P1racenews AI automatic summary:
George Russell denied Lando Norris a free practice clean sweep ahead of the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with a late lap, after Lewis Hamilton crashed midway through the hour.
“George Russell’s late lap denied Lando Norris a free practice clean sweep ahead of the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Lewis Hamilton crashed midway through the hour.
Russell topped the timesheets with a 1:23.334s time, just 0.004s ahead of Norris and a tenth of a second faster than Max Verstappen in third place.
Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri followed in fourth and fifth, with Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman in sixth and seventh positions.
Hamilton spun at Turn 9 due to taking too much curb and turbulent air from a car in front, leading to an early end to his session and Ferrari having to repair his car before qualifying.
The incident involving Hamilton affected Andrea Kimi Antonelli and led to a pit lane issue with Yuki Tsunoda, with Mercedes now under investigation.
Allex Albon was tenth, Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto was the highest-placed driver from the team, while Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg were 12th and 13th respectively.”
