George Russell topped the times in the final practice session for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, putting his Mercedes on top of the timing screens.
Russell finished the session eight-tenths clear of his team mate. Andrea Kimi Antonelli, however, could not complete his final flying lap after repeatedly being impeded by traffic.
“Why do I always get traffic?” Antonelli asked race engineer Peter Bonnington over team radio. “I don’t understand.”
Antonelli’s first effort was compromised when he met Lance Stroll at the apex of turn two. He appeared to slow in reaction to Stroll’s presence; Antonelli had also complained about the same rival during the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday. The stewards took note of the incident and said they would investigate the possibility he had driven erratically after the session.
Later, Antonelli was delayed again at turn 10 and returned to the pits. With soft tyres losing performance quickly on the hot track, his opportunity to improve was gone.
Both McLarens and Ferraris split the Mercedes drivers on the timesheet, along with Max Verstappen in the Red Bull. Oscar Piastri closed the gap most, finishing nearest to Russell, while Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris were only around two tenths off the best lap.
Isack Hadjar reported significant understeer in his Red Bull as he set the eighth-fastest time. Nico Hülkenberg was ninth; he and Leclerc are under investigation for a potential impeding incident at turn five. Arvid Lindblad rounded out the top 10.
The session was halted briefly when Valtteri Bottas spun off at turn 10. The Cadillac driver experienced another braking issue: he said his brakes failed after accelerating out of turn nine, and while downshifting into the next corner he ran wide into the gravel. Luckily there was no car directly ahead of him. “I got very lucky there,” Bottas said afterward.
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2026 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix third practice result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W17 | 1’15.679 | |
| 2 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL40 | 1’15.893 | 0.214 |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-26 | 1’15.922 | 0.243 |
| 4 | 1 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL40 | 1’15.925 | 0.246 |
| 5 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | SF-26 | 1’16.381 | 0.702 |
| 6 | 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Red Bull-Ford | RB22 | 1’16.434 | 0.755 |
| 7 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | W17 | 1’16.500 | 0.821 |
| 8 | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull-Red Bull-Ford | RB22 | 1’16.684 | 1.005 |
| 9 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | R26 | 1’16.961 | 1.282 |
| 10 | 41 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford | 03 | 1’17.020 | 1.341 |
| 11 | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | R26 | 1’17.027 | 1.348 |
| 12 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls-Red Bull-Ford | 03 | 1’17.324 | 1.645 |
| 13 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Mercedes | A526 | 1’17.583 | 1.904 |
| 14 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine-Mercedes | A526 | 1’17.625 | 1.946 |
| 15 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Williams-Mercedes | FW48 | 1’17.730 | 2.051 |
| 16 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas-Ferrari | VF-26 | 1’18.040 | 2.361 |
| 17 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas-Ferrari | VF-26 | 1’18.391 | 2.712 |
| 18 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW48 | 1’18.412 | 2.733 |
| 19 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac-Ferrari | MAC-26 | 1’18.691 | 3.012 |
| 20 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Honda | AMR26 | 1’19.496 | 3.817 |
| 21 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac-Ferrari | MAC-26 | 1’19.962 | 4.283 |
| 22 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Honda | AMR26 | 1’20.103 | 4.424 |
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