Lewis Hamilton crashed into the barriers at the final corner during FP3 for the Spanish Grand Prix at Madring, triggering the session's second red flag. The impact broke Hamilton's front wing and punctured his front right tyre; Ferrari race engineer Carlo Santi radioed him to "stop in the safest place possible," but Hamilton tried to nurse the damaged car back to the pits and dragged the broken wing under the Ferrari for several minutes. He finally halted at Turn 15, well beyond the initial hit, and FP3 was stopped with 15 minutes and 30 seconds remaining on the clock. Williams boss James Vowles publicly said Hamilton should have stopped sooner, and race control has not confirmed whether stewards will investigate the incident. Alex Albon also hit the wall earlier in the session and required suspension repairs, leaving it unclear whether Williams would be ready when running resumes. Ferrari mechanics are racing to repair Hamilton's car ahead of qualifying, and a grid penalty for Sunday remains a live possibility pending stewards' findings.
