Abu Dhabi GP: Piastri and Norris keep McLaren on top in FP3

McLaren bolstered its chances for qualifying at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix by topping the final practice session of the year on Saturday, with Oscar Piastri edging teammate Lando Norris by 0.193s.

There was no challenging team papaya’s contenders, with Lewis Hamilton concluding FP3 in third place, 0.193s adrift from Piastri, but ahead of the much improved Red Bull of Max Verstappen.

Ferrari’s odds of taking its elusive title fight to McLaren on Sunday took another hit, with Carlos Sainz clocking in only fifth while Charles Leclerc was a lowly ninth.

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McLaren concluded Friday at the top of the timesheet with a comfortable margin, but pacesetter Lando Norris warned that the team’s performance was likely flattered by the fact that its rivals had yet to show their true potential.

Improvements were therefore expected in the Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull camps.

It was a leisurely start to the session with only a handful of cars – namely both Aston Martins and Alpines – taking to the track.

But gradually, traffic swelled, with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen improving an early benchmark set by Lance Stroll. Nearly all drivers were on the softs, with Hamilton and Sainz circulating on the mediums.

Verstappen, who struggled for balance throughout Friday, also headed out on the medium tyres, the Dutchman setting the sixth fastest time on his first effort.

Meanwhile, a puzzled Russell radioed in to signal that his W15 “feels OK, just very slow”. On the other hand, track temperature had crept up to 40°C and Mercedes has suffered in hot conditions this year.

As the session reached its halfway point, Verstappen, still on the mediums, progressed to P2, but there was still no toppling Magnussen’s 1m24.470s. Sainz, also on the mediums, then got within 0.161s of the Haas driver’s best.

But out of the blue, a flyer by a soft-shod Alex Albon got the job done, the Williams charger overhauling Magnussen by 0.092s.

As the session entered its final ten minutes, the usual suspects upped the pace, with Piastri and Norris reclaiming their position at the top while Verstappen and Sainz were third and fourth.

While McLaren’s contenders were well clear of their rivals – over four tenths – it was an extremely tight spread behind, with only a second separating the field from P3 to P19.

With two minutes left on the clock, Hamilton broke up the top four as he slotted into P3, 0.390s behind Norris. But McLaren concluded the final practice session of the year out of reach, the Woking-based outfit’s drivers staking their claim for pole position this evening in Yas Marina.

Behind Hamilton in third, Verstappen, Sainz and Russell rounded off the top six, while Hulkenberg, Magnussen, Leclerc and Perez completed the top ten.

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