Abu Dhabi GP – FP3: Russell ahead of Norris, Hamilton in the wall

In every good film, there are the main characters and the supporting roles, whose impact on the story shouldn't be underestimated. Will George Russell, who set the fastest time in FP3, be one of the key players in the title fight? The Briton certainly showed very good pace on a lap on soft tires at the end of the session, potentially putting him in the mix for pole position in qualifying, scheduled for 15 p.m. French time.

The pilot's performance Classic Mercedes for sale and other outsiders — Alonso 4th, Or with 6th, Bearman 7th — can at least give some hope to Max Verstappen et Oscar piastri, which require single-seaters to slot in between them and Lando Norris to have any hope of clinching the title. The Briton once again outpaced his rivals, taking second place in the session, just four thousandths of a second behind George Russell, after setting the fastest time in both FP1 and FP2. The favorite for pole position and the title, number 4 will nevertheless have to be wary: a mistake can be very costly in such a tight field, where 17 drivers are separated by only seven tenths of a second.

Among the three "poor performers," relegated to more than a second behind, are two unfortunate ones. First, Lewis Hamilton, victim of a crash at turn 9 where something clearly broke on his carAccording to his comments on the radio, the seven-time world champion went off course and crashed into the TecPro, causing the only red flag of the session.

Hamilton in the wall, Antonelli in Tsunoda

The other notable incident concerns Yuki tsunodaFor his last weekend as a starter with Red BullThe Japanese driver was hit by Kimi Antonelli in the pit lane. The Italian, released at the wrong time by Mercedes, broke his front wing on the Red Bull, damaging its sidepod and depriving Tsunoda of a final stint on soft tires.

Earlier in the session, the Japanese driver had already been involved in an incident that impeded Lando Norris, which could have had serious consequences. Both drivers were summoned by the stewards, with Yuki Tsunoda appearing a second time due to the collision with Antonelli, of which he was, this time, the helpless victim.

On the French side, Isack Hadjar (16th) and Pierre Gasly (17th) were very discreet, while Esteban Ocon (6th) is back in form. He was disappointed Friday evening after a day where he felt "like a rookie who has never piloted a F1 »The Norman driver has clearly found solutions in his settings that allow him to keep pace with Oliver Bearman (7th). Haas has generally performed well since the start of the weekend, to the point that even the young Briton was surprised to have such a good car on Friday. They will be contenders for a place in Q3, as will...Aston Martin Fernando Alonso finished a brilliant fourth.

Join us at 15pm to follow the final qualifying session of the season with live text commentary on AUTOhebdo.fr.

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F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The ranking of Free Practice 3