Russell beats Norris in FP3 to grab last minute control of final practice in Abu Dhabi, on a morning that delivered drama, a Hamilton crash and a very tight spread at the top ahead of qualifying.
The Mercedes driver produced a 1:23.334 on soft tyres in the closing minutes of the hour, edging Norris by just 0.004s and pushing Max Verstappen to third, 0.124s off the benchmark. With the title on the line and the field covered by tenths rather than seconds, the final practice session underlined just how little margin there is left to play with.
Quiet start, then the pace explodes
The session began calmly, with several teams taking their time in the garages. Aston Martin sent Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll out first for brief runs to scrub tyres, following their now familiar race prep routine.
Alpine, coming off a difficult Friday, chose a different approach. Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto headed out early, putting in laps as they tried to diagnose the grip and balance issues that had left them at the back in their final weekend with Renault power.
When the first proper times arrived, Norris immediately went to the top with a 1:24.728, still some way off his Friday best, with the track evolution and higher daytime temperatures clearly playing a role.
On the other side of the McLaren garage, Oscar Piastri, still catching up after missing FP1 for Pato O’Ward, found himself around four tenths down in the early exchanges and wrestling oversteer through the final sector.
Norris versus Tsunoda, round one
Norris’ first push runs were not without incident. While on a hot lap he came across Yuki Tsunoda on the racing line, the Red Bull driver slow to move aside on corner exit and forcing the McLaren to take evasive action over the kerbs.
Tsunoda immediately raised a hand in apology, but the stewards still noted the incident for potential impeding. It was a small reminder that traffic and timing could easily become part of the championship story once qualifying begins.
Bearman flies, Verstappen and Stroll join the fight
As more teams switched to soft tyres, the timing screen began to shuffle rapidly. Ollie Bearman showed that his FP2 pace for Haas was no one off. His first lap on the red marked compound was just 0.008s slower than Norris, again pushing himself into the sharp end of the midfield.
Verstappen then moved the reference, going fastest just before halfway, before Stroll produced a surprise lap to squeeze the Haas back down the order and underline Aston Martin’s improved performance.
At that stage, Verstappen, Stroll and Bearman shared the top three, with Norris, Piastri and the two Saubers all hovering close behind.
Hamilton hits the wall at Turn 9
The biggest moment of the session belonged to Lewis Hamilton, and not in the way Ferrari would have wanted.
On a flying lap through Turn 9, the seven time champion lost the rear at high speed, spun and went backwards into the barriers, heavily damaging his SF-25. Hamilton reported that “something buckled at the front and snapped the rear,” suggesting a possible issue rather than a simple driver error, although the full cause remained unclear.
He climbed out unhurt, collected part of his front wing from the track and walked away, but Ferrari now face a major rebuild before qualifying. For Hamilton, already enduring a painful first season with the Scuderia, it was another setback at the end of a long year.
The red flag that followed cost everyone valuable time, compressing the final practice into a short, intense shootout.
Piastri strikes first, Norris responds
When the session resumed, Piastri wasted no time. On fresh soft tyres he jumped from P18 to P1, going half a second clear of Verstappen and momentarily resetting the benchmark that had eluded him on Friday.
His lap, however, did not survive long at the top. Norris, also on new softs, delivered an even stronger effort, a 1:23.338 that reclaimed P1. His final sector alone was around three tenths faster than his team mate, again showing the confidence and rhythm he has carried all weekend.
For a brief moment it looked like McLaren had restored their FP2 hierarchy, with Norris leading Piastri and Verstappen. Then Mercedes arrived.
Russell delivers a late reminder
In the closing minutes, with track conditions at their best, Russell hooked up his own qualifying style lap. His 1:23.334 was just enough to dislodge Norris by four thousandths of a second, a razor thin margin that still felt symbolically important.
The lap confirmed that Mercedes are serious players for pole and podium, not just supporting actors in the title fight. Alonso slotted into an impressive P4, only 0.251s off Russell, while Piastri ended the session in fifth, 0.259s behind the benchmark after his earlier spell on top.
Behind them, Esteban Ocon and Bearman gave Haas another strong showing in sixth and seventh, ahead of Charles Leclerc, Kimi Antonelli and Alex Albon. Just 0.388s covered the first ten drivers, a spread smaller than the winning gaps from some races earlier in the season.
Pit lane chaos: Antonelli and Tsunoda collide
The drama was not limited to the circuit. In the pit lane, Mercedes released Antonelli directly into the path of Tsunoda, who was already in the fast lane. The rookie clipped the side of the Red Bull, losing his front wing, while Tsunoda’s car may have suffered floor and sidepod damage.
The incident was immediately flagged for investigation as an unsafe release. Combined with the earlier Norris and Tsunoda moment and a separate unsafe release for Williams and Albon after the red flag, it left the stewards with a full workload before qualifying.
Where does FP3 leave the title contenders?
The final practice picture is finely balanced.
- Russell leads, confirming Mercedes as a genuine threat over one lap
- Norris looks sharp and confident, second in FP3 and still the driver to beat over the full weekend so far
- Verstappen sits just 0.124s off the top, close enough that any overnight tweaks or slipstream benefits could swing qualifying his way
- Piastri finally has a clean, competitive lap under his belt, but remains a couple of tenths behind the absolute peak pace
Throw in Alonso’s pace, Haas and Sauber’s form and a furious midfield, and the grid for the title decider suddenly looks wide open.
Qualifying has decided every Abu Dhabi winner since 2015, and while overtaking is possible, starting position is still gold. After FP3, there is one clear takeaway.
Norris, Verstappen and Piastri are not only racing each other for a world championship. They are fighting an entire field that is closer than it has been all season.
