ANTONELLI DOMINATES SPA FP3 AS HAMILTON CRASHES BEFORE QUALIFYING
Andrea Kimi Antonelli continued Mercedes’ strong Belgian Grand Prix weekend by topping the final free practice session at Spa-Francorchamps. The Italian driver needed only one flying lap to set the benchmark, recording a 1:45.990 and finishing ahead of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.
Antonelli immediately showed impressive pace and confidence with the W17, taking control of the session from the early stages. Norris placed second, just 0.139 seconds behind the Mercedes driver, although the McLaren driver will start Sunday’s race with a 10-place grid penalty after taking a new power unit component.
Max Verstappen completed the top three, only 0.148 seconds away from Antonelli’s best time. The Red Bull driver continued to show competitive pace despite the team removing the controversial “reverse” rear wing configuration after the incidents suffered earlier in the season.
The second Mercedes of George Russell finished fourth, but the British driver never appeared able to challenge his teammate for the top position, ending the session more than three tenths behind Antonelli.
Ferrari endured another difficult session. Lewis Hamilton managed fifth place but ended FP3 with a heavy crash in the final minutes after losing control of his SF-26. The impact caused significant damage to the rear of the car, leaving Ferrari’s mechanics with a race against time to repair the vehicle before qualifying.
Charles Leclerc also struggled to find the right balance, finishing sixth and continuing to complain about the setup of his Ferrari, especially regarding the energy deployment strategy. The Monegasque driver was unable to complete a clean qualifying simulation after encountering traffic and making a mistake at Turn 1.
Oscar Piastri was only seventh with McLaren, ahead of the two Audi cars of Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, who impressed on a circuit that puts major stress on power units due to its long straights. Isack Hadjar completed the top ten despite a difficult session that included a problem leaving the pit lane.
The session began with teams focused on recovering the track time lost during Friday’s FP2, which was interrupted by a red flag after Pierre Gasly’s crash. Several drivers also arrived with new power unit components, including Hadjar and Norris, both already facing grid penalties for the race.
Lewis Hamilton was initially fastest on soft tyres, with Oscar Piastri and several other drivers also showing strong early pace. Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad impressed again by briefly placing himself near the top of the standings.
However, once Mercedes entered the track, Antonelli immediately changed the picture. His first flying lap was enough to put him almost eight tenths clear of Hamilton and confirm Mercedes’ progress after struggling during Friday’s opening session.
During race simulations, Ferrari showed some improvement, with Hamilton producing a stronger long-run pace compared with Friday. However, Leclerc continued to search for a better setup, while Mercedes appeared more comfortable with both qualifying pace and race performance.
The final qualifying simulations brought further improvements from the leading teams. Norris closed the gap to Antonelli, while Verstappen remained competitive in third. Ferrari switched to new soft tyres but could not match the pace of Mercedes, with Hamilton settling for fifth and Leclerc unable to complete a representative lap.
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