Kimi Antonelli Tops Free Practice 3 at the Belgian Grand Prix – Easy Explainer

What Happened in Free Practice 3?

Free Practice 3 (or FP3) is like a one-hour test drive before the big qualifying race later on Saturday. Think of it as the last chance for teams to try their cars before the real timing starts.

• Kimi Antonelli was the fastest driver in this session.
• He beat Lando Norris from McLaren by just over one-tenth of a second.
• Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) crashed near the end and his team must hurry to fix the car before Qualifying.

Important: Antonelli kept up his strong Friday speed and finished just over one-tenth quicker than Norris. Ferrari now faces a race against time to repair Hamilton’s car.

A Slow Start

Even though the light at the end of the pit lane (where cars leave the garage) turned green at 12:30 local time, nobody rushed out.

• It was sunny and dry.
• Most drivers waited until about 20 minutes in before going on track.

Early Times and Surprises

Here is how the first part of the session went:

1. Hamilton was the first top driver to set a time: 1m 47.436s using soft tyres (the grippiest type of tyre made by Pirelli).
2. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was just a tiny bit slower.
3. Rookie Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) briefly went fastest.
4. Hamilton then set 1m 46.789s to be fastest again—but Antonelli, Russell, and Verstappen had not gone out yet.
5. Verstappen went second, four-tenths behind Hamilton.
6. The Mercedes team waited until nearly 25 minutes in to send their drivers out, wanting to practice qualifying when conditions were more useful.

Antonelli Takes the Lead

• Antonelli set 1m 45.990s, putting him eight-tenths ahead of Hamilton.
• His teammate Russell was only P4, 1.2s slower, and said he lacked straight-line speed (his car was slow on the straights).
• Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) had trouble: he will get a grid penalty (starting further back) for new engine parts, then stopped at the pit exit and was towed to the garage.
• Hadjar later almost hit Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin, saying “nothing is ready, everything is too cold.”
• Russell tried again but stayed about 1 second behind Antonelli.
• Verstappen improved to P2, within two-tenths of Antonelli, even after putting a wheel in the gravel.
• Norris then jumped ahead of Russell and Verstappen; Russell briefly got within four-tenths of Antonelli but dropped to P4.

The Finish and Hamilton’s Crash

• Antonelli aborted (stopped) a second fast lap after going wide at La Source, saying “I didn’t get the gear in.”
• He went again in the last 10 minutes but did not improve after sliding at Les Combes.
• His 1m 45.990s stayed the fastest, less than two-tenths clear of Norris.
• Hamilton was P5 but crashed on his last lap, like Pierre Gasly did in FP2.
  • He lost the back of the car at Turn 13, went into gravel, hit the barrier lightly, and stopped the damaged Ferrari.

Final Order (Top to Bottom)

• P1: Antonelli
• P2: Norris
• P3: Verstappen
• P4: Russell
• P5: Hamilton
• P6: Leclerc (Ferrari)
• P7: Piastri
• P8: Hulkenberg (Audi)
• P9: Bortoleto (Audi)
• P10: Hadjar
• P11: Lindblad (Racing Bulls)
• P12: Lawson (Racing Bulls)
• P13: Bearman (Haas, between Alpine’s Colapinto and Gasly)
• P14: Colapinto (Alpine)
• P15: Gasly (Alpine)
• P16: Albon (Williams)
• P17: Bottas (Cadillac)
• P18: Sainz (Williams, under investigation for a yellow flag infringement)
• P19: Ocon (Haas)
• P20: Perez (Cadillac)
• P21: Alonso (Aston Martin)
• P22: Stroll (Aston Martin)

Important: Qualifying happens later today, and Ferrari must fix Hamilton’s car in time.

Summary

In the final practice before Qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix, Kimi Antonelli was fastest, just ahead of Lando Norris. Lewis Hamilton crashed late and Ferrari must rush repairs. Most drivers took their time at the start, but times improved as the hour went on. The full running order is set from Antonelli in P1 to Stroll in P22.

FAQ

What is Free Practice 3?
It is the last one-hour practice session before Qualifying, where drivers test their cars and set trial times.

Why is Hamilton’s crash a big deal?
He is P5 and his car is damaged; Ferrari has limited time to fix it before Qualifying later on Saturday.

What does “grid penalty” mean for Hadjar?
It means he will start the race further back than normal because he used new engine parts.

What is a yellow flag infringement?
It means a driver may have broken rules about slowing down when a yellow flag is shown (warning of danger); Sainz is being checked for this.

Who was the surprise rookie performer?
Arvid Lindblad, a rookie at Racing Bulls, briefly topped the leaderboard during the session.