George Russell Makes A Surprise For Lando Norris In The Third Free Practice Of F1 Abu Dhabi

JAKARTA Mercedes driver George Russell managed to make a surprise to outperform F1 2025 title winner, Lando Norris, in the third or final free practice of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Saturday, December 6, 2025.

Russel completed his third most prestigious free practice race at the Yas Marina Circuit with a convincing time of one minute 23,334 seconds to lead by only 0.004 seconds from Norris.

Norris previously appeared very solid in two exercises that took place on Friday night local time. He was always the fastest in both sessions beating rival Max Verstappen who defended Red Bull.

Norris currently has 12 points advantage over Verstappen in the hunt for the world title, which will be determined in the last Grand Prix tomorrow. He just needs to get on the podium to ensure the title becomes his.

Oscar Piastri, who is a teammate of the Piastri team, also still has a chance to become world champion. However, he, who is still four points behind Verstappen, is not so seeded in tomorrow's most decisive race.

Norris, who came from England, had a problem when he almost hit Yuki Tsunoda, who was moving slowly in the last sector. However, he managed to avoid a collision with the Red Bull racer who was being investigated.

Meanwhile, Verstappen is in third place, 0.124 seconds behind Russell. He outperformed Fernando Alonso from Aston Martin and Piastri who consecutively completed the top five positions.

The Haas duo, Esteban Ocon and total Bearman, are in sixth and seventh place, ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, and Williams' Alex Albon, who complete the top 10 third free practice.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton finished 18th after a high-speed crash at Turn 9. The seven-time world champion was not injured in the incident, but the red flag was raised as a result of the accident.