P1racenews AI automatic summary:
George Russell put himself in contention for pole in Abu Dhabi by topping FP3 as Lewis Hamilton crashed out for Ferrari.
The practice session came to a halt for almost 15 minutes following Lewis Hamilton’s high-speed crash at Turn 9, but he managed to exit the Ferrari unharmed, which requires reconstruction before the 14:00 GMT qualifying session, scheduled for 17:00 local time. Max Verstappen secured third place for Red Bull, closely trailing the leader, with Oscar Piastri coming in fifth, while Fernando Alonso secured the fourth spot with his Aston Martin. Despite a tight competition, the Mercedes driver set a blistering 1:23.334 lap time on soft tires, barely surpassing Lando Norris by a mere 0.004s to clinch the fastest time in the final practice session of the year. George Russell emerged as the fastest in the closing practice session ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, outperforming all three F1 title contenders. Yuki Tsunoda faced a summons to the stewards for potentially hazardous driving conduct, narrowly avoiding contact with Norris, who initially set the session’s fastest lap before further improvement. Hamilton’s day went downhill as he spun out at Turn 9 due to a suspected mechanical issue, resulting in a barrier collision and halting his rapid progress, yet he quickly regained composure and continued. The session resumed with a heightened sense of caution, as Alex Albon faced scrutiny for a possible unsafe release, while the challengers relentlessly pushed for top positions on the timesheets. The closing stages saw intense competition, with Piastri and Norris pulling out impressive lap times before Russell’s last-minute surge snatched the top spot by a minuscule margin of 0.004s. Kimi Antonelli’s pit-lane incident with Tsunoda raised concerns about potential penalty repercussions, adding another layer of drama to the final moments of the session.
