World Champion Lewis Hamilton led the way during the final Formula 1 practice session of 2018 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Sebastian Vettel headed the timesheets through most of the session, dipping into the 1:37s, before Hamilton lowered the benchmark further.
Hamilton finished the session with a best time of 1:37.176s as he finished 0.288s clear of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen in hot conditions at the Yas Marina Circuit.
Raikkonen had been up on Hamilton’s effort through the first two sectors but lost time in the final part of the lap, as he finished runner-up.
Vettel finished third while Max Verstappen was the lead Red Bull driver in fourth spot, over half a second behind Hamilton.
FP2 pacesetter Valtteri Bottas was a subdued fifth as Daniel Ricciardo, in his final outing for Red Bull, classified sixth.
Ricciardo’s RB14 slowed during the closing minutes of the session and he was forced to park and abandon his car at Turn 9.
Haas’ Romain Grosjean headed the midfield contingent in seventh spot, vaulting clear of his rivals in the final few minutes, while Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg was eighth.
Renault team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr. was ninth while Esteban Ocon spent much of the session in the garage, due to a technical problem, and rounded out the top 10.
Force India stablemate Sergio Perez took 11th, ahead of Toro Rosso’s Brendon Hartley and Sauber’s Charles Leclerc, who caused damage to the rear-end of his C37 by spinning into the Turn 18 wall.
Kevin Magnussen was 14th while Pierre Gasly brushed sidepods with Grosjean through Turn 15/16 in the closing moments, as he caught the slow Haas driver on the run to the hotel.
That incident is under investigation by the stewards
Fernando Alonso took 16th, ahead of Marcus Ericsson, Lance Stroll and Stoffel Vandoorne.
Sergey Sirotkin brought up the rear of the pack, almost a second adrift of nearest opponent Vandoorne.
Qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will begin at 17:00 local time
Discussion about this post