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• Max Verstappen tops rain-hit final practice for Spanish Grand Prix

  Max Verstappen finished fastest in a rain-hit final practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix.

  Verstappen completed his speediest time in the early minutes before it started drizzling at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya.

  The double world champion finished two tenths clear of Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull, with Lewis Hamilton third, four tenths back.

  Hamilton completed only eight laps as he elected not to run in the slippery conditions, despite the chance qualifying – which takes place at 4pm local time (3pm BST) – could also be disrupted by showers.

  Behind Hamilton, Carlos Sainz finished fourth for Ferrari, one place ahead of his countryman Fernando Alonso in his Aston Martin. George Russell finished sixth for Mercedes.

  The one-hour running was suspended for nine minutes after Logan Sargeant crashed out.

  Sargeant lost control of his Williams through the high-speed final corner, before sliding into the gravel and grazing the wall.

  Verstappen will head into qualifying having finished fastest in all three sessions as he bids to extend his 39-point championship lead over team-mate Perez.

• Guenther Steiner summoned to stewards following criticism of F1 officials

  Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has been summoned to the stewards following his outburst at the standard of officiating in Formula One.

  Steiner, 58, described a five-second penalty handed to Nico Hulkenberg at last weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix as “completely wrong” before calling for an overhaul of the FIA’s current model.

  Four officials from a rotating pool steward every Grand Prix and at least one of those will be a former driver who has raced at a competitive level.

  But speaking ahead of Sunday’s race in Spain, Steiner, who now faces a charge of bringing the sport into disrepute, said: “Every professional sport has professional referees.

  “F1 is one of the biggest sports in the world and we still have laymen deciding on the fate of people that invest millions in their careers.

  “There is no consistency. We need to step it up.”

  Hulkenberg was penalised following an aggressive overtake on Logan Sargeant on the first lap in Monte Carlo.

  Hulkenberg made his way ahead of the Williams driver without appearing to make contact.

  “Nico comes from the inside, is in front, dives into the corner, but I can’t see a collision,” said Steiner, who will face the stewards at 2:30pm local time (1:30pm UK).

  “A collision is touching, no? That’s what the definition is. We’re trying to get it explained because I think the decision was completely wrong.”

• Kris Doolan believes Partick Thistle have Premiership credentials

  Kris Doolan believes Partick Thistle have all the ingredients of a cinch Premiership team as they stand on the brink of a return to the top flight.

  The Jags will take a 2-0 lead from the first leg of their play-off final against Ross County to Dingwall for the return game on Sunday.

  Doolan, who stepped up from the club’s academy to take over from Ian McCall in February – initially as interim boss – has total belief in his squad, the first team to finish fourth in the second tier to go all the way to the play-off final.

  Former Thistle striker Doolan, who lost a play-off final against Livingston in 2018, said: “Ian McCall built this squad and he deserves a lot of credit for that because it is a fantastic squad.

  “To me it is a Premiership squad and we have managed to find a shape and a style of play that suits us.

  “We play to our strengths but ultimately there are guys in there who have played hundreds of games at Premiership level.

  “It is not as if we are a young side who are wet behind the ears, we don’t understand what the games are all about. They know how to get through games.

  “You look in their eyes, they are desperate to be in the Premiership.

  “They have a one-track mind and that is what we have tried to instil. We have tried to instil a winning mentality, a winning environment and winning breeds winning.

  “I say that all the time but it becomes a habit and it is a habit that is hard to break but likewise if you are losing games, it is a hard habit to break that as well.

  “I have been on the flip side of it coming out the Premiership, I know what it is like in these play-off games, when there is so much at stake it is difficult to stop a team with momentum coming into the last game especially, even though you might be at home. It is still a difficult thing to stop.

  “We have had five games under real pressure in the play-offs but the players play as if there is no pressure. We have nothing to lose. We have everything to gain.

  “Ross County are the team who could potentially come out of the Premiership. But for us, we will go up there with the mentality to win and hopefully get the job done.”