F1 | Abu Dhabi GP | FP3 : Verstappen goes fastest, as the Red bulls lead the Renaults
For the ultimate practice session of the season, the Red Bull took the lead, ahead of the Renault, with the Mercedes being out of the top-5
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One last time, F1 went for a practice session in the 2020 season, at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. On Friday, Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas respectively topped the first and the second practice sessions, as Lewis Hamilton returned after his enforced medical leave.
Drivers didn’t seem to be in a hurry, with the first ones hitting the track almost 20 minutes after the start of the FP3 session. Latifi went first on track, along with Haas and Alfa Romeo drivers. The young canadian set the first mark of the session with 1:39.812.
All drivers opted to start their work on a set of soft rubber, with the exception of Norris and Stroll.
With 30 minutes to the end of the session, Verstappen was the fastest, followed by his teammate Albon and the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.
After a brief hiatus, the majority of the field headed back to the track with a fresh set of softs rubber, with cars emptied of fuel in order to best prepare for the Quali Sim laps.
With 10 minutes to go, The Renault pair of drivers booted Lewis Hamilton off the session’s podium, with Ricciardo in second and Ocon a close third, both of them only a tenth away from the mark of Verstappen.
Despite complaining about an “insane” understeering, Albon put a valiant effort to bring his RB16 in second place, ahead of the two Renaults. The Mercedes fell in 6th for Hamilton, and 9th for Bottas.
Since Mercedes has been undefeated on the emirati track, it is highly unlikely that the Silver Arrows have fully shown their hands, so it certainly will be an interesting battle for pole position heading to qualifying.Here's how we stacked up in FP3...@redbullracing led the way, ahead of @RenaultF1Team in P3 and P4 🚀#AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/RoYfLMzNB7
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 12, 2020
