Kimi Antonelli stamped his name all over a chaotic final practice session at the Spanish Grand Prix, going quickest in a stop-start FP3 that never found a proper rhythm.
The young Italian hooked up a clean lap when it mattered, clocking a time that left Charles Leclerc almost two-tenths adrift. Oscar Piastri slotted into third, with Lando Norris and Max Verstappen rounding out a top five that looked more like qualifying than a gentle Saturday warm-up.
The session, though, will be remembered less for the timesheet and more for the red flags that tore it apart.
The first came courtesy of Lewis Hamilton. Midway through the hour, Hamilton lost control and hit the barriers, triggering a lengthy stoppage while marshals repaired the damage. The delay ripped a chunk out of everyone’s run plans and left teams scrambling to compress long runs and qualifying simulations into a handful of frantic minutes.
Hamilton’s troubles didn’t end with the impact. He then tried to coax his damaged car back to the garage, going against Ferrari’s instructions to stop. It turned a bad moment into a messy one on a morning he will want to forget.
When the track finally went green again, the field poured out in a rush, desperate to salvage something from the session. Grip improved, the lap times tumbled, and Antonelli seized the opportunity with a composed, aggressive lap that put him clear at the top.
Just as the circuit began to come to the drivers, it bit back.
With roughly a minute left on the clock, Oliver Bearman crashed heavily, bringing out a second red flag and an abrupt end to proceedings. Any late attempts to challenge Antonelli’s benchmark disappeared with him into the barriers.
So the final practice before qualifying ends with Antonelli on top, Leclerc chasing, and a leaderboard that hints at a fascinating fight to come. For Hamilton, though, FP3 offered only questions, not answers.
