Antonelli Dominates Chaotic FP3 at Spanish Grand Prix

Kimi Antonelli topped a fractured and ill-tempered final practice session at the Spanish Grand Prix, mastering a stop-start FP3 that never found a rhythm.

Two red flags ripped the heart out of the hour. The first came courtesy of Lewis Hamilton, whose crash triggered a lengthy delay for barrier repairs. The session crawled, then stalled, as marshals worked to restore the circuit.

When the track finally came back to life, Antonelli seized it. The youngster laid down the benchmark lap and stayed there, finishing almost two-tenths clear of Charles Leclerc. Behind them, Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen filled out a top five that hinted at a tight qualifying battle to come.

Hamilton’s morning, though, unravelled. His crash in the middle phase of the session was bad enough; the attempt to drive the damaged car back to the garage, against Ferrari’s instructions, turned it into a full-blown disaster. The incident not only cost him track time but also contributed to the extended stoppage that disrupted everyone’s run plans.

Just when teams tried to salvage their programmes in the closing minutes, the session lurched to a halt again. Oliver Bearman crashed heavily with a minute left on the clock, bringing out a second red flag and ending FP3 on the spot.