A typically slow start to a third practice session saw little running in the first quarter of an hour before Lewis Hamilton finally set the first representative time, despite being baulked a little by the Red Bull of Isack Hadjar. Isack later stalled in the pitlane preparing for a second run and the Red Bull mechanics had to push his stricken car back.
The Mercedes duo left it later than most to head out, but were immediately on the pace and Antonelli grabbed top spot roughly halfway through the session, a place he would not relinquish and almost eight tenths up on the next best at the time. Others continued to improve on second runs, with Lando Norris taking his McLaren up to second and both Max Verstappen and George Russell managing to better Lewis' earlier time.
There was late drama as Hamilton brought out the yellow flags for an almost carbon copy accident of the one suffered by Pierre Gasly in yesterday's practice. Lewis tried to limp the Ferrari home but the damage was too severe, once again with the right rear suspension broken.
Free Practice 3 Results:
1: Antonelli
2: Norris
3: Verstappen
4: Russell
5: Hamilton
6: Leclerc
7: Piastri
8: Hulkenberg
9: Bortoleto
10: Hadjar
11: Lindblad
12: Lawson
13: Colapinto
14: Bearman
15: Gasly
16: Albon
17: Bottas
18: Sainz
19: Ocon
20: Perez
21: Alonso
22: Stroll
The only real surprise in the first qualifying session was the order of the top 10, with Lando Norris ahead of Max Verstappen, and the two Mercedes of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli down in fifth and eighth respectively. Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto battled for the final place, with Alex losing out and being joined by Esteban Ocon, the two Cadillacs and the two Aston Martins in taking no further part. With both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll taking grid penalties for engine component changes, they will start at the back.
Liam Lawson missed out on making it through to the final qualifying session, perhaps hampered by not having the upgrade his teammate had, with Gabriel Bortoleto managing to get his Audi through at the expense of the second Racing Bull. The rest of the top 10 was pretty much as usual with Kimi Antonelli taking back his usual top spot.
Similar to the second practice session, the final qualifying session was disrupted by a red flag for gravel on track, although it didn't impact anyone as they had all returned to the pits. Isack Hadjar set no time in this session, using both of his runs to give Max Verstappen a tow in an attempt to challenge Antonelli. While this might have given Max a couple of extra tenths it wasn't quite enough and Kimi took yet another pole position in a season where Mercedes dominance has only been stifled by reliability issues. Lando Norris put himself right up there in the mix, although he will start in twelfth following his grid penalty.
Qualifying Results:
1: Antonelli
2: Verstappen
3: Norris +
4: Russell
5: Leclerc
6: Hamilton
7: Piastri
8: Lindblad
9: Bortoleto
10: Hadjar +
11: Lawson
12: Gasly
13: Colapinto
14: Hulkenberg
15: Sainz
16: Bearman
17: Albon
18: Ocon
19: Bottas
20: Perez
21: Alonso +
22: Stroll +
+ Grid penalties for engine component changes: Norris starts P12, Stroll P20, Hadjar P21, Alonso P22