Lewis Hamilton disobeys Ferrari orders as Kimi Antonelli reigns supreme in double-red flagged FP3

Kimi Antonelli went fastest in the final free practice session at the Spanish Grand Prix, besting Charles Leclerc by almost two-tenths of a second in Madrid.

Oscar Piastri went third-quickest at the all-new Madring, ahead of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen in a twice-stopped and extended FP3.

Lewis Hamilton, who finished down in ninth, caused the second red flag of the F1 portion of the weekend in the Spanish capital, after crashing into the barriers on the outside of the final corner with just under 25 minutes gone.

After a 20-minute delay, the FIA opted to temporarily suspend the session with a quarter of an hour remaining, in order to prevent further loss of running.

The Ferrari driver, having attempted to limp back around to the pits with the front wing of his SF-26 tucked up beneath it, repeatedly ignored instructions from the Scuderia's pit wall to park up, which came after formal requests from the race director.

He eventually complied, but the stewards may take a dim view of his actions. Having been denied the opportunity to end the session and having damaged his car, the officials could decide to hand him a sporting punishment, which could be as severe as a grid penalty.

However, Hamilton has yet to be noted, so he may conceivably avoid any investigation into the incident.

With less than a minute remaining, Ollie Bearman found the wall at Turn 11, bringing out another red flag and ending the session.

Check out the full FP3 report from the Spanish Grand Prix at the Madring below!

First third

Following his shunt in FP2, Arvid Lindblad would have a late start to the final hour of practice. Racing Bulls, despite changing the chassis on his car, opted not to break curfew last night, meaning the team's mechanics had a busy morning.

However, the British driver would not initially miss much, with the circuit remaining characteristically quiet to start FP3.

It would be over five minutes before the first driver would emerge. Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto ventured out to get the ball rolling, soon to be joined by team-mate Nico Hulkenberg.

On medium tyres, both put in 1:35.7s to begin, some way off the ultimate pace seen on the first day of running.

Interestingly, the German team opted to use a set of hard tyres for each driver on Friday, whereas all other teams did not touch the white-walled Pirellis. Will that prove to be a strategic masterstroke later in the weekend?

Alex Albon lightly hit the wall in the final sector with around 15 minutes on the clock, but it was enough for him to return his Williams to the pits for a closer inspection. The Grove-based team later confirmed the contact at the rear-left corner had ended his session, due to a broken rear axle and suspension.

With the entire field bar Verstappen and Lindblad having come out on circuit, Ferrari would leave the way as the session approached the 20-minute mark. However, Hamilton's 1:34.284 was still some six-tenths off Antonelli's best time from FP2.

Soon after, the Mercedes driver would bring the hammer down further, going just two milliseconds shy of his aforementioned best time on Friday.

Sainz, in the second FW48, had a sketchy near-miss into the uphill Turn 7, braking heavily and locking up to narrowly avoid hitting the wall head-on.

Midpoint of the session

Seconds after the session ticked past the 20-minute mark, Leclerc posted the quickest time of the weekend so far, +0.330 faster than Antonelli's FP2 time, with a 1:33.332.

Hamilton would trigger the second F1 red flag of the weekend soon after, crashing his Ferrari at the final corner. Despite getting the SF-26 going again, the stoppage had already been triggered.

With his front wing caught under his car, the seven-time F1 drivers' champion was clearly instructed by the Scuderia to park up, putting an end to his session.

However, he would ignore those orders for over half the lap, insisting he could make it back to the pits for the final half an hour of running.

He eventually acquiesced to the Italian team's demands, but put himself at risk of further punishment from the stewards for driving in an unsafe condition.

With potential floor damage as well, Hamilton now faced the worst of both worlds, having lost any opportunity to do late-session qualifying simulations.

Final 15

With the clock stopped at 15:38 left to run after the FIA decided to halt proceedings, the session resumed two minutes after it was originally scheduled to end, at 13:32 local time.

Verstappen, having only completed two reconnaissance laps to that point, was eager to get going, and immediately went third fastest.

The delay worked in Lindblad's favour. The Racing Bulls driver emerged for the first time in the session, having been aided by the session suspension.

Leclerc remained top as the times came tumbling down, the nine-time grand prix winner dipping into the 1:32s, with a 1:32.963.

Half a second separated the top six, with both McLarens and Mercedes joining Verstappen, who brought up the rear of that group.

However, the times would continue to drop in the final few moments of the extended session, with Antonelli ultimately conquering FP3.

With under a minute remaining, Bearman crashed heavily at Turn 11, destroying his Haas and putting his participation in qualifying later under threat.