Antonelli tops final practice at Spa while Hamilton crashes in closing minutes
Italian rookie Kimi Antonelli set the fastest time in the final practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix, while Lewis Hamilton damaged his Ferrari in a late-session incident.
Kimi Antonelli recorded the quickest lap of the final practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix, posting a time of 1:45.990, more than seven-tenths of a second faster than the next-best car. The performance continued his strong showing at Spa, following a session-leading time in Friday's FP2. Antonelli's benchmark was not surpassed in qualifying, with Lando Norris of McLaren the nearest challenger at 0.139 seconds slower. Antonelli will start the race from the back of the grid after receiving a ten-place penalty for using a fourth battery this season.
Lewis Hamilton crashed his Ferrari into the barriers in the final minutes of the session, running wide at Turn 13 and damaging the rear of the car. He briefly continued before stopping the vehicle on track, prompting his team to carry out a time-pressured repair before qualifying began two and a half hours later. Prior to the incident, Hamilton had been the fastest Ferrari, ranking fifth overall and 0.392 seconds off the leading time.
Max Verstappen was third fastest for Red Bull, 0.148 seconds behind Antonelli, while George Russell improved his pace to finish 0.367 seconds off the leader after initially lagging by more than a second. Oscar Piastri placed seventh for McLaren, followed by Audi drivers Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto. Isack Hadjar, who will start from the back of the grid due to multiple engine component changes, rounded out the top ten, ahead of the Racing Bulls of Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson.