With Practice Three about to get under way of at the 5.281-kilometre Yas Marina Circuit on Yas Island, it was worth remembering that the sweltering conditions the session took place in were not representative of those we will see during Qualifying and Sunday’s race.
Both of those will take place in the Abu Dhabi evening, under the spectacular lights of the Yas Marina Circuit. However, this session did provide a crucial opportunity for the likes of Ferrari to test overnight setup changes
The Aston Martin cars of Lance Stroll and the retiring Sebastian Vettel were the first to hit the track, which as aforementioned was baked in sunshine. The Ferrari F1-75 cars of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were heading out early, too. Just medium tyres on the Ferrari for in the first part of FP3 and Carlos Sainz got the ball rolling on Saturday with a 1:27.821. That was a tenth quicker than Mick Schumacher in the Haas. No other competitive laps on the board yet, as the Mercedes were heading out.
It didn’t take long for Lewis Hamilton to warm up (and it wasn’t difficult in this heat), with the seven-time world champion straight to the front with a 1:26.050. George Russell was four tenths back, with Charles Leclerc third.
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On a weekend of tributes to the retiring Sebastian Vettel, this photo is the latest gem to have surfaced. It appears to have been taken following a Grand Prix Drivers’ Association meeting, with Vettel having served as one of the organisation’s directors.
Only one driver failed to hit the track at all today after the first 20 minutes, Max Verstappen. That’s despite missing an hour of practice yesterday. Sergio Perez emerged from the pits, with his first lap putting him seventh. Lewis Hamilton led Charles Leclerc and Fernando Alonso out in front.
Lewis Hamilton’s first-lap marker was then beaten, with Sergio Perez going 0.170s quicker than the Mercedes. Pierre Gasly suffered a what appeared to be a strange failure on his AlphaTauri: the ‘wheel brow’ on his car suddenly came flying off, in what may have been the result of a puncture. He was able to get back to the pits, but we had a red flag in order to give the marshals a chance to clear the track of debris.
As that red flag came out, Lewis Hamilton appeared to fail to slow down, as he passed Lando Norris and another Haas. Norris came onto team radio to report the incident, while the stewards have since noted it. There could be a slightly nervous wait for Hamilton at the end of the session. We’ll wait and see whether Lewis Hamilton is investigated and receives a punishment for that.
Meanwhile, he was still showing pace on track, going 0.017s quicker than Sergio Perez. Max Verstappen was straight on the pace, two-tenths off in third. Quicker soft runs took place in the last 15 minutes, with Max Verstappen momentarily taking top spot before he was leapfrogged by the Mercedes of George Russell, who was two tenths faster than the double world champion.
Charles Leclerc reported issues with the engine on his Ferrari: “Loads of oscillations on the engine off throttle,” he said over team radio. That’s not the sort of message under-fire team principal Mattia Binotto will be wanting to hear this weekend. The Monegasque went only sixth in the Ferrari, 0.6s off the pace.
The final practice of the season finished with a Red Bull on top… but not the one you’d expect! Sergio Perez beats team-mate Max Verstappen by 0.152s, with Mercedes right in the mix with Lewis Hamilton just a tenth back and George Russell fourth. Lando Norris finished fifth ahead of the Ferrari cars, who struggled with their engine and tyre wear.
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