F1 Barcelona GP: George Russell beats Oscar Piastri in wide open FP3

George Russell was fastest in final practice for the Formula 1 Barcelona Grand Prix after pipping Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc in a frustrating session for Kimi Antonelli.

Russell was two tenths faster than runner-up Piastri, whose McLaren was less than a tenth quicker than the Ferrari of Leclerc leaving what was a wide open session.

That was after a slow start though, as it often is in FP3, with teams reluctant to head straight out given the unrepresentative lap times and only Cadillac, plus Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg, greeted the track early.

Yet action in the 32C heat ramped up after 20 minutes and FP2 pacesetter Lando Norris went quickest with a 1m16.609s on the softs, before Leclerc came within 0.076s.

Turn 10 is ultimately where Leclerc lost out and that hairpin is often the difference maker, as soon afterwards Antonelli’s opening lap also tailed off after a purple sector two.

The championship leader eventually went 0.109s quicker than Norris, but 0.242s slower than team-mate Russell who led a Mercedes 1-2 on a 1m16.258s halfway into the one-hour session.

That was only five minutes before Valtteri Bottas endured trouble at Turn 10 as the Cadillac driver spun into the gravel trap, reporting “I lost my brake pedal” and causing a red flag.

Green conditions returned with 20 minutes remaining but teams were still slow in heading out, before a late 10 minute rush as the qualifying runs came into effect.

FP1 pacesetter Russell was first to improve, cutting his lap by 0.579s to a 1m15.679, before Piastri jumped up to second after setting a 1m15.893s, 0.214s slower than the Mercedes.

Piastri’s team-mate Norris slotted into third, 0.032s slower than the sister McLaren, but soon dropped to fourth as Leclerc put himself between the papaya cars on a 1m15.922s.

Fifth ultimately went to Leclerc’s team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who was 0.702s off the pace with a 1m16.381s which was 0.053s quicker than Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in sixth.

Trouble struck Antonelli late on though, as the 19-year-old aborted his first lap after encountering Lance Stroll at the opening chance before backing out of his second as well.

That was due to going wide at Turn 10 with a Haas on the inside, inevitably causing an incredibly frustrated Antonelli, who had to settle for seventh with a 1m16.500s he set earlier.

Isack Hadjar, Hulkenberg and Arvid Lindblad respectively rounded out the top 10 with all drivers bar 19th-placed Sergio Perez setting their lap times on soft rubber, mediums for the Cadillac.

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– The Motorsport.com Team

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