Championship leader Kimi Antonelli was fastest in final practice at the Spanish Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton crashed and lost valuable track time ahead of qualifying in Madrid.
Just 20 minutes into the session, Hamilton was on course to set a very quick lap until he outbraked himself at the last corner and hit the barriers head-on, albeit at a relatively slow speed.
He reversed out of the barriers but the front wing had dislodged itself and got stuck under the front right tyre, so Ferrari urged Hamilton to stop the car.
But the seven-time world champion wanted to limp back to the pit lane so he did not lose crucial running for qualifying later on at 3pm (build-up from 2.15pm), live on Sky Sports F1, before eventually coming to a halt in the middle sector.
Sky Sports F1‘s Anthony Davidson feels Hamilton was wrong to drive for such a long time with a damaged car.
“Any young driver that is watching this right now, you don’t do that. You just don’t do that. That’s what you could have tried to do [get back to the pits] but that rule is there for a reason,” he said.
“If it [the front wing] went under the car completely and jacked your front wheels up and there were marshals on the track… you’ve got to think of all these scenarios.”
Lewis Hamilton tried to limp around with a damaged car until he eventually stopped in the middle sector (PA)
The crash caused a 45-minute red flag as the marshals repaired the barriers, with the clock being stopped with 15 minutes remaining so the drivers could get more laps around the new Madring.
Antonelli, who leads the Drivers’ Championship by 66 points over Mercedes team-mate George Russell, emerged on top with a blistering 1:32.797 to beat Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 0.166s.
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Ollie Bearman took a huge hit right at the end of final practice at the Spanish Grand Prix
McLaren showed promise with Oscar Piastri in third and Lando Norris in fourth – the latter missed almost all of second practice on Friday.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was fifth and Russell only sixth but it looks like pole position could be anyone’s given the drivers are getting faster with every lap and the track is evolving.
Haas’ Oliver Bearman proved how difficult the Madring is with a big crash in the high-speed Turn 11, leaving his team with a race to get his car fixed for qualifying.
Spanish GP Practice Three Timesheet
Driver
Team
Time
1) Kimi Antonelli
Mercedes
1:32.797
2) Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
+0.166
3) Oscar Piastri
McLaren
+0.189
4) Lando Norris
McLaren
+0.236
5) Max Verstappen
Red Bull
+0.375
6) George Russell
Mercedes
+0.702
7) Liam Lawson
Red Bull
+1.105
8) Nico Hulkenberg
Audi
+1.136
9) Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari
+1.487
10) Gabriel Bortoleto
Audi
+1.491
11) Franco Colapinto
Alpine
+1.549
12) Esteban Ocon
Haas
+1.633
13) Oliver Bearman
Haas
+1.684
14) Arvid Lindblad
Racing Bulls
+1.708
15) Yuki Tsunoda
Racing Bulls
+1.768
16) Pierre Gasly
Alpine
+2.174
17) Fernando Alonso
Aston Martin
+2.233
18) Carlos Sainz
Williams
+2.667
19) Lance Stroll
Aston Martin
+2.773
20) Sergio Perez
Cadillac
+3.644
21) Valtteri Bottas
Cadillac
+3.873
22) Alex Albon
Williams
No time set
Sky Sports F1’s Spanish GP live schedule
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Sky Sports Anthony Davidson talks you through the new Madrid F1 track
Saturday September 12
2.15pm: Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying build-up
3pm: SPANISH GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING*
4.55pm: F3 Feature Race 1
6pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday September 13
8.40am: F3 Feature Race 2
10.20am: F2 Feature Race
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Spanish GP build-up
2pm: THE SPANISH GRAND PRIX
4pm: Chequered Flag: Spanish GP reaction
5pm: Ted’s Notebook
*also on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 is in Madrid for the Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring circuit with Sunday’s race at 2pm (build-up from 12.30pm), live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime