Antonelli edges Norris as Hamilton crashes in Belgian FP3

The world championship leader set a 1m45.990s during the middle stages of the session to finish 0.139s clear of Lando Norris, with Max Verstappen only another 0.009s behind in third.

Antonelli attempted to improve during the closing minutes but had two lap times deleted for exceeding track limits, leaving his earlier benchmark unbeaten ahead of qualifying.

George Russell found pace during his final soft-tyre run to finish fourth, setting a 1m46.357s to close within 0.367s of his Mercedes teammate.

Hamilton was fifth and only 0.025s behind Russell, although the Ferrari driver’s session came to a dramatic end when he crashed at the Fagnes chicane.

In an incident similar to Pierre Gasly’s accident during FP2, Hamilton ran across the gravel and struck the barrier with the right-rear corner of his car.

The seven-time world champion emerged unharmed, but the impact caused significant damage and left Ferrari facing a considerable repair job before qualifying.

Hamilton finds the barriers 💥 Here’s what happened 👇#F1 #BelgianGP pic.twitter.com/FeNgjTo1Js

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 18, 2026

Charles Leclerc completed the top six in the second Ferrari, although his 1m46.750s left him more than seven tenths behind Antonelli and almost four tenths away from Hamilton.

Oscar Piastri finished seventh for McLaren, setting a 1m46.785s to end the session 0.795s behind Antonelli and more than six tenths slower than Norris.

Conditions were cooler than Friday when the session began, with the ambient temperature sitting at 19 degrees celsius despite the track remaining at 35 degrees under sunny skies.

Franco Colapinto was the first driver to leave the pits, although there was little urgency across the field as teams looked to preserve their limited supply of tyres for qualifying.

Isack Hadjar established the opening benchmark on the medium compound with a 1m48.231s before the Racing Bulls drivers moved to the front on soft tyres.

Arvid Lindblad briefly topped the order before Liam Lawson lowered the benchmark to a 1m47.786s in the previous-specification Racing Bulls.

Hamilton then became the first driver to break into the 1m46s, producing a 1m46.789s on his second flying lap to move ahead of the early runners.

Piastri initially recorded a 1m47.461s on soft tyres, while Norris remained outside the leading positions as he completed an extended run on the medium compound.

Verstappen waited until almost 20 minutes into the session before beginning his program but immediately moved into second with a 1m47.167s.

Hadjar’s running was interrupted shortly afterwards when his Red Bull stopped at the end of the pit lane after he reported a loss of power.

Marshals moved the car back towards the garage and Hadjar was able to rejoin later in the session.

Antonelli and Russell did not complete their first flying laps until the second half of the session, but the championship leader immediately demonstrated the Mercedes’ pace.

Russell opened with a 1m47.286s before Antonelli delivered a 1m45.990s, putting himself almost 1.3 seconds ahead of his teammate after their first soft-tyre attempts.

Russell returned to the pits after that lap, while Antonelli also completed only a single serious push effort on his opening set.

Leclerc struggled to produce a representative time during the early soft-tyre runs, beginning with a 1m47.890s before improving to a 1m47.469s and then a 1m47.122s on the same set.

Russell improved to a 1m47.041s on his next run but remained more than one second behind Antonelli as Norris continued to complete race preparation on the mediums.

The leading drivers switched to fresh soft tyres during the final 15 minutes as attention turned towards qualifying simulations.

Verstappen benefited from a tow behind Leclerc through the opening sector before receiving another from Valtteri Bottas later in the lap, initially moving into second with a 1m46.148s.

His eventual 1m46.138s left him just 0.148s behind Antonelli, although an attempt to improve was abandoned after he ran through the asphalt run-off at Les Combes.

Russell briefly moved into third through his 1m46.357s before Norris crossed the line in 1m46.129s to split Antonelli and Verstappen.

Hamilton improved to fifth with a 1m46.382s before Leclerc finally completed a clear lap on his final set of soft tyres, although it was only enough for sixth.

Nico Hulkenberg delivered an encouraging result for Audi by finishing eighth and less than one second away from the benchmark.

Gabriel Bortoleto joined his teammate inside the top 10, ending the session ninth and 0.125s behind Hulkenberg.

Hadjar recovered from his earlier power issue to finish 10th, narrowly ahead of Lindblad, who ran wide and dragged gravel onto the circuit during one of his final attempts.

Lawson was 12th and more than half a second behind his Racing Bulls teammate, followed by Colapinto and Oliver Bearman.

Gasly finished 15th after Alpine repaired the car damaged in his Friday accident, with Alex Albon only 0.041s behind in 16th.

Bottas was the leading Cadillac driver in 17th, narrowly ahead of Carlos Sainz and Esteban Ocon.

Sergio Perez finished 20th after reporting unusual engine hesitation during the opening part of the session, while Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll completed the order for Aston Martin.

Qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix gets underway at 4pm local time (12am AEST).

Results: Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix, Free Practice 3