Kimi Antonelli, who currently tops the championship leaderboard, posted the fastest time in the final practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix at the newly built Madring circuit. The session, however, was marred by a serious incident involving seven‑time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who lost valuable track time after a crash that forced him to retire from the run‑through. The mishap occurred roughly twenty minutes after the practice began. Hamilton was on a promising lap, building a competitive time that could have placed him near the front of the qualifying grid.
As he approached the final corner, he mis‑judged his braking point, ran wide and struck the barriers head‑on. Although the impact was at a relatively modest speed, the collision caused significant damage to the front wing assembly. After the impact, Hamilton managed to reverse out of the barrier, but the front wing had detached and become lodged under the right‑hand front tyre.
Ferrari’s pit crew quickly instructed him to stop the car, recognizing the safety risk of continuing with a compromised aerodynamic component. Hamilton, however, was reluctant to abandon the car immediately. He attempted to limp back toward the pit lane, hoping to preserve as much running as possible before the qualifying session, scheduled to start at 3 p.m.
(with a build‑up from 2:15 p.m.). His effort to nurse the car lasted only a short distance before the vehicle stalled in the middle sector of the track. Sky Sports F1 commentator Anthony Davidson was critical of Hamilton’s decision to keep the car moving with a damaged front wing.
"Any young driver watching this would know you don’t keep driving a car that’s lost its front wing," Davidson said. "The rule exists for a reason – if the wing were to drop completely and lift the front wheels, you could end up with marshals on the track and a dangerous situation." The crash triggered a 45‑minute red‑flag period while marshals repaired the barrier and cleared debris. During the stoppage, the session clock was paused with fifteen minutes left, allowing the drivers to resume their runs once the track was cleared.
This pause gave the field a chance to push for additional laps on the freshly repaired circuit. When the session restarted, Antonelli set a blistering lap of 1:32.797, edging out Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by a mere 0.166 seconds. The Italian driver now enjoys a 66‑point advantage over his Mercedes teammate George Russell in the Drivers' Championship, reinforcing his status as the early favorite for the title. McLaren also displayed strong form, with Oscar Piastri recording the third‑fastest time and Lando Norris slotting into fourth place despite having missed almost all of the second practice session on Friday due to earlier technical issues.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen managed a fifth‑place time, while Russell completed the top six. The competitive spread suggested that pole position could still be contested by any of the leading teams, especially as the track continues to evolve and grip improves with each lap. Haas rookie Oliver Bearman highlighted the difficulty of the Madring layout when he suffered a heavy crash at the high‑speed Turn 11.
The incident left his team scrambling to repair the car before qualifying, underscoring how unforgiving the circuit can be for even the most skilled drivers. The weekend schedule is packed with action: - Saturday, September 12 – 2:15 p.m. build‑up to Spanish Grand Prix qualifying, with the session itself at 3 p.m.; followed by the F3 Feature Race 1 at 4:55 p.m.
and Ted’s Qualifying Notebook at 6 p.m. - Sunday, September 13 – F3 Feature Race 2 at 8:40 a.m., F2 Feature Race at 10:20 a.m., and the main Grand Prix race starting at 2 p.m.
(build‑up from 12:30 p.m.). The race will conclude with the chequered flag at around 4 p.m., followed by post‑race analysis and Ted’s Notebook at 5 p.m. All sessions will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1, with additional coverage on Sky Sports Main Event.
Viewers can stream the coverage via the NOW platform, which offers a contract‑free option that can be cancelled at any time. In summary, Antonelli’s dominant performance in final practice sets the tone for a potentially thrilling qualifying and race weekend, while Hamilton’s crash serves as a stark reminder of the fine line between pushing the limits and maintaining safety on the demanding Madring circuit. The upcoming sessions promise intense competition as teams fine‑tune their setups and drivers aim to extract every ounce of performance from their machines.