2025 Abu Dhabi GP FP3: Russell snatches P1 as Hamilton crashes

The final practice session of the 2025 F1 World Championship season delivered a dramatic twist as George Russell stole the spotlight at Yas Marina, narrowly denying Lando Norris in the final minutes before an all-important qualifying showdown. The Mercedes driver punched in a 1m 23.334s on soft tyres, edging Norris by just 0.004s after a fiercely competitive hour that also saw Lewis Hamilton crash out.

It was a low-tempo start as most teams waited inside their garages for the improving conditions, leaving Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll to make the first exploratory laps while scrubbing tyres. After a tough Friday for Alpine — now set for their final round with Renault power — Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto hit the track early to troubleshoot, still stinging from finishing at the back of the field in FP2.

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Norris was first to stamp a marker with a 1m 24.728s, before track evolution kicked in. As he improved, Oscar Piastri, still clawing back lost time after missing FP1, found himself 0.4s adrift, wrestling oversteer through the final sector. Norris then survived a scare when Yuki Tsunoda failed to move aside — forcing evasive action and a raised-hand apology from the outgoing Red Bull driver. The stewards noted the moment for impeding.

As more rubber went down, FP2 sensation Ollie Bearman proved Thursday was no fluke — going just 0.008s slower than Norris on his first flying run. Max Verstappen then pushed Red Bull into the spotlight with the fastest time just before halfway, only for Stroll to immediately dethrone him with a punchy lap on softs. The session was building momentum beautifully — until the biggest moment of the day arrived.

On a hot lap through Turn 9, Hamilton lost the rear at high speed and slammed into the barrier, bringing out the red flags. Unhurt but shaken, he reported, “Something buckled at the front and snapped the rear.” His damaged Ferrari was craned away as the rest of the field returned to the pits, impatiently watching the clock tick down with valuable prep time fading fast.

Once the pit exit reopened, Piastri struck first — vaulting from P18 to P1 by half a second over Verstappen on fresh tyres. For a brief moment, that lap looked a much-needed statement. But as soon as Norris bolted on a new soft set, he fired in a 1m 23.338s to retake control — his final sector alone three-tenths faster than his teammate.

The action wasn’t only out on the asphalt — Kimi Antonelli collided with Tsunoda in the pitlane after being released directly into the Red Bull’s path, damaging his front wing while stewards took notes once again.

Then came the decisive blow. Russell unleashed a late flyer that shaded Norris by those tiny four thousandths of a second — delivering Mercedes their first P1 session of the weekend and marking a warning shot ahead of qualifying. Alonso starred with P4, and Verstappen slotted into P3, just 0.124s off the top. Piastri’s final effort left him P5 to round out a tight top five covered by quarter of a second.

Behind them, Esteban Ocon and Bearman kept Haas firmly in the spotlight once more, ahead of Charles Leclerc, Antonelli and Alex Albon, with just 0.388s covering the top ten in a thrilling wrap-up to practice.

With only a couple of hours to process the data, the field now shifts focus to Qualifying at 18:00 local time, where the first grid of the title-decider weekend will be locked in — and every millimetre of performance could define who walks away as the 2025 world champion.

2025 Abu Dhabi GP FP3 Results

2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix FP3, 6 December 2025