Mogyorod, Jul 18 (IANS): Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton ensured a 1-2 finish for Mercedes in the third Free Practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday as Red Bull struggled with grip at a cloudy Hungaroring.

Bottas led teammate Hamilton in the time sheets, with the Finn's blistering time of 1:15.437 set after the halfway point on soft tyres -- which every driver used to set their fastest lap.

Bottas was just 0.042 seconds quicker than Hamilton by the end of the hour as the Silver Arrows made it a second 1-2 of the weekend having topped FP1 in front of the Racing Points.

Racing Point's Sergio Perez finished just 0.161 seconds behind Hamilton while his teammate Lance Stroll finished fifth. Between them was a much improved Charles LeClerc, whose Ferrari teammate Sebatian Vettel finished eighth overall after topping FP2 on Friday.

The Red Bull duo continued in relatively anonymous form as Max Verstappen finished sixth. His RB16 was noticeably skittish at points, and he could not prevent a spin at Turn 12 early in the session.

His teammate Alex Albon was 12th overall, as the two drivers struggled to get to grips with a car they called "unpredictable" after Friday's running.