Russell fastest as Antonelli left frustrated in Barcelona final practice

George Russell was fastest from Oscar Piastri as championship leader Kimi Antonelli was left frustrated with traffic after final practice at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

Russell was two tenths faster than Piastri to establish himself as firm favourite for qualifying, which takes place later on Saturday at 3pm (build-up from 2.15pm), live on Sky Sports F1 and Main Event.

The British driver has failed to score points in the last two grands prix, so is hoping to make inroads into his 68-point deficit to Antonelli, who hit out at traffic during final practice.

Barcelona-Catalunya GP: UK schedule and how to watch on Sky Sports

F1 2026 standings | F1 2026 Calendar | F1 Gossip Column

Download the Sky Sports app for expert analysis, best video & more📱

Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW📺

Antonelli was twice forced to abort his flying lap towards the end of the session as other cars got in his way, leaving him seventh in the classification and slightly on the backfoot as he did not complete a full lap at qualifying speed.

"Oh my god, mate. It's unbelievable! Why do I always get traffic?! I don't understand, everyone always in the lap," he said on the radio.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

It was in contrast to Russell, who had a beaming smile after getting out of the car, as Mercedes hit back following McLaren's strong Friday pace where Lando Norris was quickest in second practice.

Charles Leclerc was 0.243s behind Russell in the upgraded Ferrari, while Norris was 0.246s off the pace - both teams losing time to Mercedes in the middle sector which features some long-radius corners.

Also See:

Stream every F1 race with NOW

Barcelona-Catalunya GP schedule and how to watch

The Martin Brundle column

Get Sky Sports on WhatsApp

Sky Sports F1's Karun Chandhok said: "It's gone well for George so far this weekend.

"Antonelli wasn't in FP1, but Russell looked comfortable and competitive from the first run, which wasn't the case in Miami, Canada or Monaco. This is a much more encouraging weekend for George."

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Lewis Hamilton's difficult weekend continued as he was seven tenths behind Russell in fifth, with Max Verstappen in sixth which confirmed Red Bull are not set to contend for the top positions.

The other Red Bull of Isack Hadjar was eighth, Audi's Nico Hulkenberg continued to have a strong weekend in ninth and Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad was 10th.

There was a scary moment for Valtteri Bottas after he suffered a brake failure and beached his Cadillac in the gravel at Turn 10, causing the only red flag of the weekend so far.

Barcelona-Catalunya GP Practice Three Timesheet

Driver

Team

Time

1) George Russell

Mercedes

1:15.679

2) Oscar Piastri

McLaren

+0.214

3) Charles Leclerc

Ferrari

+0.243

4) Lando Norris

McLaren

+0.245

5) Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari

+0.702

6) Max Verstappen

Red Bull

+0.755

7) Kimi Antonelli

Mercedes

+0.821

8) Isack Hadjar

Red Bull

+1.005

9) Nico Hulkenberg

Audi

+1.282

10) Arvid Lindblad

Racing Bulls

+1.341

11) Gabriel Bortoleto

Audi

+1.348

12) Liam Lawson

Racing Bulls

+1.645

13) Pierre Gasly

Alpine

+1.904

14) Franco Colapinto

Alpine

+1.946

15) Carlos Sainz

Williams

+2.051

16) Esteban Ocon

Haas

+2.361

17) Oliver Bearman

Haas

+2.712

18) Alex Albon

Williams

+2.733

19) Sergio Perez

Cadillac

+3.012

20) Fernando Alonso

Aston Martin

+3.817

21) Valtteri Bottas

Cadillac

+4.283

22) Lance Stroll

Aston Martin

+4.424

Sky Sports F1's Barcelona-Catalunya GP schedule

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Saturday June 13

1.10pm: F2 Sprint*

2.15pm: Barcelona-Catalunya GP Qualifying build-up*

3pm: BARCELONA-CATALUNYA GP QUALIFYING*

5pm: Ted's Qualifying Notebook

Sunday June 14

7.35am: F3 Feature Race

9.05am: Porsche Supercup

10.20am: F2 Feature Race

12.30pm: Barcelona-Catalunya GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*

2pm: THE BARCELONA-CATALUNYA GRAND PRIX*

4pm: Barcelona-Catalunya GP reaction: Chequered Flag

5pm: Ted's Notebook

*Also on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1 is in Spain for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix with live coverage on Sky Sports F1. Sunday's race starts at 2pm. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime