FP3: Hamilton leads Mercedes 1-2

Lewis Hamilton has topped the final Formula 1 practice session of the season with a lap time of 1:37.627. The Briton had his Mercedes teammate right behind him in second place, with Valtteri Bottas almost three-tenths down on Hamilton's time.

The Finn had a very scary moment on one of his hot laps, when he clipped the kerb at the final corner and ran very close to the barriers. Behind the two Mercedes' was both Ferraris, with Kimi Raikkonen setting a time marginally quicker than Sebastian Vettel

The two Red Bulls followed the top four, with Daniel Ricciardo Ricciardo and Max Verstappen in fifth and sixth place respectively. Verstappen was disgruntled with his car's balance following the running on Friday and ended the final practice session almost a second down on Hamilton.

After a very positive Friday, the McLarens continued to show strong pace around the Yas Marina Circuit. Both cars fitted into the top ten as Fernando Alonso headed Stoffel Vandoorne in the seventh and eighth positions. This weekend marks the end of the turbulent three-year McLaren-Honda partnership, with both drivers eyeing a bow out in the points.

Carlos Sainz ended the session in ninth place, while Sergio Perez rounded out the top ten. In his final ever practice session in F1, Felipe Massa managed to place his car in eleventh, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg in the Renault.

Esteban Ocon was thirteenth, heading the Haas duo of Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean. Pascal Wehrlein will be encouraged by his lap which put him in sixteenth place, just over two-tenths of a second down on Grosjean's time.

Lance Stroll made a mistake on his first hot lap attempt in which he set respectable times in the first two sectors. On his second attempt, he could only move in seventeenth. The Canadian headed Pierre Gasly and Marcus Ericsson, while Brendon Hartley rounded out the field.

 

Fergal Walsh

F1Grand Prix United Arab Emirates - Free practice 3

AE Yas Marina Circuit - 25 November 2017

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