MADRID, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Title contender Lewis Hamilton crashed his Ferrari in final practice for the Spanish Grand Prix at Madrid's new Formula One circuit on Saturday, halting the session with just over half an hour left, while Mercedes' championship leader Kimi Antonelli was fastest.
The seven-times world champion, a distant third in the overall standings, locked up and went into the barriers at the final corner. Hamilton managed to reverse out and tried to get the damaged Ferrari back to the Madring pitlane, virtually a whole lap, while ignoring team instructions to stop.
The Briton eventually did pull over, with the front wing still wedged under the car which also had a punctured front right tyre.
"Stop the car. Stop in the safest place possible," he had been told earlier.
"If I can make it back I will. If not, I will do it safely," replied Hamilton, who returned to the pits on the back of a moped after parking up.
The session was red-flagged and the clock then temporarily stopped for barrier repairs with 15 minutes to go.
When it re-started, Antonelli knocked Ferrari's Charles Leclerc off the top of the timesheets with a time of one minute and 32.797 seconds, 0.166 quicker than the Monegasque.
Antonelli is 66 points clear of teammate and closest rival George Russell after 13 rounds.
Haas's Bearman then brought out the red flags again in the final minute when he spun and hit the barriers backwards at Turn 11, the approach to La Monumental, the circuit's banked signature curve.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri was third quickest ahead of reigning champion and teammate Lando Norris with Red Bull's Max Verstappen fifth and Russell sixth.
Red Bull's Liam Lawson and Audi's Nico Hulkenberg were seventh and eighth, with Hamilton ninth and Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto completing the top 10.
Qualifying followed two hours later and will be crucial for Sunday's race, with overtaking likely to be difficult on a challenging layout that Russell said on Friday had less margin for error than Monaco because of the close walls but higher speeds involved.
"Nobody really knows what to expect. The session was tight. It’s about putting a lap together without mistakes and traffic," said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by Ken Ferris)
