Charles Leclerc characterised Ferrari as “nowhere” after McLaren clinched yet one more one-two end within the ultimate observe session of the season forward of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Following Friday’s dominance by Lando Norris, it was Oscar Piastri who stole the highlight in FP3, setting the quickest lap of the weekend to this point with a 1:23.433, almost two-tenths away from his teammate. Ferrari, needing a one-two end within the race to problem McLaren within the Constructors’ Championship, struggled to make an influence. Carlos Sainz ended the session fifth, whereas Leclerc languished in ninth.
The McLaren duo’s closest opponents had been Lewis Hamilton within the Mercedes and Max Verstappen of Crimson Bull, although each trailed Piastri’s tempo by a considerable four-tenths of a second. The session itself unfolded within the warmth of the day, with observe temperatures reaching 40 levels Celsius, circumstances far faraway from these anticipated for qualifying and the race.
The primary quarter-hour noticed little exercise, with solely the Aston Martins and Alpines taking to the observe early. Jack Doohan and Pierre Gasly set preliminary lap occasions for Alpine earlier than different groups started to enterprise out. Because the session progressed and observe circumstances improved, Kevin Magnussen briefly led the timesheets. In his ultimate Components 1 race, the Haas driver posted a 1:24.470 on comfortable tires, although this time was almost a second off Norris’s benchmark from FP2.
Carlos Sainz and Verstappen initially adopted Magnussen on the timesheets, regardless of working on medium compounds. Ferrari skilled a scare when wisps of smoke appeared from the rear of Sainz’s SF-24, prompting considerations after Leclerc’s earlier ERS situation had already resulted in a 10-place grid penalty. Fortuitously, Sainz rapidly returned to the observe, dispelling fears of a extra important drawback.
The ultimate 20 minutes noticed groups swap to low-fuel, soft-tire qualifying simulations. Alex Albon briefly claimed the highest spot for Williams with a 1:24.378 however in the end completed twelfth. Mercedes’ George Russell improved by three-tenths however was swiftly eclipsed by Piastri, who delivered a staggering lap over six-tenths faster. Lando Norris adopted swimsuit however fell in need of his teammate’s time by 0.193 seconds.
Max Verstappen, searching for one other turnaround akin to his Qatar efficiency, ended the session four-tenths adrift, whereas Hamilton managed to shut the hole with a late soft-tire push, securing third, just below four-tenths behind Piastri. Carlos Sainz, regardless of a robust center sector, was unable to match McLaren’s tempo and completed 0.438 seconds off the highest. Leclerc, visibly annoyed, responded to Piastri’s lap time over the radio with the blunt evaluation: “We’re nowhere.”
Behind the frontrunners, Russell settled for sixth, trailing Hamilton by 1 / 4 of a second. Haas drivers Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen occupied seventh and eighth, providing the workforce a glimmer of hope of their struggle for sixth within the Constructors’ Championship. Leclerc completed ninth, with Crimson Bull’s Sergio Pérez rounding out the highest ten, greater than four-tenths behind Verstappen.
Elsewhere, Jack Doohan impressed on his race weekend debut, ending simply 0.026 seconds behind teammate Gasly in thirteenth and 14th, respectively. On the rear of the sphere, Williams’ Franco Colapinto struggled, ending the session over 1.3 seconds off the tempo.
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