Practice 3 Report - Russell leads open Barcelona FP3

George Russell
© Mercedes

George Russell headed a closely contested final practice session for the Formula 1 Barcelona Grand Prix, putting Mercedes on top ahead of Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc as the competitive order remained difficult to predict before qualifying.

Russell’s best lap of 1m15.679s was enough to secure top spot by 0.214s from Piastri, while Leclerc finished just 0.029s further back in third. The narrow margins among Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari suggested qualifying could feature a genuine fight for pole position.

As is often the case in FP3, the opening stages were relatively quiet. Only a handful of cars ventured out immediately in the hot 32C conditions, with teams preferring to wait until track evolution made representative lap times possible.

Once the session settled into a rhythm, Lando Norris briefly set the pace with a 1m16.609s on soft tyres, while Leclerc moved close behind. Antonelli also looked capable of challenging near the front after posting a strong middle sector, but the championship leader struggled to complete a clean qualifying simulation later in the hour.

Mercedes appeared particularly strong around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Russell moved to the top midway through the session with a 1m16.258s before later improving significantly during the final qualifying-style runs.

The only interruption came when Valtteri Bottas spun into the gravel at Turn 10 after reporting a brake issue on his Cadillac. The incident triggered a red flag and temporarily halted running.

Following the restart, Russell improved to his session-leading 1m15.679s. Piastri moved into second with a 1m15.893s, while Leclerc split the McLarens with a 1m15.922s. Norris ended the session fourth, just 0.003s behind the Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton completed the top five ahead of Max Verstappen. Antonelli’s late frustrations left him seventh after aborted laps caused by traffic and a wide moment at Turn 10.