Hamilton crashes late as Antonelli tops final Belgian Grand Prix practice ahead of qualifying

Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli topped the timesheets in the final Free Practice session ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, becoming the first driver to break into the 1:45s around Spa-Francorchamps, while Lewis Hamilton's session ended in dramatic fashion following a late crash.

Credit: Formula 1

Valtteri Bottas was the first driver to head out as the green light appeared, joined by Cadillac teammate Sergio Pérez and Alpine's Franco Colapinto. Pérez immediately reported engine concerns before beginning his run, while Bottas set the opening benchmark with the first representative lap of the session.

The order changed rapidly during the opening laps. Colapinto briefly moved Alpine to the top of the timesheets before Pérez climbed into second. Isack Hadjar then became the first driver into the 1:48s with a 1:48.231 on the medium compound, before Oliver Bearman slotted into second.

As more teams joined the circuit, Liam Lawson produced the first truly competitive lap, setting purple sectors throughout to move comfortably to the top. However, Hamilton responded moments later, finding significant time through the final two sectors to set a session-best 1:47.436.

Oscar Piastri immediately challenged on the soft tyres, finishing just over three-tenths adrift, while teammate Lando Norris initially settled into the top four before improving later in the session.

Attention soon turned to Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad, who arrived at Spa with the team's latest upgrade package. The young Brit extracted impressive pace from the updated car, briefly moving to the top of the timesheets ahead of Hamilton and Piastri, underlining the potential of the new package.

Hadjar also impressed despite beginning the weekend from the back of the grid, climbing to within just 0.071 seconds of Hamilton's benchmark on the medium compound. His session later unravelled after suffering a loss of power on track. The Frenchman came to a halt on the wrong side of the white line, preventing the team from immediately recovering the car before marshals assisted in returning it safely.

The defining lap came midway through the session as Antonelli produced three fastest sectors to record a 1:45.990, becoming the first driver to break into the 1:46s and establishing a benchmark that remained unbeaten.

Behind the Mercedes driver, Max Verstappen climbed into second before George Russell improved to third. Norris then separated the Mercedes pair with a strong lap featuring the quickest middle sector, moving into second place.

Piastri was unable to match his teammate's late improvement, ultimately finishing seventh after several runs on the soft compound, while Hamilton improved to fifth during the closing stages.

Elsewhere, Audi enjoyed an encouraging session with both cars running inside the top eight during the latter stages, while Carlos Sainz endured a frustrating hour after struggling to find consistent pace.

The closing minutes brought further frustration for several drivers. Antonelli had one of his quickest laps deleted for exceeding track limits, Russell abandoned a late flying lap, and Charles Leclerc twice failed to complete representative runs after mistakes on consecutive attempts.

The biggest incident came in the final moments when Hamilton ran too wide over the apex, clipping the barriers and heavily damaging the rear of his Ferrari. The incident brought out yellow flags and brought an abrupt end to an otherwise promising session for the seven-time World Champion.

Antonelli finished fastest ahead of Norris and Russell, with Verstappen and Hamilton completing the top five. Piastri ended the session seventh as McLaren turned its attention to qualifying later this afternoon.

Elsewhere, Lance Stroll and Lando Norris will both carry 10-place grid penalties into Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix, adding another layer of intrigue ahead of qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps.