George Russell led the final practice hour of the season, setting the pace ahead of the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri as preparations ramped up ahead of qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Russell completed a lap of 1m 24.418s on the soft tyre but he was kept honest by Norris in second, who was just 0.095s off the pace. Piastri was nearly four-tenths off the Mercedes driver’s pace-setting time in third.
FP3: Russell leads Norris as Verstappen struggles during final Abu Dhabi GP practice
Alex Albon was fourth for Williams, nearly half a second off Russell’s time, but a tenth ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, with the Red Bull of Max Verstappen just behind. Esteban Ocon was up in eighth for Alpine, a fraction ahead of Albon’s team mate Logan Sargeant.
Yuki Tsunoda was ninth for AlphaTauri as the Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu rounded out the top-10. There were a few surprises with Sergio Perez in 11th ahead of the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton in 12th, while Carlos Sainz was down in 20th for Ferrari.
Click on the video player above to relive the action from the final practice hour of the season as the drivers now ready themselves for qualifying later today.
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