Ferrari rushes to repair Lewis Hamilton’s car as his qualifying participation becomes uncertain | Abu Dhabi GP. Lewis Hamilton’s crash in Abu Dhabi FP3 puts his qualifying at risk.

After his heavy crash in FP3, Lewis Hamilton may now be in danger of missing qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, leaving Ferrari scrambling to complete urgent repairs. What had seemed like a weekend finally heading in the right direction for the seven-time world champion has quickly turned into yet another setback, with the team now forced into overtime.

Hamilton had appeared to find a better connection with the SF-25, but his accident at the end of final practice means Ferrari mechanics must work flat-out to ensure the car is ready in time. The gap between the end of FP3 and the start of qualifying is extremely short, making Lewis Hamilton’s presence in Q1 at Yas Marina anything but guaranteed.

What happened in FP3?

Around the halfway point of the session, Lewis Hamilton ended up in the barriers at Turn 9 while he was on a promising flying lap. By watching the onboard footage, it is possible to see a slight moment of bottoming just before car number 44 lost stability, spun, and slammed into the wall.

The SF-25 of the former Mercedes driver appears to have suffered several damages that Ferrari’s technicians and mechanics are now examining in detail. The big question is whether they will manage to repair everything in time or whether Lewis Hamilton will be forced to watch qualifying from the garage.

Such an outcome would be a fitting conclusion to what has been a deeply complicated first season for Lewis Hamilton in red. The expected harmony with the car never truly materialised, and the issues and results have consistently fallen short of the high expectations set at the start of the year. Everyone within the team hopes that 2026 will bring a dramatic turnaround—a year that increasingly feels like Ferrari’s last real opportunity to fight their way back to the top.