Antonelli tops final Spanish GP practice after lengthy interruption

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli topped the final practice for the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid on Saturday after the session had a long interruption due to lengthy works to repair the barriers after Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari crashed.

The Mercedes driver clocked the fastest time of 1 minute 32.797 seconds, beating the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc by 0.166 seconds. Oscar Piastri of McLaren was third, followed by team-mate and defending champion Lando Norris.

Max Verstappen of Red Bull was fifth, and George Russell was sixth in the second Mercedes.

The session was suspended with some 36 minutes left on the clock after Hamilton locked up and went straight into the wall at the final corner, triggering the red flag.

He managed to reverse out and started to make his way back to the boxes and, despite being told by the team to stop the car, Hamilton kept going. Ferrari, however, persuaded him to park up and let the car be removed from the track.

The seven-time world champion was probably trying to return on his own, so the team could fix the car, and he could resume the session.

It's unclear whether Hamilton will be handed a penalty for driving a car in unsafe conditions.

The clock initially kept ticking down, but it was eventually fixed at 15 minutes 38 seconds and the session was stopped because race organizers struggled to repair the barriers.

Practice resumed after an interruption of more than 40 minutes.

Hamilton's crash was the second F1 incident in the new Madrid track, which is making its debut on the calendar and has been described as "crazy," "scary," and the season's "most complicated."

A third crash happened at the end of third practice as Oliver Bearman of Hass hit the barriers and slid down them.

On Saturday, Arvid Lindblad of Racing Bulls also crashed out after hitting the wall.

The circuit in Madrid it's considered very challenging because of its fast turns, and there are also several sections where drivers can barely see what's ahead of them. Run-off areas are also scarce.

Qualifying for Sunday's race is later on Saturday.

After coming from 19th to claim a sensational win on home soil at the Italian GP last weekend, Antonelli tops the drivers' standings 66 points ahead of Mercedes team-mate Russell.