Russell edges Piastri and Leclerc in tight Barcelona FP3 as Antonelli's session unravels

George Russell topped a closely contested final practice session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Saturday, clocking a 1m15.679s to lead Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc ahead of qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix.

Piastri’s McLaren was 0.214s adrift in second, with Leclerc’s Ferrari a further 0.029s back in third — a gap of less than three tenths covering the top three and leaving the grid order wide open heading into qualifying. Lando Norris slotted into fourth for McLaren, 0.032s behind his team-mate, while Lewis Hamilton was fifth for Ferrari, 0.702s off Russell’s benchmark. Max Verstappen ended the hour sixth for Red Bull, 0.053s behind Hamilton.

The session was slow to ignite, as is typical of FP3, with only Cadillac and Nico Hulkenberg venturing out early in the 32-degree heat. The pace picked up after 20 minutes, with Norris going quickest on softs before Leclerc closed to within 0.076s. Antonelli then briefly threatened at the top of the order, posting a purple second sector, before his lap fell away at Turn 10 — the hairpin that repeatedly proved decisive throughout the hour.

A red flag interrupted proceedings midway through when Valtteri Bottas spun his Cadillac into the gravel at Turn 10, reporting a loss of brake pedal. Green conditions returned with 20 minutes remaining, and a late qualifying simulation run from Russell cut his time by 0.579s to seal top spot.

The session ended on a sour note for Kimi Antonelli. The 19-year-old aborted his first flying lap after encountering Lance Stroll, then backed out of his second attempt after running wide at Turn 10 with a Haas on the inside. He was left to settle for seventh on a 1m16.500s set earlier in the session — a result that visibly frustrated the Mercedes rookie.

Isack Hadjar, Hulkenberg and Arvid Lindblad completed the top 10. All drivers except 19th-placed Sergio Perez set their best times on soft tyres, with the Cadillac of Bottas running mediums.