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Formula 1
Abu Dhabi GP
F1 Abu Dhabi GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP3 and Qualifying
Saturday's practice and qualifying action from the Yas Marina Circuit
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Green flag
Q2 is go, plenty of medium tyres on show for both pairs of Mercedes and Red Bull drivers.
Meanwhile race control have confirmed no investigation necessary for a close call between Vettel and Sainz.
The incident involving Vettel and Ocon will be investigated by the stewards. Both made it into Q2 so in the end it didn't cost the German too much, but he did need his final lap to ensure he progressed.
Out in Q1: P16 Latifi, P17 Russell, P18 Raikkonen, P19 Schumacher, P20 Mazepin.
Stroll improves to get himself into Q2, with Russell pitting before completing his final lap to see him drop to P17 behind team-mate Latifi.
Hamilton improves again with a 1m22.845s to extend his advantage at the top, with Bottas moving up to second again.
Vettel goes P14 to push Russell into the drop zone and Stroll on the bubble with a one-tenth advantage.
Final run time in Q1. Vettel, Raikkonen, Latifi, Schumacher and Mazepin remain the drivers in the drop zone.
Both Ferraris switched to the softs on that second run and look assured of a Q2 berth. Leclerc goes P6 and Sainz goes P10.
TV replays show Vettel, on a timed lap, had to back out at the final corner with Ocon ahead of him preparing to start his own timed lap. That's why Vettel remains in the bottom five.
A Turn 16 incident involving Vettel and Ocon has been noted by race control.
Green flag
Just like that, Q1 is go again. Both Alfa Romeos and Ferraris out straight away.
None of the drivers were on a timed effort when the red flag was shown so more of a case of reset and go again. Q1 will restart at 17:14 local time - under 60 seconds away.
Red flag
Red flag! Schumacher has clipped a bollard on to the racing line at the final corner exit which was then hit by Norris.
Stroll pushes his team-mate Vettel into the Q1 drop zone now as he goes P13, 0.3s faster.
Verstappen steps up his pace on a second Q1 effort to go second quickest with a 1m23.322s. Just 0.056s splits him from Hamilton.
Vettel moves up to P15 to push Raikkonen into the drop zone.
Still 10 minutes to go in Q1, but the drivers in danger of taking no further part in qualifying after this session are: P16 Stroll, P17 Vettel, P18 Latifi, P19 Schumacher, P20 Mazepin.
Double Mercedes delight so far in this session, as Bottas slots into second place between the two title contenders. Further back Norris is fourth and Alonso is fifth as all drivers set timed efforts.
Hamilton goes top in Q1 with a 1m23.266s. That puts him 0.414s quicker than Verstappen.
All the drivers are on the track now, as Hamilton winds up for his first timed effort.
Meanwhile a messy start for both Haas drivers as Schumacher and Mazepin run wide and off track at Turn 1.
Verstappen sets the early pace of 1m23.680s as Hamilton leads out team-mate Bottas to start their Q1 runs.
First lap times coming up, all drivers are on the softs apart from the Ferrari pair who are on the mediums.
It is a busy start to qualifying with Verstappen joined by Perez, both AlphaTauris, Aston Martins, Haas, Alfa Romeos and Ferraris.
Lights green
Q1 is underway, here we go. Verstappen out on the track immediately.
The Yas Marina circuit might look a little different to usual and that's because it has undergone some major changes: Turn 5 is a revised hairpin, Turn 9 is a long high-speed left and Turns 12 to 15 have been opened up. It has made the track much quicker.
The rear wings on both Red Bull cars appear to be the low downforce spec with a focus on finding top speed in the battle against Mercedes. Time will tell if it is the right call, but fortunately qualifying is moments away, so we won't have long to find out.
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Red Bull has made precautionary rear wing changes ahead of qualifying after detecting an issue in practice. Team boss Christian Horner told Sky Sports F1: "These cars are getting a little bit tired now and it is at the end of their lives in some parts that are two years old. It was a problem we had not seen before, it would have been alright to continue but as a precaution we changed."
A quick recap on practice if you missed it. Verstappen led the first practice session before Hamilton struck back to lead both FP2 and FP3. In the final session Hamilton had a 0.2s gap on his title rival.
Good afternoon! For the final time in 2021 it is time for F1 qualifying. Q1 gets underway in 15 minutes.
We'll catch you a little bit later for qualifying - see you in a few!
Breaking news
Here's the report from FP3 - the final practice report of the year! https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-abu-dhabi-gp-hamilton-tops-final-practice-from-verstappen/6873795/
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"What the **** was that?" Gasly asks, when the automated lollipop mechanism decides to drop in front of him for no apparent reason. I for one welcome our robotic lollypop overlords.
Checkered flag
And there's the chequered flag - that's it for practice sessions in 2021.
Perez shuffles up to P4 as we come towards the end of the session.
"I don't think I can drive on this tyre," Hamilton says, finding a flat spot having apparently switched to a used set during his quick trip to the pits. Verstappen, meanwhile, gets a swapper on at Turn 9 and has to abort his next run.
Gasly gets up to sixth, just a shade slower than Tsunoda but goes ahead of Perez.
Norris has fired up to fourth now, finding time in that McLaren to get within a tenth of Bottas in third.
By: Autosport Staff
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