Who topped the timesheet in the last Free Practice session of the 2024 F1 season?
The weekend began with three teams in the top three for Free Practice 1. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc set the quickest time, followed by McLaren’s Lando Norris in P2, and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in P3.
In Free Practice 2, Norris was the fastest driver on the track. His McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri finished the session in P2 and Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg completed the top three.
News broke that LeclercВ?had received a grid penalty for tomorrow’s race, which could harm Ferrari’s attempts to beat McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship. He has been given a 10-place grid penalty for making a battery change outside his allocation.
Jack Doohan makes his F1 debut this weekend, replacing Esteban Ocon at Alpine for the season’s last race. Doohan is driving for the team alongside Pierre Gasly in 2025 and Alpine made the driver switch after last weekend’s race in Qatar.
Lights out for FP3
As the third free practice session started, both Aston Martin drivers – Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll – were out on track early.
? FP3 GREEN LIGHT ?
Fernando's out on track for our final, final practice of the year! #F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/C1HeL1VRz3
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 7, 2024
On 68 points this year, it is Alonso’s lowest points-scoring season since he drove for McLaren in 2018. However, Alonso was feeling positive about the day ahead.
Fernando's got a good feeling ?? pic.twitter.com/Rob0HkIdWJ
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) December 7, 2024
Pierre Gasly was next out on the track with the soft compound tyres. His lap time was 1:26.040. Also on the soft tyres, Doohan was next to cross the line four-tenths up on his new teammate with a 1:25.633 time. Doohan’s car does not have the same updates that Gasly’s has.
Stroll put his AMR24 in P1 with a lap time of 1:25.528.В?Alonso was on his next hot lap and set a purple first sector but only managed green for Sector 2. The Spaniard lost time in the middle sector due to dodging a bird on the circuit. He set a time of 1L25.654 to put him in P3 behind Doohan.
The Ferrari, Haas, Sauber, and McLaren drivers were next out on the track along with Mercedes’ George Russell. Zhou Guanyu finished his lap with a time of 1:25.496 for P1. Kevin Magnussen then topped that in the Haas with a 1:24.470.
Valtteri Bottas, the only driver still on the grid yet to score points this year, then crossed the line for P3. Hulkenberg was next to set a time, just short of his teammate putting him in P2.
The McLaren drivers then split the Haas pair. Norris put his car in P2 behind Magnussen and Piastri in P4 behind Hulkenberg. Gasly then improved his time for P5 behind Piastri.
Max Verstappen joined the session, setting purple Sectors 1 and 2. The Ferrari drivers did not manage a quick time, with Leclerc in P11 and Carlos Sainz in P14 at this early stage.
Verstappen crossed the line in P5 and his teammate Sergio Perez picked up the fastest second sector to put him in P6. However, the Mexican driver did exceed track limits on his lap.
With 32 minutes left of FP3, the top 10 were Magnussen, Norris, Hulkenberg, Lewis Hamilton, Piastri, Leclerc, Verstappen, Perez, Alexander Albon, and Bottas. Sainz then crossed the line for P10, pushing Bottas to P11.
Then, Perez was on the racing line as Zhou passed on his flying lap.
Zhou Guanyu was NOT happy with Sergio Perez ? pic.twitter.com/GweMLoThQN
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) December 7, 2024
Halfway point
With 30 minutes remaining of Free Practice 3, Sainz’s car was seen smoking from the rear. The Spaniard made his way back to the pit lane.
Meanwhile, Russell complained about the car’s speed to the Mercedes team but had no thoughts as to why he was off the pace. He said the car felt normal but the lap times were not there. The Briton was in P20, while his teammate Hamilton was in P5.
Russell’s next lap saw him improve his time to take P9. Meanwhile, Piastri exceeded track limits on his next hot lap. Verstappen also improved his time for P2, though Magnussen maintained the fastest lap of the session so far. Sainz then topped Verstappen’s time for P2.
With 20 minutes to go, the top 10 were Magnussen, Sainz, Verstappen, Norris, Hamilton, Perez, Hulkenberg, Piastri, Leclerc, and Gasly.В?Verstappen was the next drive to fall foul of track limits.
Track limits at Turn 1 ?
Verstappen fractionally off and it's bye bye lap time #F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/k6eCjF3QTJ
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 7, 2024
Albon set purple Sector 1 and 2 times on his next lap, crossing the line with a lap time of 124.378. His time was the fastest of Free Practice 3 so far, knocking Magnussen off the top spot.
Russell’s next hot lap was a redemption run, setting a purple Sector 1 time. Piastri then followed and took the purple first sector from the Mercedes driver. The same happened with Sector 2, with Piastri topping Russell’s time just after he claimed the fastest sector time. Russell crossed the line with a time of 1:24.075 for P1 and Piastri finished his lap shortly after with a 1:23.433, pushing Russell to P2.
Magnussen’s next lap put him in P3. Then, Norris crossed the line for P2 making it a McLaren 1-2. Hulkenberg was next to cross the line, just ahead of his teammate for P4.
Closing stages
In the last 10 minutes of FP3, Verstappen crossed the line with a time quick enough for P3. At this point in the session, the top 10 were Piastri, Norris, Verstappen, Russell, Hulkenberg, Magnussen, Yuki Tsunoda, Albon, Gasly, and Doohan.
Verstappen was then heard on the radio reporting that his brakes were not biting properly. Leclerc only managed eighth fastest on his next lap. Meanwhile, his teammate Sainz managed P4 behind Verstappen. The Dutchman’s teammate was only fast enough for P14 on his next lap, putting Perez in P14 behind Doohan.
With five minutes to go, neither McLaren driver could improve their time, perhaps struggling with the soft tyres at this late stage. Yellow sector times seemed to mark the end of FP3. Norris went off track after sliding under breaking and oversteering into Turn 13.
With two minutes remaining, Hamilton set green sector times across the board. He crossed the line with a 1:23.8 lap time for P3, 0.390 seconds behind Piastri’s P1 time.
Verstappen drifted wide over the kerb, snapping the rear and oversteering into the corner, similar to Norris earlier.
The session ended with a McLaren 1-2, Piastri in P1 and Norris in P2. The remaining drivers in the top 10 were Hamilton in P3, Verstappen P4, Sainz P5, Russell P6, Hulkenberg P7, Magnussen P8, Leclerc P9, and Perez P10.
FP3 classification
FP3 CLASSIFICATION
It's advantage McLaren heading into quali ?#F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/kNTJJvkTuF
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 7, 2024
Featured Image Credit: @McLarenF1 on X