McLaren head into the final qualifying session of the season full of confidence after Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris set the pace in final practice.
Piastri’s best time of 1’23.433 was almost two tenths of a second faster than his team mate managed. Lewis Hamilton was another two tenths slower than the McLarens.Ferrari were almost half a second off their championship rivals with Carlos Sainz Jnr setting the fifth fastest time of the hour. Charles Leclerc, who will serve a ten place grid penalty tomorrow, was only ninth fastest, lamenting to his team over the radio that “we are nowhere”.
As the final session of the weekend to be held in the day time, the teams were not in a rush to send their cars out in conditions that were approaching 30C in broad daylight. The two Aston Martin drivers took to the track to scrub a set of hard tyres, with Fernando Alonso having to avoid a bird that appeared to have no sense of self preservation along the back straight.
Several drivers waited until after more than 20 minutes into the session to take to the track. Kevin Magnussen spent a long period at the top of the times with a 1’24.470 on the soft tyres until being eventually replaced by Alexander Albon.
The McLaren drivers fitted fresh soft tyres and posted the best times of the session, Piastri with a 1’23.433, just under two tenths faster than team mate Norris. That would hold until the chequered flag, putting the constructors’ championship leaders in the top two positions for the second consecutive session.
In his final practice session in a Mercedes, Hamilton was third fastest, two tenths off the McLarens, with Max Verstappen just behind him. Carlos Sainz Jnr was fifth ahead of George Russell and the two Haas of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen. Sergio Perez completed the top ten, four tenths slower than his team mate.
The final practice session of the season proved one of the least eventful, with not a single yellow flag, notable problem or incident noted by race control over the hour.
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2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix third practice result
| P. | # | Driver | Team | Model | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’23.433 | |
| 2 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | MCL38 | 1’23.626 | 0.193 |
| 3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | W15 | 1’23.823 | 0.390 |
| 4 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB20 | 1’23.844 | 0.411 |
| 5 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’23.871 | 0.438 |
| 6 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | W15 | 1’24.075 | 0.642 |
| 7 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas-Ferrari | VF-24 | 1’24.093 | 0.660 |
| 8 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | VF-24 | 1’24.094 | 0.661 |
| 9 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | SF-24 | 1’24.098 | 0.665 |
| 10 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull-Honda RBPT | RB20 | 1’24.283 | 0.850 |
| 11 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB-Honda RBPT | 01 | 1’24.343 | 0.910 |
| 12 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | FW46 | 1’24.378 | 0.945 |
| 13 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine-Renault | A524 | 1’24.408 | 0.975 |
| 14 | 61 | Jack Doohan | Alpine-Renault | A524 | 1’24.434 | 1.001 |
| 15 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR24 | 1’24.453 | 1.020 |
| 16 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber-Ferrari | C44 | 1’24.479 | 1.046 |
| 17 | 30 | Liam Lawson | RB-Honda RBPT | 01 | 1’24.519 | 1.086 |
| 18 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | AMR24 | 1’24.531 | 1.098 |
| 19 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber-Ferrari | C44 | 1’24.668 | 1.235 |
| 20 | 43 | Franco Colapinto | Williams-Mercedes | FW46 | 1’24.766 | 1.333 |
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2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
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Doh
7th December 2024, 11:48
Does anyone else have any thoughts on this?
I have a feeling max might be leaving F1 this weekend or this month…
Ben
7th December 2024, 11:55
No chance.
SteveP
7th December 2024, 12:17
It’s free practice, except under very unusual circumstances it doesn’t set a grid position and absolutely does not have points.
Yes, I know Max likes to be fastest in practice too, and might “express a degree of displeasure with the car” if he isn’t, but if there are changes being tested -shrug.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
7th December 2024, 12:33
Doubt it. But he could have second thoughts after being a father.