Hello and welcome to this Total Motorsport live blog for Free Practice 3 at the F1 2025 Spanish GP from Barcelona as teams and drivers gear up for the final Formula 1 race of the European triple-header in what could be final outing at the circuit.
Oscar Piastri laid down a marker in Barcelona by clocking the fastest time in FP2 at the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix, outpacing George Russell and Max Verstappen by nearly three-tenths of a second. Lando Norris was quickest in Friday’s morning session as McLaren again look the team to beat.
Teams spent much of Friday gathering data in light of a new FIA Technical Directive targeting front wing flexibility, with cars running various tyre compounds throughout the two sessions.
Total-Motorsport.com’s F1 2025 Spanish GP live updates for Free Practice 3 will offer fans unparalleled insight into team strategies, reliability concerns, and potential frontrunners.
So stay tuned with us as FP3 at the F1 2025 Spanish GP unfolds live from Barcelona.
F1 Spanish GP 2025 Free Practice 3 LIVE: Latest Updates
RESULTS: Check out how they finished in FP3
Oscar Piastri was quickest in Barcelona and put his McLaren top of the Spanish GP 2025 Free Practice 3 results, in a devastating statement ahead of qualifying.
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He was miles ahead of Lando Norris in the other MCL39, George Russell in the Mercedes, with Max Verstappen third fastest for Red Bull in the second practice session of the F1 weekend.
Check out the full Spanish GP 2025 Free Practice 3 results from the second practice session in Barcelona below.
CHEQUERED FLAG: Oscar Piastri tops FP3 in Spain
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri proves to be the person to beat at the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix once again by topping FP3 with a devastating 1:12.387, putting him half a second ahead of his teammate.
More impressively? The Australian is an astonishing 0.743 ahead of Charles Leclerc, who himself was just ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is also a second off the pace, and Lewis Hamilton is struggling for pace too.
It seems as though the ball is firmly in the court of McLaren ahead of qualifying, which begins at 16:00 CET in Spain.
Four minutes to go: Russell nowhere near either
George Russell similarly can’t get anywhere near the pace of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the front of the pack in the McLarens.
That’s despite the Mercedes driver leading and being competitive across large swathes of this session.
Are we expecting an exclusive fight for pole between the papaya-coloured cars at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya?
Eight minutes to go: Hamilton only 8th
Lewis Hamilton puts in two green sectors but that’s only good enough to be 1.140 seconds off the pace of Oscar Piastri’s McLaren, after setting a yellow sector three.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc is also 0.743 off. That’s a worrying margin for the Scuderia.
They will want a big transformation of fortunes ahead of qualifying.
11 minutes to go: McLaren put in their qualifying simulation
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri has absolutely blitzed the opposition with a 1:12.387 with purple sectors all around the track, that’s a devastating time.
He’s 0.526 up on Lando Norris in the other MCL39, 0.743 ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and 0.988 up on Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.
The four-time champion is closer to 17th than top of the timing boards.
Engine modes turned up, surely?
15 minutes to go: Norris almost crashes!
Lando Norris has to catch a big snap from his McLaren MCL39, a few more centimetres of rear sliding and he could have potentially been spinning off towards the wall.
Fortunately, the Brit scoops it up and continues on his merry way on what was supposed to be his first soft tyre run.
He’s currently sixth-fastest.
16 minutes to go: Statement from Verstappen
Anyone thinking Max Verstappen isn’t having a good weekend might want to starch that idea from their minds.
The Dutchman comes out onto the track and in his first push lap, goes top of the timing boards for Red Bull.
The four-time world champion puts in a 1:13.375 and beats George Russell by 0.021. He’s still gunning for pole.
20 minutes to go: No changes at the top
Drivers appear to have stopped focusing on their qualifying laps at the moment, with no changes in the timings in recent minutes.
Max Verstappen, however, is coming out onto the track just now.
The Red Bull will want to get some rapid times on the board after missing a lot of running.
George Russell remains top of the timing boards with a 1:13.386.
26 minutes to go: Where is Max Verstappen?
Max Verstappen is yet to make an impression in this Free Practice session for Red Bull, languishing 0.720 off on the medium tyres.
The Dutchman hasn’t even come close to the top of the times and footage shows that the front-wing is currently off his car.
Is the weekend getting away from the defending world champion?
Can he fight back in Spain?
29 minutes to go: Strong form from Mercedes
Mercedes are turning up the heat in Spain with George Russell topping the times, now joined just behind by his teammate, Kimi Antonelli.
The Silver Arrows have both opted for the softs, and they’re currently half a second up on the McLaren of Lando Norris.
Things are looking good for the Silver Arrows so far.
31 minutes to go: Problems for Piastri
Oscar Piastri is back in the garage with a problem on his MCL39, with something flying around his feet.
The championship leader won’t appreciate losing any time here.
He’s currently down in 12th and 1.1 seconds off the pace of Mercedes at the front.
