FP3 Spa: Dominant performance by Kimi Antonelli, crash for Lewis Hamilton!

At the start of the third and final free practice session, the GP stars were greeted by an outside temperature of 19.6 degrees Celsius and a track temperature of 33.9 degrees. Among the first to venture out of the pits was Pierre Gasly, who had caused a red flag the previous day following a crash. The Alpine team did a brilliant job, replacing the old engine, the gearbox and the entire rear section in time, without having to interrupt their night’s rest.

The Frenchman also had a stroke of luck in his misfortune when it came to spare parts: the old engine, which had been fitted at the rear of his GP car at the time of the crash, was sent to the factory in Enstone for inspection. The first few laps went off without a hitch. Cadillac veteran Sergio ‘Checo’ Pérez could only dream of such a start; he reported over the radio that his Ferrari engine was lagging.

Nevertheless, the Mexican was initially the faster of the two Cadillac drivers, remaining just under two-tenths of a second quicker than his team-mate Valtteri Bottas. Several drivers lined up ahead of the pair, and after Isack Hadjar took the lead on the medium tyres with a time of 1:48.231, the Racing Bulls duo of Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson followed suit. The rookie is running the update he secured by qualifying higher up the grid at Silverstone. Nevertheless, after the first few fast attempts, Lawson was the faster of the two with a time of 1:47.786.

Unplanned stop by Isack Hadjar

Lawson initially remained faster than the McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who were lined up behind him in second and third place. It was only when Lewis Hamilton sped around the 7.004 km circuit on soft tyres in 1:47.436 that the New Zealander had to relinquish the top spot.

Even after the first 15 minutes, not all drivers had set a timed lap. In fact, four of the top contenders for pole position – Max Verstappen, Kimi Antonelli, Charles Leclerc and George Russell – took their time before heading out.

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After 18 minutes, Lindblad snatched the lead with a time of 1:47.342, whilst Leclerc and Verstappen took to the track. Whilst the Ferrari driver and the Red Bull Racing star were still completing their first fast attempts, Hamilton took the lead with a time of 1:46.789. Verstappen was a long way off that on his first lap, trailing the fastest time by 0.378 seconds. His team-mate Hadjar fared even worse, coming to a standstill at the end of the pit lane because he had run out of power.

Kimi Antonelli’s exclamation mark

Hadjar had to be pushed back by the Red Bull Racing mechanics. Antonelli wasn’t fazed by this; he set off last and clocked one sector best after another. In the end, with a time of 1:45.990, he was eight tenths faster than Hamilton. So much for the most powerful combustion engine on the grid – according to the FIA, that’s supposed to be the Red Bull Racing team’s...

At the halfway stage, Antonelli was leading the standings ahead of Hamilton, Verstappen, Leclerc, Russell, Lindblad, Piastri, Hadjar, Lawson, Norris, Gasly, Albon, Bortoleto, Bearman, Sainz, Hülkenberg, Ocon, Bottas, Pérez, Colapinto, Alonso and Stroll.

Hadjar set off on fresh tyres at the start of the final 20 minutes in an attempt to challenge Antonelli’s time. However, because Lance Stroll got in his way during the formation lap, he had to set off with tyres that were too cold and could not manage better than fifth place. He also complained that he could no longer find any grip with his front tyres.

Whilst his British colleagues were puzzling over why George Russell had remained just under 1.3 seconds slower than his team-mate – a time that still earned him fourth place – the Brit set off on another fast attempt. Verstappen and Leclerc also tackled a fast lap on soft tyres, whilst Antonelli and Hamilton were still in the pits.

Crash involving Ferrari star Lewis Hamilton

Things got exciting again in the final quarter of an hour. Verstappen closed the gap to Antonelli’s time to 0.148 seconds, whilst Russell also improved, reducing his deficit to the teenager’s best time to 0.367 seconds. World Champion Norris got within 0.139 seconds of Antonelli’s time; Antonelli, for his part, left the pits once more but had to abort the lap because he couldn’t get into gear, as he explained over the radio.

Lewis Hamilton fared even worse, ploughing through the gravel trap after Turn 13 at the end of the session and making contact with the barriers. In the process, he damaged his GP car; both the right-hand rear suspension and the rear wing were visibly affected.

There were no further changes at the top; Antonelli remained the fastest with a time of 1:45.990, whilst Norris, Verstappen, Russell, Hamilton, Leclerc, Piastri, Hülkenberg, Bortoleto and Hadjar rounded out the top 10. The Audi duo also put in a strong performance. Lindblad, Lawson, Colapinto, Bearman, Gasly, Albon, Bottas, Sainz, Ocon, Pérez, Alonso and Stroll rounded off the timesheet.