Marco Rossi · F1-Korrespondent
A defiant radio call, a tire shredding across the asphalt, and in the middle of it all a Mercedes rookie showing the competition what he's made of.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli set the pace in the third free practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix on the new Madring street circuit on Saturday with a time of 1:32.797, ahead of Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri, but the real talking point of the session came courtesy of Lewis Hamilton. The Ferrari driver hit the barrier in the final corner, then ignored multiple instructions from his race engineer and drove back to the pits with a damaged car and eventually a flat tire, completing nearly a full lap in the process.
Antonelli Confirms Strong Form
After finishing second in the first session, 0.286 seconds behind pace-setter George Russell, Antonelli claimed the top spot in the second practice and confirmed it again on Saturday morning in the third session, leaving the competition more than a tenth and a half behind. For the young Mercedes driver, it's his most commanding performance yet in what remains an early career, two fastest times across three sessions on a new, unfamiliar street circuit speaks volumes about a team that has felt at home in Madrid from the start.
Behind Antonelli, the field looked tightly bunched. Leclerc came in second, just 0.166 seconds adrift, while McLaren showed its hand with Piastri and Norris in third and fourth, suggesting they've moved past the long-run weakness that saw Norris without a valid lap time in Friday's second session. Verstappen rounded out the top five, 0.375 seconds back, a result that looks more like solid preparation than a charge for pole for Red Bull. How meaningful this order proves to be will only become clear in qualifying; a single practice session on a brand new circuit rarely tells a reliable story about race pace.
The Incident in the Final Corner
Hamilton wrote the real story of the session. He lost control of his SF-26 in the final corner and struck the barrier, suffering significant damage to his front wing. Rather than bring the car to a safe spot as his engineer repeatedly instructed over the radio, Hamilton attempted to limp back to the pits. He explained his decision over the radio himself: "If I can make it back, I will. If not, I will do it safely."
The consequences weren't long in coming. The broken front wing wedged beneath the car, creating visible sparks on the narrow track, and continued grinding against the tire until it finally lost pressure. Only after more forceful radio calls did Hamilton finally bring the car to a stop. For a driver of his experience, it was an unusual call, and it's likely to come up again in the driver briefing before qualifying.
Red Flag, Second Crash, and Looking Ahead
Hamilton's excursion into the barrier triggered the first stoppage of the session, and near the end of practice Oliver Bearman sent his Haas into the wall at turn eleven, bringing out the second red flag. For a session on a brand new street circuit where drivers are still learning where the limits lie, a certain error rate comes with the territory, but two crashes in one session is a clear sign of just how unforgiving Madring can be.
Hamilton's incident could carry consequences beyond the session itself. Since he continued driving despite visible damage and eventually a flat tire, the race stewards could launch an investigation, potentially resulting in a grid penalty for the race. That would be a serious setback for a driver who has been seeking calm in the paddock after his clash with Leclerc in Monza, with Leclerc himself taking responsibility for that incident and reporting they'd had a conversation about it. How stable that peace remains may only become clear when qualifying this afternoon determines the starting order for the first race on the Madring circuit.
