Charles Leclerc characterized Ferrari as “nowhere” after McLaren clinched yet another one-two finish in the final practice session of the season ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Following Friday’s dominance by Lando Norris, it was Oscar Piastri who stole the spotlight in FP3, setting the fastest lap of the weekend so far with a 1:23.433, nearly two-tenths clear of his teammate. Ferrari, needing a one-two finish in the race to challenge McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship, struggled to make an impact. Carlos Sainz ended the session fifth, while Leclerc languished in ninth.
The McLaren duo’s closest competitors were Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes and Max Verstappen of Red Bull, though both trailed Piastri’s pace by a substantial four-tenths of a second. The session itself unfolded in the heat of the day, with track temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius, conditions far removed from those expected for qualifying and the race.
The first 15 minutes saw little activity, with only the Aston Martins and Alpines taking to the track early. Jack Doohan and Pierre Gasly set initial lap times for Alpine before other teams began to venture out. As the session progressed and track conditions improved, Kevin Magnussen briefly led the timesheets. In his final Formula 1 race, the Haas driver posted a 1:24.470 on soft tires, though this time was nearly a second off Norris’s benchmark from FP2.
Carlos Sainz and Verstappen initially followed Magnussen on the timesheets, despite running on medium compounds. Ferrari experienced a scare when wisps of smoke appeared from the rear of Sainz’s SF-24, prompting concerns after Leclerc’s earlier ERS issue had already resulted in a 10-place grid penalty. Fortunately, Sainz quickly returned to the track, dispelling fears of a more significant problem.
The final 20 minutes saw teams switch to low-fuel, soft-tire qualifying simulations. Alex Albon briefly claimed the top spot for Williams with a 1:24.378 but ultimately finished 12th. Mercedes’ George Russell improved by three-tenths but was swiftly eclipsed by Piastri, who delivered a staggering lap over six-tenths quicker. Lando Norris followed suit but fell short of his teammate’s time by 0.193 seconds.
Max Verstappen, looking for another turnaround akin to his Qatar performance, ended the session four-tenths adrift, while Hamilton managed to close the gap with a late soft-tire push, securing third, just under four-tenths behind Piastri. Carlos Sainz, despite a strong middle sector, was unable to match McLaren’s pace and finished 0.438 seconds off the top. Leclerc, visibly frustrated, responded to Piastri’s lap time over the radio with the blunt assessment: “We are nowhere.”
Behind the frontrunners, Russell settled for sixth, trailing Hamilton by a quarter of a second. Haas drivers Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen occupied seventh and eighth, offering the team a glimmer of hope in their fight for sixth in the Constructors’ Championship. Leclerc finished ninth, with Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez rounding out the top ten, more than four-tenths behind Verstappen.
Elsewhere, Jack Doohan impressed on his race weekend debut, finishing just 0.026 seconds behind teammate Gasly in 13th and 14th, respectively. At the rear of the field, Williams’ Franco Colapinto struggled, ending the session over 1.3 seconds off the pace.
Leave a Reply