FP3: Russell beats Norris and Verstappen in final practice
Mercedes driver George Russell set the benchmark in the final one-hour practice session at this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, usurping title contenders Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.
Mercedes driver George Russell came out on top in the final hour of practice at the Yas Marina Circuit, pipping F1 title favourite Lando Norris and Max Verstappen in FP3 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver set a time of 1m 23.334s, edging out the McLaren driver by just 0.004s, while the Red Bull racer was a further tenth of a second behind.
Despite having sat out the opening practice, Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso ended up in an impressive fourth position, ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri and the Haas duo of Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman.
Ferrari endured an up-and-down session in the final hour of practice. Although the Scuderia displayed improved pace at the beginning of the session, Charles Leclerc was unable to finish higher than eighth while Lewis Hamilton suffered a high-speed crash at Turn 9 halfway through the session, ending up in the barriers.
There was drama after the session was restarted as Mercedes youngster Kimi Antonelli was released straight into Yuki Tsunoda’s path in the pitlane, crashing into the side of the Red Bull and damaging his own front wing in the process.
The Mercedes driver picked up damage to his front wing which was quickly replaced, allowing Antonelli to set the ninth quickest time on his second fresh set of soft tyres.
By contrast, the floor on Tsunoda's RB21 picked up significant damage, forcing the Japanese driver to sit out the closing stages of the one-hour session.
