Kimi Antonelli set the pace in the final practice session ahead of qualifying for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix, but the focus quickly shifted to Ferrari after Lewis Hamilton ended the session in the barriers at Spa-Francorchamps.
The Mercedes driver’s benchmark of 1m45.990s, set on his first flying lap on soft tyres, proved impossible to beat throughout the remainder of FP3.
Antonelli’s effort placed him at the head of a tightly packed field heading into qualifying, while Hamilton’s late crash created a race against time for Ferrari’s mechanics.
Times to follow...
Hamilton had been attempting to challenge Antonelli’s benchmark with his final soft-tyre run, but lost control at the second part of Les Fagnes. The Ferrari driver ran wide into the gravel and clipped the wall with his rear-right tyre, causing significant suspension damage and leaving the team with a major repair job before qualifying.
The extent of the damage remains unclear, with Ferrari needing to assess whether the collision affected other key components, including the gearbox.
Norris and Verstappen close the gap
The session began quietly, with teams limiting their running due to restricted tyre availability. However, the pace quickly increased once drivers switched to the soft compound.
Hamilton was the first driver to break into the 1m46s range, posting a 1m46.789s effort on his second run of the same set of soft tyres. Max Verstappen and George Russell were unable to beat the Ferrari driver’s time on their opening attempts, but Antonelli soon produced a major response.
The Italian’s 1m45.990s lap put him almost eight tenths clear of Hamilton at the time, establishing Mercedes as the benchmark. Verstappen improved on his second attempt but fell just short, ending up only half a tenth behind Hamilton.
On a fresh set of soft tyres, the Red Bull driver closed the gap further after benefiting from a slipstream behind Valtteri Bottas’ Cadillac through the final sector. However, Verstappen remained 0.148 seconds away from Antonelli’s leading time.
Lando Norris then moved to the top of the order momentarily, edging ahead by just 0.009s, after spending much of the session completing long-run work on the medium tyre. However, Antonelli’s earlier lap remained enough to secure first place.
Mercedes upholds momentum as Ferrari faces pressure
Antonelli was unable to improve on his final soft-tyre attempts. His first run was compromised after he ran wide at La Source, while a second effort was deleted for track limits.
That left Norris and Verstappen second and third respectively, with Russell taking fourth after a strong second soft-tyre run before being disrupted by Sergio Perez through Raidillon.
Ferrari endured a mixed session even before Hamilton’s crash. Charles Leclerc encountered traffic from Pierre Gasly at Turn 9 on his first flying lap with fresh tyres but recovered to finish sixth, one place behind Hamilton.
Oscar Piastri was again unable to match Norris’ pace, ending FP3 seventh and around half a second slower than his McLaren team-mate.
Audi impresses as Hadjar battles problems
Audi continued its encouraging weekend with both cars reaching the top 10, Nico Hulkenberg leading Gabriel Bortoleto in eighth and ninth.
Isack Hadjar completed the top 10 despite a difficult session. The Red Bull driver suffered a stop and stall in the pit lane but was recovered by his mechanics and returned to action. He reported difficulty generating tyre temperature, particularly on the front axle.
Hadjar finished only 0.08 seconds ahead of Arvid Lindblad, with Liam Lawson following closely behind.
With Mercedes carrying momentum, McLaren in contention, and Ferrari facing urgent repairs, qualifying at Spa promises to deliver a tense battle for pole position.
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