Kimi Antonelli set the fastest time in the third free practice for the Spanish Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc clocks the second time, ahead of Oscar Piastri. Max Verstappen finishes the session in fifth place. The practice is stopped twice due to a red flag.
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The final practice for the Spanish Grand Prix starts calmly. After fifteen minutes, most of the drivers have not yet set a time. But then the Ferraris set the first serious times at the top of the field. Mercedes also shows up at the front on behalf of Kimi Antonelli, as does Lando Norris.
Carlos Sainz experiences a scary moment. The Spaniard goes straight on but keeps the Williams out of the wall. Not long after, the same happens to Lance Stroll. Lewis Hamilton is less lucky. The seven-time champion crashes into the wall and causes a red flag. With a broken wing and smoking front tire, he drives back to the pit lane. His team asks him to stop, but the Brit keeps driving until he finally complies.
The session is then stopped for a long time because the Tecpro barrier needs to be repaired, the broken Ferrari has to be towed away, and the track has to be cleaned. Valuable time is lost for the other drivers. Time they want to use to fine-tune the car even more and get to know the track better. And this could make qualifying even more challenging this afternoon.
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The FIA decides with fifteen minutes remaining to stop the session completely because the damage cannot be repaired in time. This way, there is still some time left for the drivers once the track is ready again.
At 13:32 the track is only released again and the drivers go back on the asphalt. Only fifteen minutes remain on the clock and most teams use this moment to simulate this afternoon’s qualifying.
The drivers really get down to it, but no one can match Antonelli’s fastest time. Leclerc is second, followed by Piastri. In the final phase, there is another red flag, this time Oliver Bearman slams his Haas into the wall.
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Qualifying starts this afternoon at 16:00.
Read everything about the Spanish GP here
