George Russell set the fastest time for the second time as practice came to an end at Yas Marina ahead of qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Russell set the pace with a 1’24.148, less than a tenth of a second ahead of Lando Norris and his McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri. Max Verstappen was only sixth-fastest, just behind Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.Conditions were typically clear and warm for the start of the final hour of practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend. Despite the relative lack of running for many drivers in a disrupted second practice, there was not a rush of cars out onto the circuit as the session began.
Lewis Hamilton was the first driver to complete a flying lap in the session on the soft compound tyre, posting a 1’26.612. Carlos Sainz Jnr headed out on the medium tyres and beat Hamilton’s early benchmark by just three-thousandths of a second, before Sergio Perez put Red Bull on top of the times for the first time in the session with a 1’25.417, his first lap of the day on soft tyres.
Norris chose the soft tyres for his first run of the day, going just under a second slower than Perez’s early best to go second, with Lance Stroll moving ahead of Hamilton into third for Aston Martin. Eventually after 15 minutes had elapsed, Max Verstappen took to the track for the first time on the soft tyres. His first push lap was slower than both his team mate Perez and George Russell’s Mercedes, which had moved to the top of the times with a 1’25.163.
There was a near-miss outside the McLaren garage when Norris pulled into his pit box at the same moment that team mate Oscar Piastri was released from the garage. No harm was done, but Norris suggested to his team that it was “probably not the best idea to do that” over team radio.
The two Ferrari drivers headed out on used mediums to complete a long run on high fuel, while Verstappen remained on the soft tyres and improved to second-quickest, but half a second slower than Russell. Ferrari and Hamilton in the Mercedes continued to focus more on longer runs, but the Alpines and Williams improved to move into the top five before the McLarens of Norris and Piastri went second and third, respectively, on the soft tyres.
In the final 10 minutes of the session, Hamilton and the two Ferraris headed out on fresh soft tyres, but while Leclerc improved into fifth, Sainz remained down in 19th, 1.2 seconds off Russell’s improved best of a 1’24.418. No further improvements followed towards the top of the times, with the session ending to confirm Russell as fastest of all heading into qualifying.
The two McLarens of Norris and Piastri sat second and third, with Alexander Albon fourth for Williams. Leclerc ended the session in fifth, just ahead of Verstappen, with Esteban Ocon seventh and Logan Sargeant eighth. Yuki Tsunoda was ninth for AlphaTauri with Zhou Guanyu in tenth just ahead of Sergio Perez and Hamilton.
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2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix third practice result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W14 | 1’24.418 | 14 | |
| 2 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL60 | 1’24.513 | 0.095 | 16 |
| 3 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL60 | 1’24.810 | 0.392 | 16 |
| 4 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW45 | 1’24.929 | 0.511 | 17 |
| 5 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-23 | 1’25.099 | 0.681 | 27 |
| 6 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB19 | 1’25.153 | 0.735 | 19 |
| 7 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | A523 | 1’25.194 | 0.776 | 18 |
| 8 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams-Mercedes | FW45 | 1’25.205 | 0.787 | 17 |
| 9 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | AT04 | 1’25.222 | 0.804 | 15 |
| 10 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | C43 | 1’25.258 | 0.840 | 23 |
| 11 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB19 | 1’25.259 | 0.841 | 21 |
| 12 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | W14 | 1’25.292 | 0.874 | 26 |
| 13 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | A523 | 1’25.303 | 0.885 | 18 |
| 14 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR23 | 1’25.343 | 0.925 | 25 |
| 15 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR23 | 1’25.405 | 0.987 | 24 |
| 16 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | C43 | 1’25.420 | 1.002 | 16 |
| 17 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | VF-23 | 1’25.584 | 1.166 | 22 |
| 18 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | AT04 | 1’25.597 | 1.179 | 15 |
| 19 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | VF-23 | 1’25.652 | 1.234 | 20 |
| 20 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | SF-23 | 1’25.713 | 1.295 | 29 |
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2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix combined practice times
| P. | # | Driver | Team | FP1 time | FP2 time | FP3 time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1’26.072 | 1’25.122 | 1’24.418 | 57 | |
| 2 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’24.852 | 1’24.513 | 0.095 | 34 | |
