FP3: Russell beats Norris to top spot as Hamilton crashes out of final practice in Abu Dhabi
George Russell stormed to the top of the timesheets in the final practice session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, marginally leading Lando Norris and Max Verstappen ahead of an all-important Qualifying hour.
The Mercedes driver found a small advantage of 0.004s over Norris in the closing minutes of FP3, ending with a time of 1m 23.334s on a set of soft tyres, leading the way in another remarkably competitive session.
It was a quiet start as many drivers took their time in the garage before heading out on track – the Aston Martin pair of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll were the first to make a short appearance, repeating their usual practice routine of scrubbing the tyres.
After a lacklustre opening day for Alpine, Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto elected to put in some laps early doors with the aim of troubleshooting some of their issues, which saw them end Friday at the back of the field in Renault’s final round as an engine supplier.
Norris’ initial effort saw him shoot to the top of the times with a 1m 24.728s, but it was far off his best lap in the previous practice sessions, with times expected to tumble as the track evolved across the hour.
His team mate Oscar Piastri, who missed out on FP1 for Pato O’Ward, found himself 0.4s adrift before Norris improved his time, fighting oversteer in the final sector. Norris then had a near-miss with Yuki Tsunoda, who failed to pull aside and let the McLaren past, forcing him into evasive action – the outgoing Red Bull driver raised his hand in apology and was later noted for impeding.
As the circuit gradually got busier, Ollie Bearman quickly proved that his pace in FP2 wasn’t a fluke as his first lap was just 0.008s slower than Norris’ effort, before Verstappen stormed to P1 just before the halfway point. The Haas wasn’t the only surprise at the front, with Stroll demoting him to second following a rapid lap on the red-walled soft tyres.
The laps were coming in thick and fast with everyone making the most of the final opportunity to prepare for Qualifying, but Lewis Hamilton found the limit at Turn 9 as he suffered a high speed spin and went careering into the barrier. He was fortunately uninjured, reporting: “Something buckled at the front and snapped the rear.”
The remaining drivers lost valuable time as they returned to the pits while his damaged Ferrari was recovered, leaving them keen to make the most of the final quarter of the session once the pit exit reopened.
Piastri was the first to do so, jumping from P18 to P1 to go half a second clear of Verstappen on a fresh set of tyres. He didn’t stay on top for long as Norris, also on new tyres, set a 1m 23.338s to reclaim first position – his final sector alone was three tenths faster than his team mate.
The drama wasn’t just confined to the track as Mercedes youngster Kimi Antonelli was released straight into Tsunoda’s path in the pitlane, crashing into the side of the Red Bull and damaging his own front wing in the process.
His team mate Russell then charged to P1 in the last few minutes of FP3, with Alonso taking a high-flying fourth place behind Norris and Verstappen, with the lead Red Bull just over a tenth away from Russell’s pace-setting lap.
Piastri ended down in fifth ahead of the impressive Haas duo of Esteban Ocon and Bearman. Charles Leclerc, Antonelli and Alex Albon rounded out the top 10 in an eventful session where just 0.388s covered the front half of the field.
The drivers and teams now have just over a couple of hours to regroup before Qualifying gets underway at 1800 local time.
