George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14 during the Abu Dhabi GP at Yas Marina Circuit on Friday November 24, 2023 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Steven Tee / LAT Images)

Formula 1 News: Russell nips Norris in final Abu Dhabi GP practice

Mercedes F1 driver George Russell turned a lap of 1m24.418s to top the final practice of the 2023 Abu Dhabi GP over Lando Norris by 0.095s.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

In a session that may not be representative because the hot sun had not yet set, Russell led a Mercedes power 1-2-3-4 as Norris’ McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri was third, 0.392s back and Alex Albon was 4th in the Williams, 0.511s.

Russell led the entire session, and it was thought that he was running low fuel in qualifying trim.

Charles Leclerc rounded out the top-5 for Ferrari, 0.681s behind.

World Champion, Max Verstappen, was never competitive the entire session and was 0.735s off the pace in 6th, complaining to the team that the car kept bottoming out. As for his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, he is languishing down in P11.

It’s a bit of a mixed up order out there, with fuel loads a bit of an unknown. But was certain that Verstappen isn’t too happy with the set-up of his car, fighting it for much of the session, although his late lap looked more comfortable.

George Russell 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Friday - LAT Images
A happy George Russell 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – LAT Images

2023 Abu Dhabi GP Practice 3 Results

POS  DRIVER  NAT. TEAM  TIME
1 George Russell GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team 1m24.418s
2 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team 1m24.513s
3 Oscar Piastri AUS McLaren F1 Team 1m24.810s
4 Alex Albon THA Williams Racing 1m24.929s
5 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari 1m25.099s
6 Max Verstappen NED Oracle Red Bull Racing 1m25.153s
7 Esteban Ocon FRA BWT Alpine F1 Team 1m25.194s
8 Logan Sargeant USA Williams Racing 1m25.205s
9 Yuki Tsunoda JPN Scuderia AlphaTauri 1m25.222s
10 Zhou Guanyu CHN Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake 1m25.258s
11 Sergio Perez MEX Oracle Red Bull Racing 1m25.259s
12 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team 1m25.292s
13 Pierre Gasly FRA BWT Alpine F1 Team 1m25.303s
14 Fernando Alonso ESP Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant 1m25.343s
15 Lance Stroll CAN Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant 1m25.405s
16 Valtteri Bottas FIN Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake 1m25.420s
17 Nico Hulkenberg GER MoneyGram Haas F1 Team 1m25.584s
18 Daniel Ricciardo AUS Scuderia AlphaTauri 1m25.597s
19 Kevin Magnussen DEN MoneyGram Haas F1 Team 1m25.652s
20 Carlos Sainz ESP Scuderia Ferrari 1m25.713s