Kimi Antonelli carried his impressive pace into the final practice session ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, topping the timesheets for Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton’s session ended in the barriers, leaving Ferrari with work to do before qualifying.
The Italian produced a best lap of 1:45.990 to finish 0.139 seconds clear of McLaren’s Lando Norris, with four time World Champion Max Verstappen just a further 0.009 seconds behind in third. George Russell ensured both Mercedes featured inside the top four, while Hamilton completed the top five despite crashing during the closing stages of the session.
Unlike Friday’s busy running, the final hour of practice began at a measured pace, with teams opting to remain in the garages for much of the opening 20 minutes as they waited for the circuit conditions to improve.
Hamilton was among the first frontrunners to head onto the track and initially set the benchmark on the soft compound tyres before lowering the pace again with a 1:46.789. However, the Ferrari driver had yet to face the challenge of Antonelli, Russell and Verstappen, who delayed the start of their qualifying simulation programmes.
When Antonelli finally emerged, the Mercedes rookie immediately demonstrated the pace that had seen him top Friday’s second practice session. His lap of 1:45.990 comfortably moved him to the top of the standings, while team-mate Russell struggled to extract similar performance, reporting a lack of straight-line speed as he finished more than three tenths behind in fourth.
Verstappen steadily improved throughout the session, overcoming a brief trip through the gravel to climb to third, while Norris left his best effort until late in the hour to split the Mercedes driver and the Red Bull.
Hamilton remained fifth heading into the closing minutes but his session came to an abrupt end after losing the rear of his Ferrari through Turn 13. The seven-time world champion slid into the gravel before making light contact with the barriers, damaging the SF-26 and bringing out local yellow flags. Ferrari will now have limited time to repair the car ahead of qualifying later on Saturday.
Charles Leclerc finished sixth in the second Ferrari, ahead of Oscar Piastri, who endured a quieter session after running near the front early on. Audi enjoyed another encouraging outing with Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto eighth and ninth respectively, while Isack Hadjar rounded out the top 10 despite suffering an eventful session.
The Red Bull driver briefly stopped at the pit exit before later locking up heavily and narrowly avoiding Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin as he struggled to bring his tyres up to temperature.
Further back, Arvid Lindblad continued to impress by finishing ahead of team-mate Liam Lawson in 11th, while Oliver Bearman separated the two Alpine drivers of Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly.
Alex Albon was 16th for Williams, followed by Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas and Carlos Sainz, who was noted for an alleged yellow flag infringement. Esteban Ocon, Sergio Pérez, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll completed the order.
With qualifying just hours away, Antonelli heads into the afternoon having topped two of the three practice sessions, while Ferrari’s attention now turns to ensuring Hamilton’s damaged car is ready to fight for pole position.
Top 10 – Free Practice 3
Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 1:45.990
Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.139
Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.148
George Russell (Mercedes) +0.367
Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.392
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
Nico Hülkenberg (Audi)
Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)
