The Albany Gazette - Antonelli continues to set blazing pace in Belgian practice

The Italian teenager, who was fastest on Friday, clocked a best lap in one minute and 45.990 seconds to beat McLaren's resurgent defending world champion Lando Norris by 0.139 with four-time champion Max Verstappen third for Red Bull.

Norris has a 10-second grid penalty for Sunday's race.

George Russell worked his way through to finish fourth, three-tenths off the pace, having struggled to match the Antonelli's pace, with Lewis Hamilton fifth for Ferrari despite crashing heavily at the end of the session.

The seven-time champion lost control at the Fagnes chicane and ran wide, smacking the right rear of his car into the barriers, as Pierre Gasly did in his Alpine on Friday.

Hamilton was unhurt, but his car was badly damaged with only two hours for repairs ahead of qualifying later Saturday.

His Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc was sixth ahead of Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren, the two Audis of Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, and Isack Hadjar, who also faces a grid penalty, in the second Red Bull.

The session began slowly in mild, dry and sunny conditions with Valtteri Bottas leading out for Cadillac to clock the first lap before Hadjar on mediums delivered 1:48.231, a time beaten immediately by both Racing Bulls before the top guns joined the fray.

Twelve minutes had gone when Hamilton, his car dazzling in the Ardennes sunshine, took control in 1:47.436 ahead of Piastri and Hadjar. Lindblad then went faster before Hamilton responded, trimming his lap to 1:46.789, half a second clear of his compatriot.

It was the first sub-1:27 lap of the weekend but Antonelli, on his first flying lap, slashed seven-tenths out of Hamilton's time with 1:45.990 – an astonishing 1.3 seconds quicker than his Mercedes' team-mate Russell.

Verstappen was third, in 1:46.837, with Leclerc fourth, 1.132 adrift of the Italian's astonishing pace and Russell fifth. Only the leading three, on softs, had gone under 1:47 at this stage on what is regarded as a true drivers' circuit.

In this season's new 'hybrid era' of energy management, sensitivity and pure talent appear to flourish on some circuits more than others.

For a spell, the teams contented themselves with tyre evaluation by running on used softs to establish durability, while Norris, on a different plan, drove 13 laps on a set of mediums to gather data.

Verstappen then took new softs and enjoying tows from Leclerc and Bottas went second with 12 minutes remaining before Norris, back on softs, jumped to second with 1:46.129, just 0.139 adrift before the final drama.

(O.Robinson--TAG)