George Russell secured the quickest time during the concluding practice session for the Formula 1 Barcelona Grand Prix, narrowly outperforming Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc, while Kimi Antonelli experienced a challenging session.
Russell’s pace exceeded Piastri’s by two-tenths of a second, with Piastri’s McLaren vehicle showing a lead of under a tenth over Leclerc’s Ferrari, indicating a highly competitive session.
The session began with a subdued pace, typical for FP3, as teams hesitated to commence immediate laps due to potentially misleading timings; only Cadillac and Nico Hulkenberg from Audi ventured onto the circuit initially.
However, the intensity increased after twenty minutes in the 32-degree Celsius conditions, with Lando Norris, the top performer from FP2, achieving the fastest lap at 1m16.609s on soft tires, only for Leclerc to close in within 0.076s.
Ultimately, Leclerc’s performance faltered at Turn 10, a hairpin turn frequently decisive; similarly, Antonelli’s initial lap subsequently diminished despite an excellent second sector.
The driver currently leading the championship ultimately posted a time 0.109 seconds faster than Norris, yet was 0.242 seconds behind his Mercedes colleague Russell, who secured a 1-2 finish for Mercedes with a 1m16.258s lap time at the midpoint of the sixty-minute session.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Lando Norris, McLaren
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
Just five minutes later, Valtteri Bottas also encountered difficulties at Turn 10; the Cadillac driver veered off into the gravel, stating a loss of brake control, which prompted a red flag.
The session resumed under green flag status with twenty minutes left, yet teams were hesitant to rejoin the track until a final ten-minute sprint for qualifying simulations began.
Russell, who topped FP1, was the initial driver to better his time, reducing his quickest lap by 0.579 seconds to 1m15.679; subsequently, Piastri moved into second with a 1m15.893s, trailing the Mercedes by 0.214 seconds.
Norris, Piastri’s teammate, initially claimed third place, being 0.032 seconds behind the other McLaren, but he quickly fell to fourth when Leclerc inserted himself between the two papaya-colored vehicles with a lap of 1m15.922s.
The fifth position was eventually secured by Lewis Hamilton, Leclerc’s fellow driver, whose 1m16.381s lap was 0.702 seconds shy of the leading time and 0.053 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen of Red Bull, who finished sixth.
Antonelli faced difficulties towards the end of the session; the young 19-year-old abandoned his initial lap after an encounter with Lance Stroll at the first opportunity, and then also withdrew from his second attempt. This was a result of driving too wide at Turn 10 while a Haas was on the inner line, leading to significant frustration for Antonelli, who consequently finished seventh based on his earlier 1m16.500s time.
The top ten positions were completed by Isack Hadjar, Hulkenberg, and Arvid Lindblad, in that order, with all competitors except Sergio Perez, who ranked 19th, recording their fastest laps on soft compound tires, while the Cadillac used mediums.
F1 Barcelona GP – FP3 Results