| 3 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’24.809 | 1’25.099 | 0.391 | 43 | |
| 4 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’26.665 | 1’25.361 | 1’24.810 | 0.392 | 59 |
| 5 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 1’26.081 | 1’24.929 | 0.511 | 37 | |
| 6 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 1’24.982 | 1’25.153 | 0.564 | 36 | |
| 7 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’26.453 | 1’25.024 | 1’25.420 | 0.606 | 53 |
| 8 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 1’25.112 | 1’25.259 | 0.694 | 38 | |
| 9 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 1’25.566 | 1’25.194 | 0.776 | 35 | |
| 10 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams-Mercedes | 1’26.742 | 1’26.659 | 1’25.205 | 0.787 | 61 |
| 11 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 1’26.725 | 1’25.669 | 1’25.222 | 0.804 | 59 |
| 12 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’25.223 | 1’25.258 | 0.805 | 41 | |
| 13 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’25.315 | 1’25.292 | 0.874 | 42 | |
| 14 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | 1’26.720 | 1’25.321 | 1’25.303 | 0.885 | 59 |
| 15 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’25.397 | 1’25.343 | 0.925 | 42 | |
| 16 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’26.631 | 1’25.492 | 1’25.405 | 0.987 | 62 |
| 17 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | AlphaTauri-Honda RBPT | 1’26.433 | 1’25.467 | 1’25.597 | 1.049 | 57 |
| 18 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | 1’27.147 | 1’25.584 | 1.166 | 29 | |
| 19 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’27.462 | 1’26.413 | 1’25.652 | 1.234 | 64 |
| 20 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | 1’26.676 | 1’26.707 | 1’25.713 | 1.295 | 57 |
| 21 | 34 | Felipe Drugovich | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’26.360 | 1.942 | 26 | ||
| 22 | 39 | Robert Shwartzman | Ferrari | 1’26.703 | 2.285 | 25 | ||
| 23 | 42 | Frederik Vesti | Mercedes | 1’26.815 | 2.397 | 27 | ||
| 24 | 61 | Jack Doohan | Alpine-Renault | 1’26.865 | 2.447 | 23 | ||
| 25 | 98 | Theo Pourchaire | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’27.093 | 2.675 | 20 | ||
| 26 | 29 | Pato O’Ward | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’27.114 | 2.696 | 23 | ||
| 27 | 36 | Jake Dennis | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 1’27.208 | 2.790 | 24 | ||
| 28 | 37 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | 1’27.244 | 2.826 | 20 | ||
| 29 | 45 | Zak O’Sullivan | Williams-Mercedes | 1’27.460 | 3.042 | 28 | ||
| 30 | 50 | Oliver Bearman | Haas-Ferrari | 1’27.569 | 3.151 | 24 |
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2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
- Mercedes’ team photo shows we still have a long way to go on diversity – Hamilton
- Why luck was a factor in Perez’s penalty for “joke” comment
- Bottas and Zhou see encouraging signs from overhauled 2024 car
- Only Verstappen got the best from his car every weekend, rival team bosses admit
- How Sainz suffered the worst season finale for a driver since Schumacher in 1997
Ben
25th November 2023, 12:00
Incredible pace from Russell so far. Hamilton seems completely lost and will be scrambling for Q3 yet again. For the second race in a row you’d think Hamilton was a rookie in that car. His 0.8 of your team mate is tragic.
Craig
25th November 2023, 12:10
The 72 point difference in the championship begs to differ.
Ben
25th November 2023, 12:17
What’s the championship stands got to do with this weekend? Genuinely confused by that reply. My guess is you need to cling onto any positive you can because Hamilton is being hammered by his team mate recently. Get ready for another Q2 or even Q1 exit today! While Russell fights for pole.
Bob
25th November 2023, 12:22
ones safe in p3, the other sitting in 8th hoping CL gets 0 points and he wins so he can atleast make 7th :D
Ben
25th November 2023, 12:30
“Safe” what does that even mean? No one cares if you don’t win. Can you remember where everyone finished last season?
Russell looks set in pace for a pole and possible win this weekend while Hamilton isn’t even in the top 10. What’s with that?
Tristan
25th November 2023, 12:42
@Ben…
It’s practice, you can never, ever call a pole position from practice, and if you are, you’d have about as much chance of being right as rolling a dice. (possible, but still unlikely)
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
25th November 2023, 16:25
The real irony is Hamilton has a better chance at finishing in front of this teammate, unless Mercedes gimp his pit stops like last weekend. The car is half baked, Russell was the only one with any real input yesterday. Not surprising.
Tristan
25th November 2023, 12:46
Besides Red Bull (particularly Verstappen) just being leagues ahead, this season has been incredible for the different performance of teams between circuits.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
25th November 2023, 16:26
hes not, hes been pushing other cars off the track lately, that means hes desperate to win, which means RBR are not that far ahead in one lap pace.