12:02
We're seeing some green microsectors and the occasional purple one on the screen, but no one is coming close to Antonelli.
Verstappen at Spa
© XPB Images
LIVE
F1 Belgian GP LIVE: Antonelli sets scorching pace in FP3
Live coverage of Saturday at the F1 Belgian Grand Prix
KEY MOMENTS
- Norris, Hadjar and Stroll take grid penalties
- Red Bull ditch 'Macarena' wing after Verstappen crash
- Verstappen fastest in FP1; Antonelli in FP2
The tenth round of the 2026 Formula 1 season takes place at the Belgian Grand Prix.
One of the most famous tracks on the F1 calendar, Spa-Francorchamps has played host to some truly iconic moments.
As ever, teams have brought a number of updates to the track, with McLaren bringing a new rear wing to test on Friday, making use of the long Kemmel Straight for data gathering. This wing, however, is understood not to be McLaren's 'Macarena' wing, which was taken to Austria but not used.
After Max Verstappen's crash at Silverstone, Red Bull has also elected to bring a more conventional wing to Belgium. In the wake of his off, the Dutchman branded the wing "super-dangerous", with Red Bull committing to a full investigation into the underlying problem.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has warned that the Silver Arrows must fix their reliability woes, with Ferrari now breathing down the neck of points-leader Kimi Antonelli after taking two wins from the last three weekends.
Verstappen initially led the way on Friday, before Antonelli unlocked pace in his Mercedes in the second session, with it appearing as though there is little to separate the top four teams on single-lap pace.
Lando Norris, Isack Hadjar, and Lance Stroll have already had grid penalties confirmed for taking power unit components beyond the pre-set limits, and it is expected that others may join this list by introducing new parts for final practice on Saturday morning.
2026 Belgian Grand Prix Saturday schedule
FP3 11:30am BST - 12:30pm BST
Qualifying: 3:00pm BST - 4:00pm BST
18 Jul 2026
12:01
Antonelli's time put him a staggering 0.799s clear of Hamilton in second. In F1 terms, that's a week and a half.
11:58
Antonelli is flying compared to Russell. He's six tenths up on his team-mate through sector one alone. Purple sector one, purple sector two, and purple sector three. A 1m45.990s sends him to the top, and he is around 1.3s clear of Russell. That is a chasm.
11:57
Hadjar's car is back in the pits properly, and the mechanics will be able to return the car to the garage.
11:56
Russell nears the end of his first lap, but it's a long way off of Hamilton's time. He goes to third place, and is four-tenths off.
11:55
Yellow flag in the pit lane, as Leclerc goes to fifth place.
Hadjar has stopped in the middle of the pit exit. He's the wrong side of the line for the Red Bull mechanics to get him back. He confirms that he has stalled. Maybe the marshals will push him back.
11:54
Enter Verstappen. The Red Bull driver goes second with a 1m47.167s, but Hamilton still enjoys a significant 0.378s margin at the front.
11:53
We'll never get tired of these views. As Ferrari continue, Colapinto and Stroll have times deleted for track limits. On such a long lap, that isn't something that can be afforded in qualifying later on.
11:51
As Hamilton impresses, that was a poor opening effort from Leclerc, who went to seventh place with a time over a second shy of his Ferrari team-mate. No sign of the Mercedes drivers yet.
11:48
Hamilton is improving on his second effort, responding after Lindblad goes fastest with a 1m47.342s. That was his second lap on the soft tyres, so the Pirelli rubber is lasting a decent amount of time out there.
But Hamilton replaces him, dropping the marker to a 1m46.789s.
11:45
Looking at Norris' effort, that's even more impressive in third place on the medium tyres. The step between compounds is around half a second.
11:44
After a lull in FP2 though, Hamilton is back. A 1m47.436s moves him to the top. Verstappen, Antonelli, Leclerc, and Russell are the only drivers yet to take to the track.
11:43
Highlighting the strength of Lawson's lap, Piastri goes second, three-tenths shy. Norris now separates the pair.
11:41
A set of strong early laps for the Racing Bulls drivers who again look to be enjoying a strong weekend. Lawson and Lindblad take the top two positions on soft tyres, over Hadjar, who was on mediums.
11:39
In the early exchanges, Hadjar is fastest with a 1m48.231s. The Red Bull driver is the only 'big hitter' to have set a time yet.
Gasly is on a timed lap now.
11:37
Perez has reported an odd feeling with his throttle. That's not what you want anywhere, but especially here.
11:35
Remarkably, Alpine didn't break the curfew to complete repairs on Gasly's car. He isn't on the track yet, but that will happen soon enough.
11:34
With teams generally having two sets of tyres to burn in FP3, running is often limited, with no one wanting to be the first driver out on the track. But speaking of this, here come Colapinto, Bottas, Perez, and Hadjar.
11:30
Green light for FP3
The session is go, and the track remains silent.
11:30
Unlike yesterday, there is a 0% chance of rain across the coming hour.
11:26
The music has played, the timing screens have lit up, and we're ready for final practice at the Belgian Grand Prix. Grab a drink and get comfortable!
11:23
Gasly ended Friday in the barriers with a snap of oversteer carrying a heavy penalty. This was the reaction in the Alpine garage, but all seems ok for the coming session. We'll find out soon if he has avoided a grid penalty with new power unit parts and a gearbox potentially needed in the repair work.
11:20
A difficult day yesterday for Russell, and a difficult morning too, as the paddock gates try to block his access. Is all of his bad luck out of the way for the weekend now?
11:18
15 minutes until the action begins again, so let's take a look at what the teams have been saying across social media.
11:09
We might not be quite over the defeat to Argentina yet, but Alonso is certainly ready for when Spain take them on in the World Cup final. Norris seemed to end the game quite quickly though, with his less-than-silky touch.