Ferrari heads into Abu Dhabi GP blind after Lewis Hamilton FP3 crash wipes out crucial long run. Lewis Hamilton’s FP3 crash prevented Ferrari from testing the setup changes.

Lewis Hamilton leaves Ferrari in the dark for the race: FP3 crash prevents long run

Scuderia Ferrari was unable to test the effectiveness of the setup changes made after Friday.

What Charles Leclerc said

FP3 crash, Q1 elimination: Lewis Hamilton had a nightmare Saturday that affected, and will continue to affect, Charles Leclerc.

The Monegasque revealed that the red flag in FP3 caused by the seven-time world champion’s crash prevented Ferrari from completing a crucial long run. “We completely changed the car after FP2 and unfortunately, with this morning’s red flag, we couldn’t do a long run,” Leclerc said. “So we have a question mark for tomorrow.”

Charles Leclerc is surprised by how much Ferrari is struggling even in Abu Dhabi. “Las Vegas and Qatar are two tracks that require very specific characteristics. Abu Dhabi, on the other hand, is a more conventional circuit, but even here we were at risk of elimination in Q1 and Q2. For the last 4–5 races it has been like this. In the middle of the season, we had a good margin over the mid-field teams, but in this final part of the season it hasn’t been the case, and I didn’t expect to be so in the mix here as well.” – the Monegasque driver concluded ahead of the race which is set to take place at the Yas Marina Circuit, the 5.281 km motorsport racing track situated on Yas Island.

With no long-run reference and a car that has felt on the edge all weekend, Ferrari rolls into the title-deciding grand prix with more unknowns than answers – a far-from-ideal situation for Charles Leclerc’s hopes of a strong farewell to 2025.