36 minutes to go: Russell takes over at the top
Mercedes are continuing their resurgence at this Spanish Grand Prix weekend as George Russell takes over at the top of the times ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris by 0.473 with a 1:13.396.
Then comes Leclerc, Hamilton, Sainz, Verstappen, Alonso, Albon, Hadjar and Stroll to close out the Top 10 as we approach the half-way mark.
Are the Silver Arrows in the fight for pole?
40 minutes to go: Norris bumped by ex-teammate
Lando Norris’ time at the top of the charts was a very brief one as Carlos Sainz sticks his Williams top with a 1:14.124, clearing the McLaren by 0.416 on the soft tyres.
Fans will remember the pair’s very competitive time at Woking from 2019-2020, whilst they also enjoyed a fun and charismatic relationship away from the track.
That ended when Sainz headed off to Ferrari in 2021, where he remained until 2024.
42 minutes to go: Lando Norris puts a solid time down
Now some of the bigger hitters are out onto the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, as Lando Norris heads out in his McLaren car.
The Brit bangs in a 1:14.540 on the medium tyres to send his MCL39 to the top of the board by 0.311 ahead of Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda.
Then come the Haas pair of Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman, almost a second off the pace.
46 minutes to go: Why are teams slow out?
Teams lagging in their garages at the start of Free Practice 3 sessions is not a surprising thing to see in Formula 1, with only a selection of circuits used for the full hour. So, why do they wait?
Often, it comes down to the conditions. If the track isn’t considered representative for qualifying or the race, then teams do not want to send their cars out there and risk a crash.
A second reason is tyres. With a limited allocation available across the weekend, teams don’t want to burn through them – especially if they aren’t really going to learn anything.
And a third reason is track conditions. If the circuit is too dirty, then drivers can’t learn anything and expose themselves to the risk of a crash. Thus, sitting in the garage is preferred – especially at locations such as Spain, where it’s usually baking hot in May/June.
50 minutes to go: No serious times yet
The big hitters are yet to come out onto the track so we don’t have any big lap times on the board at the moment with just two cars currently out there, which are Gabriel Bortoleto and Franco Colapinto.
The Sauber leads the Alpine and it’s Brazil beating Argentina, as Bortoleto’s 1:15.244 tops the times by 0.150 to the car behind.
53 minutes to go: Just four cars on track
We have just four cars on the track as things stand, with Gabriel Bortoleto topping the times ahead of Franco Colapinto.
Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso, the Aston Martin pair, are also out there.
More drivers are getting ready though, so expect a busier track soon.
GREEN FLAG: Free Practice 3 begins in Spain
Franco Colapinto heads out onto the track for Alpine as this FP3 session gets underway at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
It’s a big weekend for the man from Argentina, who needs to produce a response after previous difficult outing.
He was brought in to offer more pace and consistency than Jack Doohan, but has, so far, failed to live up to the Pierre Gasly comparison.
McLaren send a strong message… By doing nothing
McLaren proved to be the team to beat in Free Practice 2 by a comfortable few tenths of a second between Oscar Piastri and Mercedes’ George Russell.
The scary part? They are the only team to have brought zero upgrades to this race weekend.
That’s a pretty ominous warning for the rest of the grid: How quick can they get when they put new parts on the MCL39 car?
A big session for Red Bull
Can Red Bull pull off one of their overnight masterclasses at the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix weekend to hurl themselves into the fight for pole position?
FP3 could be critical for providing Max Verstappen with the balance he wants from his RB21, as well as for Yuki Tsunoda as the latter experienced a tough Friday.
The Dutchman, and defending four-time champion, is looking for his fourth win in a row at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this weekend.
READ: Christian Horner reveals his Red Bull future
Red Bull’s team principal, Christian Horner, has been linked with a move to Ferrari ahead of the 2026 Formula 1 regulations change.
But are the rumours true?
Here’s what the 51-year-old had to say about them below:
Welcome to the blog!
Can Max Verstappen close up to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in a bid to add a bit of jeopardy to the championship leader’s weekend at this 2025 Spanish Grand Prix?
Or will the young Australian only continue extending his advantage at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya? And what can the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari do, can they get into the mix for pole?
We’ll find out later on Saturday, but first up is FP3 in Montemelo. Track live updates here with Total-Motorsport.com.
Where to Watch 2025 Spanish GP FP3?
For viewers in the United States, 2025 Spanish GP Free Practice 3 will be shown on ESPN2, with streaming coverage via ESPN+.
In the UK, all sessions, including 2025 Spanish GP FP3 are available on Sky Sports F1. And fans in Australia can catch all the action on Fox Sports 506, Kayo Sports, and Foxtel.
What time is FP3 at the 2025 Spanish GP?
Free Practice 3 for the 2025 Spanish GP begins at 12:30pm local time on Saturday in Barcelona. That means a similar start for F1 fans in the UK, where FP3 begins at 11:30am on Saturday morning.
Over in the USA, the 2025 Spanish GP FP1 session begins at 6:30am ET on Saturday morning, which means a very early morning 3:30am PT start for those on the West Coast
