Esteban Ocon was first on track and first to set a lap, posting a 1m31.125s on the medium compound which proved to be enough for an early edge over Lewis Hamilton on softs.
The Ferrari duo then set their first laps of the session on softs and, of the two, Carlos Sainz posted the faster time with a 1m30.748s, three tenths clear of Charles Leclerc's first lap as the Monegasque recovered from his FP2 crash on Friday.
Ocon then vaulted above them with a second tour on mediums, but was beaten by Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly on the same compound.
Then came the Red Bulls to set their first attempts at headline times on soft boots; Sergio Perez put in a 1m29.266s, but this was quickly beaten by Max Verstappen's 1m28.963s - approximately a second off the ultimate pace in FP2.
Leclerc split the Red Bulls with a 1m29.057s, also on softs, to get within a tenth of Verstappen's early benchmark, which stood for about five minutes until Perez punched in a 1m28.641s.
Fernando Alonso moved into third on mediums, just over three tenths shy of Perez, but Verstappen then replicated his pace from FP2 with a 1m27.969s to blow Perez's time into the reeds.
Sainz's next hot lap closed the gap to Verstappen, with the Spaniard's 1m28.125s getting to within two tenths of the pace, as drivers reported rapidly improving track conditions as grip proved to be at a premium over the opening day.
Source: Autosport