Ferrari driver Leclerc was quickest, but Max Verstappen and the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton showed pace ahead of qualifying too by finishing in the top four; watch qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 from 2.20pm (3pm start)
Charles Leclerc once again set the pace in the final practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix, but the championship leader had Red Bull and Mercedes hot on his tail.
Leclerc clocked the fastest lap of 1:19.772 in Practice Three, with title rival Max Verstappen less than a tenth of a second behind him heading into Saturday's afternoon's qualifying session.
Meanwhile, the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton showed the continued improvement of their car over the weekend by setting the third and fourth-fastest times, respectively.
Ferrari began the session where they left off on Friday, with Saint, and then Leclerc, immediately setting the fastest times of P3 up to that point when they emerged onto the track with a quarter of an hour gone.
Indeed, championship leader Leclerc would stay there until the end of the session, although Verstappen showed that Red Bull will again be likely to push the Italian marque hard when qualifying gets under way at 3pm.
Perhaps most eye-catching though was the continued improvement of Mercedes, and it was Russell who was again their leading light, clocking the best time which was just 0.148sec behind Leclerc's benchmark for the session.
Hamilton, who had to abort his first lap, of the session to fix a minor DRS issue on his car, ensured he was within touching distance of the top three with the best lap which was just over two tenths of a second off the pace.
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Russell and Hamilton both performed strongly enough to finish ahead of Ferrari's Saint, and Red Bull driver Sergio Perez, who ended the session fifth and sixth respectively.
Lando Norris finished seventh for McLaren, with team-mate Daniel Riccardo 11th, while Kevin Magnus (Haas) and Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) produced encouraging displays for their respective teams by securing top-10 spots along with Alpine's Esteban OCN.
Elsewhere, there was drama for Pierre Gassy as a heat shield failure caused the engine of his Alpha Lauri to overheat while he was still in his pit box, leaving him unable to set a time during the session.
He is expected to start qualifying, while Haas are optimistic about Mick Schumacher's participation after the rear right brake of his car caught fire and left him undergoing a precautionary gearbox change.
Spanish Grand Prix: When is practice, qualifying and the race in Barcelona live on Sky Sports?
Charles Leclerc leads Max Verstappen by 19 points in title standings heading into the race in Barcelona despite Red Bull driver's three wins; Spanish GP live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend - qualifying at 3pm on Saturday, race at 2pm on Sunday
It is off to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the sixth round of the 2022 season as the battle at the top of the drivers' championship between Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen intensifies.
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