George Russell led the final practice session of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with the three title contenders following the Mercedes driver into the top five.
Russell saved his best lap until late and postponed taking his final set of new soft tires until the other front runners had shown their hand. The Brit set the benchmark at 1m23.334s, less than 0.3 seconds off Friday’s fastest lap, despite warmer and slower daytime conditions.
Lando Norris, who completed both Friday practice sessions, was second fastest, the championship leader just 0.004 seconds slower. The McLaren was much more adept at keeping the tires alive for the slow and twisty final sector, negating Mercedes’ gains on the straights in the middle split.
The difference was much the same with Max Verstappen, who was 0.124 seconds behind with a similar advantage on the straights, but weakness in the final sector, although the Dutchman was fastest in the first sector.
However, there are still issues facing the defending champions, with Verstappen reporting bouncing after his first flying lap on soft tyres.
“The problem is the car still jumps,” he said over the radio. “I can’t keep my feet on the pedals.”
Fernando Alonso improved late for Aston Martin to finish in fourth place, his deficit 0.251 seconds slower than Russell’s. It relegated Oscar Piastri to fifth in the order, the Australian 0.259 seconds off the pace. The Championship outside was faster than teammate Norris in the first and second sectors, but lost more than 0.3 seconds in the final split.
Haas teammates Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman were just 0.012 seconds further behind, the duo split by 0.004 seconds, continuing the team’s impressive Friday form.
Charles Leclerc was eighth and 0.341 seconds behind Ferrari, ahead of Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes, 0.373 slower than his teammate, the fastest in the session.
Antonelli’s flying lap was complicated by a pit lane crash in the closing minutes, when both he and Yuki Tsunoda were released from the pit lane from adjacent garages at approximately the same time. The team radio suggested that Antonelli had not been warned about the Red Bull Racing car before crashing into the sidepod, breaking his front wing and causing Tsunoda terminal damage, preventing him from completing his final soft run. The incident will go to the stewards after the session.
It is the second incident involving Tsunoda, with the Japanese driver also accused of impeding Norris at the start of the session when he was caught on the racing line between Turns 11 and 12, forcing the title leader to take evasive action off the circuit.
Alex Albon completed the top 10 for Williams – he will also face the stewards for an unsafe release from the pit lane – ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto, Carlos Sainz, Nico Hulkenberg and Lance Stroll.
Liam Lawson led Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly.
Lewis Hamilton finished 18th after crashing out of practice midway through the hour. The Briton’s Ferrari spun loose as he entered Turn 19 – a 180km/h bend – and got stuck in the barriers, triggering a 13-minute red flag.
“Something’s bent in the front and broken in the back,” he radioed before pulling himself out of the wreckage. Sparks were seen coming from the rear of his car as he straddled the curb upon entry, indicating the car bottomed out before being sent into the bend.
Hamilton finished fourth and fractionally faster than teammate Leclerc at the time, before sliding down on the restart.
Franco Colapinto finished 19th, ahead of the compromised Tsunoda.
RESULTS
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