Abu Dhabi GP: Sticker drama for Hamilton as McLaren inflict fresh Ferrari blow

McLaren built fresh momentum in their title charge going into qualifying with an FP3 one-two, while Lewis Hamilton bounced back to make the top three.

Oscar Piastri topped FP3 from McLaren team-mate Lando Norris, while Lewis Hamilton – put off by a Mercedes sticker earlier in the session – unlocked performance from his machinery when others could not to jump up the order.

McLaren build further Constructors’ title momentum

For one final time in F1 2024, free practice was underway as the light went green to get the one-hour session underway.

It was a slow start to the on-track running with the sun still shining at Yas Marina Circuit, but Fernando Alonso was getting some early laps in as he declared a “good feeling” that a good day was ahead, in the Aston Martin car which on Friday he called the “worst ever”.

But it was Alpine’s Jack Doohan setting the early pace on the soft rubber, clocking a 1:25.633, while Hamilton, in his final practice session with Mercedes, was asking for a “every team needs a dream” sticker to be removed.

F1 2024: Team-mate head-to-head standings

? F1 2024: Head-to-head qualifying record between team-mates

? F1 2024: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

As the session approach halfway the perennial front-runners began to pop themselves onto the timing screens, but it was Haas once more looking strong, Kevin Magnussen P1 and three-and-a-half tenths up on Norris, while Nico Hulkenberg was P3 in the other Haas, the position where he finished on Friday.

Russell’s Mercedes meanwhile was feeling “reasonably normal but slow” as the Brit struggled to escape the lower reaches of the top 10, while Zhou Guanyu was far from impressed with Sergio Perez after encountering the slow-moving Red Bull Perez through Turn 3.

All the while, Verstappen – using the medium rubber – improved to P2, soon displaced by Sainz who went a tenth faster on the same compound.

It meant that with 20 minutes left to go in the session, we had a top three of Magnussen from Sainz and Verstappen.

But Alex Albon would displace that trio with a new set of softs as he went P1 on a 1:24.378, just under a tenth faster than Magnussen.

Here came the competition though with new softs of their own, as Piastri moved himself up to P1 with a 1:23.433, Norris slotting in two-tenths behind for a McLaren one-two while Verstappen jumped up to P3, four-tenths off Piastri’s effort, having complained that his “brakes are not working”.

Now it was the turn of the Ferraris, but it was P4 only for Sainz and P9 for Leclerc, a position and 0.002s behind Hamilton.

With the soft rubber failing to hang on for a second push lap, that is how the session would finish as… Hang on, here came Hamilton, who found some extra performance in his Mercedes to boot Verstappen out of P3, while McLaren take the momentum into qualifying with the Constructors’ title on the line this weekend.

Full FP3 results

1 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:23.433
2 Lando Norris McLaren +0.193
3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.390
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.411
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari +0.438
6 George Russell Mercedes +0.642
7 Nico Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team +0.660
8 Kevin Magnussen Haas F1 Team +0.661
9 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.665
10 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +0.850
11 Yuki Tsunoda RB +0.910
12 Alexander Albon Williams +0.945
13 Pierre Gasly Alpine +0.975
14 Jack Doohan Alpine +1.001
15 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +1.020
16 Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber +1.046
17 Liam Lawson RB +1.086
18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +1.098
19 Zhou Guanyu Kick Sauber +1.235
20 Franco Colapinto Williams +1.333

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