Abu Dhabi.. – George Russell (Mercedes) closed the last free practice of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with an impeccable lap that left him at the top of the time sheet, in a session marked by a growing pace, a harmless accident by Lewis Hamilton and the open fight for the title between the McLaren drivers.
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Russell stopped the clock at
1:23.334, enough to beat championship leader
Lando Norris by just four thousandths, who once again proved consistent in all kinds of conditions. The Dutchman
Max Verstappen, second in the World Championship just 12 points behind, was third in a session that, although held during the day and without race conditions, left important readings.
Alonso, competitive and constant
The Spaniard
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) signed the
fourth best time, 25 hundredths of a second behind Russell, after completing 17 solid laps on soft tires. Although the test is not usually decisive, the two-time world champion showed enough pace to aspire to a privileged place in the night classification.
His compatriot
Carlos Sainz, now at Williams, closed the session in sixth place, 690 thousandths of a second behind, showing progress in short runs and good adaptation to the Yas Marina asphalt.
Piastri doesn’t give up in the fight for the title
Australian
Oscar Piastri, still with mathematical options to be crowned this Sunday, placed fifth, completing a competitive block for McLaren. He is 16 points behind Norris and arrives with confidence to the decisive qualifying round.
A Scare for Hamilton and a Brief Red Flag
The only moment of tension came midway through the training session, when
Lewis Hamilton lost control of his Ferrari entering turn 9 and ended up against the barriers. The impact caused a temporary red flag, although the seven-time world champion was unharmed and his single-seater will be repaired for qualifying.
Colapinto continues his learning
Argentinian
Franco Colapinto (Alpine) finished nineteenth, 1.167 seconds behind the best time, accumulating 18 valuable laps in his consolidation process within the category.
All set for the decisive classification
The battle for pole position will take place at
6:00 PM local time (3:00 PM CET / 2:00 PM GMT), already under the spotlights and with conditions more similar to those of the race. With the championship still open and times so close, Abu Dhabi promises a day of high tension.
Russell stopped the clock at 1:23.334, enough to beat championship leader Lando Norris by just four thousandths, who once again proved consistent in all kinds of conditions. The Dutchman Max Verstappen, second in the World Championship just 12 points behind, was third in a session that, although held during the day and without race conditions, left important readings.
