The final practice session of the 2025 Formula 1 season at Abu Dhabi delivered more action than expected, as George Russell topped the timesheets by the narrowest of margins while several incidents left teams with work to do before Qualifying.
With air and track temperatures rising into the afternoon, the green light signaled the start of FP3, but most of the field initially remained in the garages, waiting for grip levels to improve.
Beginning the Running
Aston Martin kicked off the session with tyre scrubbing runs, continuing a trend seen all season as they focused on race preparation. Alpine soon joined the action on soft tyres, setting the early benchmarks.
McLaren were next to emerge and Lando Norris immediately showed pace on the softs as he slotted comfortably ahead of the Alpines with his first timed effort. His early lap was still shy of his FP1 times, but still had signs of good form.
Norris’ next push lap almost ended abruptly. He came upon Yuki Tsunoda at low speed on the racing line and was forced wide over the kerbs. The incident was noted and later confirmed for post-session review by the FIA stewards for potential impeding.
First Incident of the Day
When Red Bull finally sent Max Verstappen out, he quickly climbed to the top, setting the session’s initial benchmark. Lewis Hamilton also showed improved speed after Ferrari’s struggles on Friday, but his progress was short-lived.
Just before the halfway point, Hamilton dramatically spun at Turn 9, sliding into the barriers. The impact broke his front-right suspension and damaged the Ferrari’s wing. He climbed out unhurt, but Ferrari now face a repair job before Qualifying; a tough blow for a driver already eager to end a difficult campaign.
Session Resumes and Second Incident
Once running restarted, the focus turned to soft-tyre Qualifying simulations.
Oscar Piastri delivered a strong lap to go fastest initially, only for Norris to respond with a quicker one despite a mistake over the chicane kerbs. At that moment, McLaren locked out P1 and P2 with convincing pace.
But Russell unloaded a rapid lap to edge Norris by just 0.004s, demonstrating that the Mercedes may be right in the mix for pole later today. Surprisingly, Alonso was also able to climb to a P4.
In one of the session’s most surprising moments, rookie Kimi Antonelli collided with Tsunoda in the pit lane. Mercedes appeared to release their car into the path of the Red Bull, tearing off Antonelli’s front wing and potentially damaging Tsunoda’s floor and sidepod. This was also referred to stewards, one of multiple investigations pending after FP3.
Tense Qualifying Ahead at Abu Dhabi
As the chequered flag waved, the top three were separated by just over a tenth. With grip still tricky at Yas Marina, the stage is set for a thrilling final Qualifying session of the year. Russell may have the early edge but Norris, Piastri and Verstappen are all poised to challenge. And it yet remains to be seen who among the three will be taking the championship home.
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