Lewis Hamilton crashed his Ferrari during the final practice session at Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, while George Russell stopped championship leader Lando Norris from taking the fastest times. Russell was 0.004 seconds quicker than his fellow Briton in what turned into a chaotic morning ahead of the Formula One season finale. Norris leads Max Verstappen by 12 points going into Sunday’s race.
George Russell put in a brilliant lap to deny Lando Norris a clean sweep of practice sessions. Just 0.004 seconds separated them at Yas Marina circuit—that’s nothing, really. Blink and you’d miss it.
Norris, who had dominated Friday running, still looked the part as the fastest title contender out there. The 26-year-old Norris knows his math. Finish in the top three on Sunday and the championship is his. Simple as that. Doesn’t matter what Verstappen does behind him.
His McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri sits further four adrift in the standings. Technically it’s a three-way fight. But let’s be honest—it’s really between Norris and Verstappen now.
Here’s the thing, though. That fast Mercedes showing real pace? That changes everything. If Russell and his teammate can get between the title contenders, it could complicate matters in ways nobody’s really talking about yet. Championship battles don’t usually account for a third team muscling in.
Max Verstappen, the four-times world champion, could only manage third fastest. 0.124 seconds off the pace. In Formula One terms, that’s an eternity.
Piastri ended up fifth fastest—behind Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, no less. Not what McLaren wanted to see. They’ll be having words about that back at the factory.
But here’s what should really worry Red Bull. Verstappen kept complaining over the radio about his car jumping around. “I can’t keep my feet on the pedals,” he told his engineers.
That’s not just uncomfortable. That’s dangerous. And if they can’t fix whatever’s causing it overnight? Sunday could unravel fast for the Dutchman.
Seven-times champion Hamilton had a shocker. He brought out the red flags when he spun at turn nine and went spearing into the tyre wall halfway through the session.
Big impact. Scary moment.
“Something buckled at the front and snapped the rear,” Hamilton explained over team radio after climbing out. Mechanical failure, then—not driver error. Small mercies.
The Briton has had a rough go since joining Ferrari from Mercedes back in January. Still hasn’t managed to stand on the podium in red. Must be killing him inside, that. This Abu Dhabi weekend was supposed to be his chance to end that drought before the season closes. Now he’s playing catch-up after losing crucial track time.
You could hear the frustration in his voice on the radio. After all those years winning championships, to be struggling like this? Tough pill to swallow.
The drama wasn’t just happening on track.
Down in the pitlane, Mercedes released their Italian rookie Kimi Antonelli from the garage straight into Yuki Tsunoda’s path. Resulted in a proper pitlane collision—both cars suffering damage, stewards investigating the whole mess.
“You told me yes and Tsunoda was coming,” Antonelli exclaimed over the radio. You could hear the anger. He’s right to be upset. That’s the kind of mistake that shouldn’t happen at any level, let alone Formula One at a season finale.
Yuki Tsunoda, the Japanese driver, was already having a nightmare session. Earlier in the running, Norris had to swerve to avoid the dawdling Red Bull driven by Tsunoda—wrong place, wrong time, wrong speed. Then getting caught up in that pitlane incident? Just made everything worse for him.
Sometimes it’s just not your day. Saturday in Abu Dhabi definitely wasn’t Tsunoda’s.
Championship Picture Heading into Finale
So where does all this leave us?
Norris holds the advantage. No question. But he can’t afford any mistakes—not with Verstappen lurking 12 points behind, waiting for any slip-up. That Mercedes pace through Russell adds another wrinkle to the whole mix. Nobody predicted they’d be this quick this late in the season.
McLaren will be focused on getting both their drivers through cleanly. They need those constructor points as desperately as Norris needs his driver’s title. Meanwhile, Red Bull has serious work to do overnight. Whatever’s causing Verstappen’s car to misbehave needs fixing—and fast.
The Formula One season has come down to one race at Yas Marina circuit. After months of racing, after hundreds of laps and countless pit stops and strategy calls that worked or didn’t—it all gets decided on Sunday afternoon in Abu Dhabi.
That’s what makes this sport brutal and beautiful in equal measure. Everything on the line. No room for error. No second chances.
The paddock’s buzzing. Mechanics are working late. Engineers are crunching data. Drivers are visualizing their lines. And somewhere, someone’s reminding Norris that all he has to do is finish top three and he’s champion.
Easier said than done when the pressure’s on and the lights go out.
