap as Williams opened running on the softest compound.
The Dutchman's time could not be beaten; team-mate Sergio Perez set a time 0.3s shy, but Leclerc got closer and was about half a tenth short in each sector of the ultimate headliner.
