Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen leads Alexander Albon in F1 Abu Dhabi GP FP3 session with Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo third.
When F1 Abu Dhabi GP FP3 went green at Yas Marina circuit, it was a lull for first 10 minutes or so, with the teams taking it cautiously considering the conditions wouldn’t be same as qualifying and or for the grand prix on Sunday.
It was a long-run for most at the front, where they improved on their times on second and third laps. Interestingly, the Mercedes duo did an extra run on the soft compound like many others, as most seemingly wanted to save the medium tyres for qualifying.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen led Abu Dhabi GP FP3 with a 1m36.251s as late improvement from teammate Alexander Albon put him in second with a 1m36.752s as he pushed the Renault duo to third and fourth with Daniel Ricciardo (1m36.877s) ahead.
It was Esteban Ocon (1m36.899s) in fourth ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris (1m36.994s) with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton (1m37.012s) only sixth, whereas Valtteri Bottas (1m37.085s) was ninth – but they looked a bit heavy on their runs.
Filling in between the Mercedes were Racing Point’s Lance Stroll (1m37.030s) and McLaren’s Carlos Sainz (1m37.068s), as Racing Point’s Sergio Perez (1m37.227s) was 10th, where AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat (1m37.266s) just missed out in 11th.
Ferrari left it late for a quick lap but Charles Leclerc (1m37.270s) was only 12th with teammate Sebastian Vettel (1m37.728s) 14th, behind AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly (1m37.371s), with Williams’ George Russell (1m37.886s) in 15th.
The Alfa Romeo duo had Antonio Giovinazzi (1m37.900s) in 16th from Kimi Raikkonen (1m38.269s), with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen (1m38.457s) in 18th and Pietro Fittipaldi (1m39.159s) 20th behind Williams’ Nicholas Latifi (1m38.765s).
Mercedes, meanwhile, revealed its special livery for Saturday and Sunday of F1 Abu Dhabi GP, as they put up names of all the team members working at Brackley and Brixworth on the rear of the W11 to honour them.
https://twitter.com/MercedesAMGF1/status/1337702304997400576?s=20
https://twitter.com/MercedesAMGF1/status/1337708301916704771?s=20
This one’s for you, Team ❤️ A very special #AbuDhabiGP livery honouring the contribution of each and every one of you, as the sun sets on a season like no other ⭐️ #DrivenByEachOther pic.twitter.com/WUmZbvUzsL
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) December 12, 2020
Here’s what they said after Friday in F1 Abu Dhabi GP