Photo: Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team/Jiri Krenek
Antonelli wins the final practice at Spa
Formula 1 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes F1 Spa Reports F1 Saturday
The third free practice was calm before Lewis Hamilton crashed at the end of it. Isack Hadjar’s Red Bull lost power at the end of the pitlane, but he eventually got the car going. The Mercedes didn’t participate much, but it was enough for Kimi Antonelli to win the session with Norris, Verstappen, Russell and Hamilton behind.
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The drivers didn’t rush on the track, the first ones out were the Cadillacs who got out five minutes after the session’s start. As Sergio Perez completed first laps he complained on the radio that he has some problems with the engine. After 10 minutes only nine cars had their fast times set and it was Liam Lawson who topped the standings with Arvid Lindblad, Isack Hadjar and Oliver Bearman behind.
15 minutes into the session Lewis Hamilton set new fastest time of 1:47:436 seconds. The majority of the cars were on the soft tires but Max Verstappen and the Mercedes still didn’t go out of their garages. Eight minutes later, Verstappen got on the track and his first fast attempt put him on the second place behind the provisional leader Hamilton. By this time also Mercedes left the garage.
In the middle of the session Hadjar stopped at the end of the pitlane radioing that he has no power. Meanwhile George Russell completed his first fast attempt which put him on the third. His teammate Kimi Antonelli lined up first after his first fast lap. By this time all drivers except for Russell and Valtteri Bottas were on the track. Later other drivers joined them in the pits.
Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri did other fast laps, but neither of them improved. On the other hand, George Russell improved and got on the fourth behind Antonelli, Hamilton and Verstappen. With 20 minutes remaining Hadjar also managed to improve his time as he lined up fifth. Many cars returned into the boxes and only four stayed on the track.
14 minutes until the end the drivers attempted other fast laps with Russell improving on the third and Norris improving on the second eventually pushing Rusell on the fourth. With five minutes remaining Russell did another fast lap but he had to abort it due to the traffic on the track.
There was a yellow flag at the end of the session as Lewis Hamilton crashed in Turn 13, the same place where Pierre Gasly crashed yesterday. Hamilton had to stop his car on the track and the session ended with Antonelli, Norris and Verstappen on the top.
