Spanish GP: Lewis Hamilton crashes at Kimi Antonelli tops final practice from Charles Leclerc in Madrid

12.09.2026, 15:18 skysports.com

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli was fastest in final practice at the Spanish Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton crashed and lost valuable track time ahead of qualifying in Madrid.

Just 20 minutes into the session, Hamilton was on course to set a very quick lap until he outbraked himself at the last corner and hit the barriers head on, albeit at a relatively slow speed.

He reversed out of the barriers but the front wing had dislodged itself and got stuck under the front right tyre, so Ferrari urged Hamilton to stop the car.

But the seven-time world champion wanted to limp back to the pit lane so he did not lose crucial running for qualifying later on at 3pm (build-up from 2.15pm), live on Sky Sports F1, before eventually coming to a halt in the middle sector.

Sky Sports F1's Anthony Davidson feels Hamilton was wrong to drive for such a long time with a damaged car.

"Any young driver that is watching this right now, you don't do that. You just don't do that. That's what you could have tried to do [get back to the pits] but that rule is there for a reason," he said.

"If it [the front wing] went under the car completely and jacked your front wheels up and there were marshals on the track... you've got to think of all these scenarios."

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The crash caused a 45-minute red flag as the marshals repaired the barriers, with the clock being stopped with 15 minutes remaining so the drivers could get more laps around the new Madring.

Antonelli, who leads the Drivers' Championship by 66 points over Mercedes team-mate George Russell, emerged on top with a blistering 1:32.797 to beat Ferrari's Charles Leclerc by 0.166s.

McLaren showed promise with Oscar Piastri in third and Lando Norris in fourth - the latter missed almost all of second practice on Friday.

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Red Bull's Max Verstappen was fifth and Russell only sixth but it looks like pole position could be anyone's given the drivers are getting faster with every lap and the track is evolving.

Haas' Oliver Bearman proved how difficult the Madring is with a big crash in the high-speed Turn 11, leaving his team with a race to get his car fixed for qualifying.

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Saturday September 122.15pm: Spanish Grand Prix Qualifying build-up3pm: SPANISH GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING*4.55pm: F3 Feature Race 16pm: Ted's Qualifying Notebook

Sunday September 138.40am: F3 Feature Race 210.20am: F2 Feature Race12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Spanish GP build-up2pm: THE SPANISH GRAND PRIX4pm: Chequered Flag: Spanish GP reaction5pm: Ted's Notebook

*also on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1 is in Madrid for the Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring circuit with Sunday's race at 2pm (build-up from 12.30pm), live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime