F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2025: FP3 Results And Report As Lewis Hamilton Crash Causes Delay

George Russell broke Lando Norris' domination of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix practice sessions by setting the fastest time in FP3.

The Mercedes driver could be a spoiler in the three-way championship battle on Sunday and underlined his threat with a time of 1:23.334s, only 0.004s quicker than McLaren's Norris.

Max Verstappen remained on his rival's tail with the third fastest tour of the Yas Marina Circuit in a delayed session that hotted up in the closing stages.

Our top three in the final FP3 of the season 👀

🥇 Russell
🥈 Norris
🥉 Verstappen#F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/P9cqauvOe3
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 6, 2025

Russell fastest as Hamilton crashes

There was no great rush to get out onto the circuit in the warmer, unrepresentative conditions of the afternoon, with only the two Aston Martins circulating in the opening seven minutes.

When cars were on track, there was a near-miss between Norris and Yuki Tsunoda, the Japanese driver apologizing after getting caught on the racing line as the Briton flew around Turns 10 and 11. That incident was to be investigated after the session.

Drivers had been on soft tire runs at the halfway point of the session before Lewis Hamilton triggered the first red flag of the weekend.

The Ferrari driver lost the rear end after his car bottomed on the entry to Turn 9, spinning off the track and into the barriers.

"Something buckled at the front and I lost the rear," reported the seven-time world champion before jumping out to collect the debris and assess the damage, knowing his mechanics faced a race to repair the car for qualifying.

Here's what happened to Lewis 💥#F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/YBZRvnH15k
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 6, 2025

The clean-up operation cost others some 13 minutes, though there was time for qualifying simulations at the end of the session.

Yellow flags were thrown in the pitlane as Kimi Antonelli was released from his Mercedes garage into the path of Tsunoda, causing extensive damage to the side of the Japanese driver's Red Bull.

On track, it was Russell who threw a potential spanner in the works for the three championship protagonists ahead of qualifying, with Norris and Verstappen next up.

Fernando Alonso was fourth for Aston Martin ahead of Oscar Piastri, who still has plenty of work to do to get involved at the front.

Haas had both Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman in the top 10 and ahead of power unit supplier Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc eighth.

Antonelli was ninth quickest despite not setting a time in the closing stages after his pitlane incident, while Alex Albon rounded out the top 10.

F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2025: FP3 results

Position / Driver / Team	Gap [s]
1. George Russell / Mercedes	1:23.334
2. Lando Norris / McLaren	+0.004
3. Max Verstappen / Red Bull	+0.124
4. Fernando Alonso / Aston Martin	+0.251
5. Oscar Piastri / McLaren	+0.259
6. Esteban Ocon / Haas	+0.271
7. Oliver Bearman / Haas	+0.275
8. Charles Leclerc / Ferrari	+0.341
9. Kimi Antonelli / Mercedes	+0.373
10. Alex Albon / Williams	+0.388
11. Gabriel Bortoleto / Sauber	+0.457
12. Carlos Sainz / Williams	+0.477
13. Nico Hulkenberg / Sauber	+0.536
14. Lance Stroll / Aston Martin	+0.561
15. Liam Lawson / Racing Bulls	+0.613
16. Isack Hadjar / Racing Bulls	+0.645
17. Pierre Gasly / Alpine	+0.738
18. Lewis Hamilton / Ferrari	+1.136
19. Franco Colapinto / Alpine	+1.167
20. Yuki Tsunoda / Red Bull	+1.359

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