Oscar Piastri set the quickest time within the closing free observe session of the 2024 season in Abu Dhabi, main a McLaren one-two forward of teammate Lando Norris. Lewis Hamilton rounded out the highest three, with the trio laying down the marker forward of Saturday’s essential qualifying session on the Yas Marina Circuit. In the meantime, Ferrari confronted a difficult session, struggling to match the tempo of their championship rivals.
The session started at a leisurely tempo, with most drivers remaining within the storage because the clock ticked away. The Aston Martins and Alpines had been the one groups to hit the observe on the session’s begin, whereas others waited patiently, arms crossed, watching the displays. After about 15-20 minutes, on-track motion lastly ramped up. Kevin Magnussen briefly stole the highlight, clocking a formidable 1:24.470 on smooth tires to take the highest spot. Nevertheless, the Danish driver’s second within the solar was short-lived as quicker lap occasions began coming in.
Ferrari’s woes deepened in the course of the session when Carlos Sainz appeared to come across an engine challenge. A small plume of white smoke was seen trailing from the exhaust of his automotive, sparking considerations of a possible reliability downside. If this results in one other part change, Ferrari might face a grid penalty which may extinguish their faint hopes of securing a closing championship upset. Nevertheless, it stays unclear if the problem is severe or merely a false alarm.
Because the session entered its closing quarter-hour, drivers switched focus to simulated qualifying runs. Oscar Piastri set a formidable benchmark, beating teammate Lando Norris by practically two-tenths of a second to assert the highest spot. Lewis Hamilton put in a powerful lap late on smooth tires to safe third place, whereas Max Verstappen completed in fourth. McLaren’s commanding tempo hints that they could be in management this weekend as they goal to seal the Constructors’ Championship title.
Saturday morning’s outcomes mark the second consecutive session the place McLaren locked out the highest two positions on the timesheets, showcasing their dominance at this important juncture of the season. This time, it was Piastri who led the cost, demonstrating his rising confidence and consistency because the season attracts to an in depth.
Lewis Hamilton’s efficiency in third underscored his means to extract the utmost from his Mercedes, whereas Max Verstappen’s fourth-place effort left questions on Pink Bull’s outright tempo heading into qualifying.
Ferrari, against this, seemed off the mark. Based mostly on their FP3 displaying, they don’t seem to have the velocity to problem McLaren this weekend. Nevertheless, the distinctive situations of Yas Marina – with cooler temperatures in the course of the night periods – might but work of their favor throughout qualifying and the race.
For Charles Leclerc, the duty forward is much more daunting. He completed solely ninth within the session and faces a 10-place grid penalty that may go away him with a mountain to climb come race day. Whether or not Ferrari can flip their fortunes round beneath the floodlights stays to be seen.
Closing Apply Three classification
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