Kimi Antonelli stunned the paddock with a stellar performance in the final Formula 1 practice session at the Belgian Grand Prix, leaving his rivals behind and sending out a clarion warning ahead of qualifying. Meanwhile, drama unfolded when Lewis Hamilton crashed his Ferrari into the barriers during the closing moments, echoing Pierre Gasly’s similar incident at Turn 13 on Friday.
Antonelli continued the excellent pace he showed by topping FP2 on Friday and delivered a remarkable lap of 1m45.090s in FP3. This benchmark was untouched, with Lando Norris in the McLaren coming closest but still 0.119 seconds behind. Max Verstappen, driving his Red Bull, finished third, just 0.148 seconds behind Antonelli’s time. Despite his exceptional speed, Norris would be relegated to a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding his battery allocation for the season, eliminating him from contention for pole.
There was drama at the end of the session as Hamilton lost control at Turn 13, sending him into the gravel and the rear of his Ferrari hitting the barriers. The seven-time world champion admitted that he “destroyed” the rear of his car, forcing him to limp before stopping at some corners. The accident put Ferrari’s mechanics in a race against time to prepare the car for qualifying, which was scheduled only two and a half hours later.
Antonelli, undeterred by the increasing pressure, attempted to improve his time during the final qualifying runs, but was unable to do so. He aborted his first flyer after losing gear, then spent a moment in Les Combes and saw his lap blasted to track limits – a lap that could not have affected his earlier effort.
Antonelli’s Mercedes teammate George Russell struggled for pace at the start and finished more than 1.2 seconds behind. However, he managed to finish the session fourth fastest, 0.367 seconds behind Antonelli. Hamilton, before his accident, was the fastest Ferrari in fifth place with a 0.392-second deficit, well ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc in sixth (+0.760).
Oscar Piastri qualified seventh for McLaren, six tenths behind Norris, while Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriele Bortoletto led the midfield in eighth and ninth respectively. Isak Hadjar completed the top 10 for Red Bull, although he suffered a start from the back of the grid due to several engine component changes.
The full FP3 classification saw Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson finish 11th and 12th, followed by Franco Colapinto (Alpine), Ollie Bearman (Haas), and Pierre Gasly (Alpine) completing the top 15. The rest of the field included Alex Albon (Williams), Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac), Carlos Sainz (Williams), Esteban Ocon. (Haas), Sergio Pérez (Cadillac), and the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
With the stage set due to Antonelli’s dominance and Hamilton’s crash, all eyes now turn to qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps, where the battle for grid supremacy promises high drama.
