F1 Barcelona GP: Russell leads Piastri in final practice, frustration for Antonelli

George Russell was fastest in final practice for the Formula 1 Barcelona Grand Prix after pipping Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc in a frustrating session for Kimi Antonelli.

Russell was two tenths faster than runner-up Piastri, whose McLaren was less than a tenth quicker than the Ferrari of Leclerc leaving what was a wide-open session.

That was after a slow start though, as it often is in FP3, with teams reluctant to head straight out given the unrepresentative lap times and only Cadillac, plus Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg, greeted the track early. 

Yet action in the 32C heat ramped up after 20 minutes and FP2 pacesetter Lando Norris went quickest with a 1m16.609s on the softs, before Leclerc came within 0.076s. 

Turn 10 is ultimately where Leclerc lost out and that hairpin is often the difference maker, as soon afterwards Antonelli’s opening lap also tailed off after a purple sector two.

The championship leader eventually went 0.109s quicker than Norris, but 0.242s slower than team-mate Russell who led a Mercedes 1-2 on a 1m16.258s halfway into the one-hour session.

Watch: The George Russell and Lewis Hamilton Reset | 2026 Barcelona GP Saturday

That was only five minutes before Valtteri Bottas also endured trouble at Turn 10 as the Cadillac driver spun into the gravel trap, reporting “I lost my brake pedals” and caused a red flag. 

Green flag conditions returned with 20 minutes remaining but teams were slow in heading out, before a late 10 minute rush as the qualifying runs came into effect. 

FP1 pacesetter Russell was first to improve, cutting his best lap time by 0.579s to a 1m15.679, before Piastri jumped up to second after setting a 1m15.893s, 0.214s slower than the Mercedes. 

Piastri’s team-mate Norris slotted into third, 0.032s slower than the sister McLaren, but soon dropped to fourth as Leclerc put himself between the papaya cars on a 1m15.922s.

Fifth ultimately went to Leclerc’s team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who was 0.702s off the pace with a 1m16.381s which was 0.053s quicker than Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in sixth. 

Trouble struck Antonelli late on, as the 19-year-old aborted his first lap after encountering Lance Stroll at the opening chance before backing out of his second as well. That was due to going wide at Turn 10 with a Haas on the inside, inevitably causing an incredibly frustrated Antonelli, who had to settle for seventh with a 1m16.500s he set earlier. 

Isack Hadjar, Hulkenberg and Arvid Lindblad respectively rounded out the top 10 with all drivers bar 19th-placed Sergio Perez setting their lap times on soft rubber, mediums for the Cadillac.

F1 Barcelona GP - FP3 Results

FP3

All Stats

 

Cla	Driver	#		Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Interval	Tyres	km/h
1	G. Russell Mercedes	63		Mercedes	Mercedes	11	1'15.679		S	221.530
2	O. Piastri McLaren	81		McLaren	Mercedes	12	+0.214 1'15.893	0.214	S	220.905
3	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16		Ferrari	Ferrari	17	+0.243 1'15.922	0.029	S	220.821
4	L. Norris McLaren	1		McLaren	Mercedes	15	+0.246 1'15.925	0.003	S	220.812
5	L. Hamilton Ferrari	44		Ferrari	Ferrari	16	+0.702 1'16.381	0.456	S	219.494
6	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	3		Red Bull	Red Bull	12	+0.755 1'16.434	0.053	S	219.342
7	A. Antonelli Mercedes	12		Mercedes	Mercedes	12	+0.821 1'16.500	0.066	S	219.152
8	I. Hadjar Red Bull Racing	6		Red Bull	Red Bull	15	+1.005 1'16.684	0.184	S	218.627
9	N. Hulkenberg Audi	27		Audi	Audi	22	+1.282 1'16.961	0.277	S	217.840
10	A. Lindblad Racing Bulls	41		RB	Red Bull	16	+1.341 1'17.020	0.059	S	217.673
11	G. Bortoleto Audi	5		Audi	Audi	13	+1.348 1'17.027	0.007	S	217.653
12	L. Lawson Racing Bulls	30		RB	Red Bull	15	+1.645 1'17.324	0.297	S	216.817
13	P. Gasly Alpine	10		Alpine	Mercedes	15	+1.904 1'17.583	0.259	S	216.093
14	F. Colapinto Alpine	43		Alpine	Mercedes	14	+1.946 1'17.625	0.042	S	215.976
15	C. Sainz Williams	55		Williams	Mercedes	19	+2.051 1'17.730	0.105	S	215.685
16	E. Ocon Haas F1 Team	31		Haas	Ferrari	15	+2.361 1'18.040	0.310	S	214.828
17	O. Bearman Haas F1 Team	87		Haas	Ferrari	13	+2.712 1'18.391	0.351	S	213.866
18	A. Albon Williams	23		Williams	Mercedes	15	+2.733 1'18.412	0.021	S	213.809
19	S. Perez Cadillac F1 Team	11		Cadillac	Ferrari	21	+3.012 1'18.691	0.279	S	213.051
20	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14		Aston Martin	Honda	18	+3.817 1'19.496	0.805	S	210.893
21	V. Bottas Cadillac F1 Team	77		Cadillac	Ferrari	14	+4.283 1'19.962	0.466	S	209.664
22	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18		Aston Martin	Honda	17	+4.424 1'20.103	0.141	S	209.295
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