Antonelli Tops Disrupted FP3 in Barcelona as Hamilton and Bearman Crash
Andrea Kimi Antonelli set the pace in the final practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix, leading a Mercedes 1-2-4 on the timesheets as the hour at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was twice halted by heavy accidents for Lewis Hamilton and Ollie Bearman.
Delayed Start and Early Incidents
Despite the urgency to gather data at the revised Spanish venue ahead of a critical Qualifying session on Saturday afternoon, the opening five minutes passed without a car on track. The leading contenders, including Lando Norris—who missed almost all of Friday’s second session with a gearbox issue on his McLaren—waited even longer for representative conditions.
Norris aborted his first flying lap on soft Pirellis after cutting the chicane at Turn 5. Meanwhile, the Ferraris of Hamilton and Charles Leclerc moved to the top of the order. Home favourite Carlos Sainz narrowly avoided head-on contact with the barrier at Turn 7, while his Williams team-mate Alex Albon had earlier glanced the wall at the exit of Turn 20, breaking a rear track rod.
Hamilton Crash Brings First Red Flag
Antonelli moved to the top of the times as the 20-minute mark approached, posting a 1m 33.664s before Leclerc lowered the benchmark to 1m 33.332s moments later. Hamilton appeared set to usurp his team-mate on his next effort, but the seven-time World Champion went head-on into the barrier at the final corner, bringing out the red flag.
The Ferrari driver attempted to return to the pits dragging a broken front wing and a front-right puncture, but pulled over after being instructed to stop by the team multiple times. The session was paused for barrier repairs before resuming with just 15 minutes remaining, prompting a frantic scramble for representative lap time.
Leclerc Breaks 1m 33s Barrier Before Antonelli Responds
Arvid Lindblad also returned to action for the first time since his FP2 crash as Racing Bulls rushed to fix a problem on his newly-rebuilt car. Leclerc immediately improved, becoming the first driver to dip below the 1m 33s barrier with a 1m 32.963s. Antonelli’s first attempt fell three tenths short of Oscar Piastri, while George Russell sat half a second adrift in fourth.
Norris, on just his third flying lap of the day and with minimal mileage, moved to within one-tenth of Leclerc’s leading time. With five minutes remaining, Antonelli delivered a 1m 32.797s to reclaim the top spot.
Bearman Crash Ends Session Early
That time stood as the fastest of the session after a second red flag was deployed in the final minute. Bearman crashed his Haas at high speed through Turn 10, leaving his team facing a race against time to repair the car for Qualifying.
Final FP3 Classification
Antonelli finished just over one-tenth clear of Leclerc, with Piastri, Norris, Max Verstappen (Red Bull), Russell (Mercedes), Liam Lawson (Red Bull), Nico Hulkenberg (Audi), Hamilton, and Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) completing the top 10.
Franco Colapinto was 11th for Alpine, followed by the Haas pair of Esteban Ocon and Bearman, Lindblad, and Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls). Pierre Gasly (Alpine) placed 16th ahead of home hero Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), Sainz, Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), the Cadillacs of Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, and Albon, who set no time.
