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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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Verstappen fires up to second, grabbing a 1m23.488s to get into Hamilton's ballpark now.
"It just doesn't turn at Turn 6, unbelievable," Verstappen says, as Mazepin finds Hamilton coming out of the pits and gets baulked by the seven-time champion for the second week in a row.
Tsunoda has fired up to third, on a 1m24.443s. Verstappen's now on the softs, and started a run - but went too deep into Turn 6 and has aborted his lap.
Sainz gets up to third on the mediums, still 1.3s off Hamilton's overall pace, as Russell gets up to 10th on the softs.
Latifi bolts on the softs and fires up to P7, having presumably got his dashboard fixed - or at least hooked up to the aux cable so he can have his own music on.
Mercedes continues with its soft-tyre runs as we drift towards the final 20 minutes. Meanwhile, the Alpine duo has made its way into the top 10.
Red Bull doing some quick fixes to Verstappen's rear wing - plus ça change...
Raikkonen, after a short lay-off in the pits, returns on the soft tyres and goes up to P6.
The AlphaTauris have moved up to fifth and sixth, Tsunoda faster than Gasly at this point.
Stopwatch
Hamilton lays down the gauntlet with a 1m23.274s, almost 0.8s faster than Bottas.
Norris moves up to P6 on the hard tyre, as Stroll moves off the bottom of the timesheets to go...P19.
Stopwatch
Bottas goes top with a 1m24.025s - 0.03s faster than Hamilton, as Perez goes above Verstappen into P3.
Sainz now moves up to P5, eclipsing Giovinazzi's soft-tyre time on the hard compound.
Tsunoda moves up to P7, 0.01s off Leclerc, as Giovinazzi remains P5 with a better time on softs.
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"The dash is loose - it won't stay clipped into place," Latifi reports. Williams, the only team to use a dash separate from the wheel, will have to fix that.
Perez has shuffled ahead of Bottas into P3, with Giovinazzi, Leclerc, Alonso, Raikkonen, Sainz and Norris among the top 10.
Stopwatch
Most of the running so far has focused on the hard tyre, but Mercedes and Alfa Romeo seem to be going against the grain - Hamilton sets a 1m24.055s now.
We're 20 minutes in, and everyone has set at least some kind of lap - except George Russell, who's now about to set a time.
In terms of the constructors' battle, Mercedes sits 28 points clear of Red Bull atop the standings. Although the focus is on the drivers' battle, all the money is paid out in the teams' title race.
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"Track still four tenths slower than FP2 - some will be temperature, some will be wind," Bottas is told over the radio.
Two different approaches from the big two teams - Mercedes doing soft running, Red Bull focusing on mediums.
Stopwatch
Hamilton goes top with a 1m24.241s, with the soft tyre.
Bottas goes P2, posting a 1m25.290s on his first lap on the softs.
Perez is out on track now in the second Red Bull - the two cars running slightly different rear wing specs. Verstappen has the lower-downforce variation, as the team decides which is the best way forward.
Stopwatch
It's a 1m24.828s for Verstappen, a tenth faster than his earlier best to end the first 10 minutes.
Some hurried work going on with Hamilton's brakes in the Mercedes garage, as Verstappen is on another lap.
It's been moderately quiet in this opening eight minutes. Stroll goes P4, with Vettel now out and on a lap.
Stopwatch
Verstappen posts a 1m24.997s to go top, on the medium tyre. Raikkonen goes between the Red Bull driver and Ocon on the soft tyre.
Stopwatch
Ocon kicks us off with a 1m26.645s.
Kimi Raikkonen emerges from the underground pit tunnel for his final F1 practice session on softs - hoping not to repeat his spin 'n' bin in FP2 yesterday.
Bottas and Mazepin head out too, as does Verstappen.
Mick Schumacher is first on the road, followed by Esteban Ocon - who was second in practice yesterday.
Lights green
FP3 is go - last orders, chaps.
Sun
Warm temperatures in Abu Dhabi then, 27 degrees C - and naturally, 0% chance of rain.
FP3 coming up - the last practice session of the season.
Hamilton's best time in FP2 was a 1m23.691s - last year's pole time was a 1m35.246s. That's the effect of a revised track, kids.
Breaking news
There'll be limited gain in this session, as qualifying and the race will take place in twilight conditions, but it's a last chance to hone everything before the two big-ticket parts of the weekend.
Good morning everybody, and welcome to our live update feed - it's 15 minutes before we get going for FP3 at Abu Dhabi.
By: Autosport Staff
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