Kimi Antonelli delivered the goods when it counted on Saturday morning at the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix, setting the fastest time in FP3 at the brand-new Madring circuit in Madrid. The Mercedes driver clocked a 1:32.797 to edge out Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and McLaren's Oscar Piastri as teams geared up for qualifying. It was a solid statement from Antonelli after Mercedes showed serious pace throughout the opening day of practice on Friday.

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The session didn't go smoothly though. Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, locked up into Turn 22 and slammed hard into the barriers while pushing for a hot lap. He tried to reverse out and make it back to the pits, but Ferrari eventually forced him to stop and abandon the car. That decision by the team meant yet another red flag at the Madring, with marshals needing serious time to clear debris and repair the barriers. The delay was brutal timing for Lando Norris too, who'd already lost chunks of Friday's running thanks to a gearbox issue and lost more track time when the red flag came out.

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After a 30-minute stop, race control got the show back on track with qualifying simulations looming. Leclerc was flying by that point, dipping into the 1m32s bracket before Antonelli moved ahead. The session was cut short again though, this time when Oliver Bearman crashed at Turn 11 in his Haas, leaving his engineers with a headache before qualifying kicked off. Still, Antonelli held on to the top spot ahead of Leclerc and Piastri, with Max Verstappen fourth in the Red Bull and George Russell rounding out the top five for Mercedes.

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The Madring's debut weekend has been chaotic so far, but Mercedes looks comfortable with the new street circuit. George Russell had topped FP1, and now Antonelli has controlled the crucial final practice session. Ferrari are close enough to keep things interesting, but if Mercedes keep this pace up, they could be serious contenders for the inaugural podium at this wild new venue in the heart of Madrid.

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