Belgian Grand Prix FP3: Kimi Antonelli leads the way, Lewis Hamilton crashes
F1 NewsSaturday, 18 July 2026 at 13:30
Kimi Antonelli's good form around Spa continued as he topped the final practice session which ended with a crash for Lewis Hamilton.
Antonelli's ended the session with a lap time of 1:45.990 which was 0.139s faster than Lando Norris who was second fastest in the McLaren.
Max Verstappen was third fastest in the Red Bull Racing RB22, 0.009s behind Norris.
Antonelli's advantage was up to eighth tenths at some point, but then the final hot runs came and his rivals improved while he couldn't after having a moment while pushing hard.
Kimi pushing the limits 😮#F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/tLVSE7lCIP
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 18, 2026
George Russell was fourth fastest in the sister Mercedes, still playing catchup and was over three tenths off the pace which was an improvement given that his first effort was over 1.2s off the pace of his teammate.
Then came the Ferrari's as Lewis Hamilton was classified fifth after his crash at Fagnes towards the end of the session while Charles Leclerc was sixth fastest, the Reds over seven tenths off the pace.
While Norris was mixing it up with the frontrunners, that was not the case for Oscar Piastri who looks to be struggling at the venue where he won back in 2025. The Australian was seventh fastest, almost eight tenths off the benchmark.
Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto were eighth and ninth respectively for Audi as Isack Hadjar completed the top ten.
Buildup towards FP3
Mercedes finished Friday topping the timing screens at Spa with Antonelli, but they still have work to do for Russell who was over one second off the pace of his teammate.
While Mercedes started their weekend in Belgium having misjudged the grip, the bounced back fairly quickly putting Red Bull Racing in their place after Verstappen topped the first practice session.
However, the Dutchman remains optimistic, and you can't blame him as he doesn't have to worry about his car putting him in the wall since there is no Macarena wing on this weekend.
Ferrari, the team expected to challenge Mercedes this weekend where behind as McLaren showed flashes of speed with Norris as Piastri suffered from car trouble.
However, the reigning Formula 1 Champion has a ten-place grid penalty to deal with for an extra power electronics unit.
So will Mercedes' control over proceedings continue? Will Red Bull remain ahead of Ferrari? What of McLaren?
Let's check out how FP3 pans out.
FP3 Session highlights
No rain, still clear conditions as the session started with track temperature recording 36 degrees Celsius as the air temperature was 20 degrees.
The drivers took their time heading out on track with both Cadillacs making their way out first to kick off the session.
Most drivers were on Soft tyres for some early qualifying runs as is the case with FP3.
Sergio Perez soon reported some "hesitation" with the engine which felt "weird" as the team told him to keep going as they checked.
The two Cadillacs venture down to Eau Rouge to get us started#F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/nozgxED2Wt
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 18, 2026
Hadjar and Piastri were the first from the top teams to venture out on track with ten minutes gone from the session.
With 15 minutes elapsed, Verstappen, Leclerc, Antonelli, and Russell were yet to make their track appearance.
Hadjar reported a change in the wind direction as he felt Turn 1 was "open".
Verstappen finally took the track with 40 minutes remaining while Antonelli and Russell remained in the garage, but followed a few minutes later.
Verstappen starts his first push lap of the session 💪
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 18, 2026
CURRENT TOP 5
Hamilton
Lindblad
Piastri
Hadjar
Lawson#F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/R8THpRECJf
Soon after that, Hadjar was stranded in the pitlane exit, reporting no power and that he stalled.
The Red Bull mechanics with the help of the marshals wheeled the Frenchman's RB22 back to the garage.
Meanwhile, Isack Hadjar has stalled at the exit of the pit lane #F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/Jujx6JInN3
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 18, 2026
Russell reported that he did not have any speed on the straights... He returned back to the pits after only one lap.
The straight line speed has been a chronic problem for Russell recently.
Antonelli, on the other hand, is just getting on with it. His first lap was eighth tenths faster than Hamilton's who was topping the timing screens until that moment.
Antonelli's first flying lap takes him comfortably to the top of the timesheets with a 1:45.990⏱️
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 18, 2026
He's 0.8 seconds faster than Hamilton #F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/7S8Jn2nVcv
Carlos Sainz had a close moment with Valtteri Bottas into Les Combes at the end of the Kemmel straight. No contact though.
Hadjar also had a close one with Lance Stroll who swerved in the way of the Red Bull that had to take evasive action to avoid contact.
Hadjar then reported "everything is too cold" on his car as he went on with his lap.
Towards the final 15 minutes, there was a flurry of qualifying laps as the teams and drivers started preparing for the all-important shootout later in the day.
Verstappen improved on his time while Antonello had to abort saying he didn't "get the gear in".
Arvid Lindblad had a moment at Turn 9 where he ran wide and brushed the gravel a bit.
Towards the end of the session and just where Pierre Gasly crashed on Friday, Hamilton lost control of his Ferrari and hit the wall.
Hamilton finds the barriers 💥 Here's what happened 👇#F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/FeNgjTo1Js
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 18, 2026
The Ferrari mechanics will be in a race against the clock to get that Ferrari ready for qualifying.
The drivers managed to do a practice start toward the end.
Belgian Grand Prix FP3 Classification
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