Lewis Hamilton crashed into the barriers at the final corner during FP3 for the Madrid Grand Prix, breaking off his front wing and puncturing the front-right tyre. Ferrari race engineer Carlo Santi radioed Hamilton to "stop in the safest place possible," but Hamilton attempted to nurse the damaged Ferrari back to the pits and finally halted at Turn 15 after dragging the broken wing for several minutes. The incident triggered the second red flag of the weekend and stopped FP3 with 15 minutes and 30 seconds remaining, further disrupting a tight Saturday schedule ahead of qualifying. Alex Albon also hit the wall earlier in the same session and required suspension repairs, leaving his running status unclear when practice resumes. Williams boss James Vowles publicly said Hamilton should have stopped sooner, and race control has not yet confirmed whether the stewards will open an investigation or impose a grid penalty; Ferrari mechanics are racing to repair the car before qualifying.
