2026 #F1 #SpanishGP #FP3: #Antonelli quickest ahead of @CharlesLeclerc, @OscarPiastri.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, #12, Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team, F1 W17, Free Practice 3, Formula 1 Tag Heuer Spanish Grand Prix 2026, Madring, Madrid, Spain. Image credit to Clive Mason/Getty Images. Antonelli Spanish GP FP2, 2026 Spanish GP FP3 Results, F1 Spanish GP FP3 Results, Spanish Grand Prix Free Practice 3 Results.
Antonelli Spanish GP FP3 – Championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli topped the final practice session at the Spanish GP ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri who rounded out the top three.
Antonelli on the C4 red side-walled softer compounds posted the session-topping benchmark of a 1:32.797 and was 0.166 seconds clear of Leclerc whilst Piastri was a further 0.189 seconds off in third.
Following a five-minute lull of no activity, Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg were the first drivers to venture out on the Madring Circuit with the C3 yellow-marked medium tyres.
Bortoleto was the first to post the benchmark of a 1:35.777, which was beaten by Hulkenberg’s 1:35.721 effort.
Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas on the C4 softer rubber slotted into third briefly with his 1:38.356 but was pipped by both Alpine’s Franco Colapinto’s 1:37.075 and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso’s 1:37.425.
Lance Stroll put his AMR26 entry into third on a 1:36.907 and set the best sector three time.
Hulkenberg was next on his stint on the mediums and with two purples improved at the top on a 1:34.665 whilst Red Bull’s Liam Lawson posted the best middle sector time to go second and 0.937 seconds adrift of the German.
Aston Martin’s Alonso jumped to third with the best final sector time on a 1:35.708 to end up 1.043 seconds adrift of Hulkenberg’s best effort.
Bortoleto was next with three personal bests to a 1:35.513, as Leclerc went fastest on a 1:34.433 but was beaten by his team-mate Hamilton’s 1:34.284 to be 0.149 clear at the top.
Haas’s Oliver Bearman with the best sector one time popped into third and was 0.485 seconds adrift of Hamilton’s benchmark.
Championship leader Antonelli was next on his flyer on the softs and with two personal bests and a purple sector three time went quickest on a 1:33.664 to end up 0.620 seconds clear of Hamilton.
Reigning World Champion Norris with three personal bests moved up into second on a 1:34.099 to end up 0.435 seconds off.
Leclerc with two purple opening sectors and a personal best went to the head of the pile – setting a 1:33.332 to be 0.332 seconds clear of Antonelli.
Hamilton followed on his next hot-lap on the softer compounds and with a personal best sector one and a purple middle sector was on course to posting the best time, but the Briton suffered a lock-up and went straight into the barrier at the final corner.
The red flag was brought out as Hamilton reversed out with the front wing stuck underneath his SF-26 racer and continued going around the track slowly with his race engineer ordering him to stop the car, but he refused to do so.
Hamilton finally brought his car to a halt and the stewards likely to investigate the Ferrari driver driving in an unsafe manner.
A lengthy delay saw the session temporarily stopped at 15 minutes and 38 seconds due to the barrier repairs to prevent the running time from being lost.
Following a long wait after Hamilton’s SF-26 entry was cleared and the barriers repaired – Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas lead the pack out on the C4 red-marked softer compounds.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly improved on his lap-time to be 1.639 seconds off Leclerc in seventh, but only temporarily as Colapinto pipped his team-mate on a 1:34.957 to take the place.
Red Bull’s Lawson took fifth on a 1:34.407 as his team-mate Verstappen jumped to second with a 1:33.522.
Leclerc improved on top with a 1:32.963 as Piastri moved to second with a 1:33.260 to be 0.325 off the Monegasque driver’s benchmark.
Antonelli jumped into second with only a personal best sector one effort, posting a 1:33.260 to end up 0.297 seconds adrift of Leclerc.
Reigning World Champion Norris was next and with two personal bests and a purple sector three ended up only 0.070 seconds off Leclerc in second on a 1:33.033.
Bearman with two personal bests set a 1:34.481 to be 1.518 seconds off Leclerc’s benchmark to be tenth overall.
Lawson with two personal bests improved to seventh on a 1:33.902 as Hulkenberg who had a purple sector one and a personal best middle sector could only manage eighth after encountering traffic with a 1:33.933.
Antonelli with three personal bests pipped Leclerc at the top by 0.166 seconds posting a 1:32.797
Norris was on another flyer on the C4’s and the McLaren driver with a personal best sector one jumped to third on a 1:33.033 but only momentarily as Piastri moved into third setting a 1:32.986 to end up 0.189 seconds off Leclerc’s best time.
Replays showed both Hulkenberg and Gasly encounter close calls on their flyers.
Bearman suffered a heavy crash on the entire left side of his VF-26 entry down at turns 10/11 bringing out the sessions’ second red flag.
Replays showed Bearman suffer a spin through the sweeping turn eight and nine losing the rear and hit the wall at turns 10/11.
The session ended with Antonelli on top with Leclerc second as Piastri completed the top three.
Reigning World Champion Norris took fourth and in-front of four-time World Champion Verstappen who was fifth and Russell who ended FP3 in sixth.
Lawson in the other RB22 entry took seventh and in-front of Hulkenberg who placed eighth.
The aforementioned Hamilton and Bortoleto rounded out the top ten.
You can see the full Formula 1 Tag Heuer Gran Premio De Espana 2026 Free Practice 3 Results Classification at the link: FORMULA 1 TAG HEUER GRAN PREMIO DE ESPAÑA 2026 – PRACTICE 3
