Verstappen edges out Hamilton in final practice for Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen edged out Lewis Hamilton in final practice for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Hamilton’s Mercedes team topped both practice sessions in the desert on Friday, but Verstappen led the way in the final running before qualifying.
Verstappen finished just 0.074 seconds clear of Hamilton at the Yas Marina Circuit to suggest a close battle in the shootout for pole position later on Saturday.
CLASSIFICATION: END OF FP3
Less than a tenth between the top three ⏱️
Perez bossing the midield 👀#AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1pic.twitter.com/lB36xdXOJt
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 30, 2019
Valtteri Bottas was quickest on Friday, but he will start the race from the back of the field following an engine change.
The Finn, who finished third on Saturday, was forced to take on a new power unit after he retired with an oil leak at the last round in Brazil.
Overnight, his Mercedes team then discovered a pneumatic failure in his fresh engine, which required a host of replacement parts.
UPDATE: @ValtteriBottas will take his fifth PU of the season after we suffered a pneumatic leak yesterday.
He will use a new ICE, MGU-H, MGU-K and Turbo for the rest of the race weekend. He will (still) be starting from the back of the grid. #AbuDhabiGP#F1pic.twitter.com/rZ8dmI7JBB
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) November 30, 2019
Alex Albon was fourth for Red Bull, a third of a second down on his team-mate, with Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel fifth.
The four-time world champion finished 0.409 sec adrift of Verstappen. Charles Leclerc was fractionally further back in sixth.
British teenager Lando Norris finished the final practice session of his rookie year in 13th, four positions behind Carlos Sainz in the sister McLaren.
