Oscar Piastri fastest in FP3 as McLaren continue to look dominant in season finale!

Credit: Clive Mason

As free practice concludes for the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship, the Constructors Championship leaders with McLaren having the pace as Oscar Piastri was fastest in a 1-2 for the team.

Piastri was fastest ahead of his teammate Lando Norris on a weekend where McLaren can become Constructors Champions for the first time since 1998. Two tenths were between the two drivers who have five wins between them in 2024.

There is a 21-point lead that McLaren has in the championship over challengers Ferrari, who will have to do something magical to take the title this season but in motorsport you can never rule anything out until it is officially and mathematically impossible!

Lewis Hamilton would finish the final practice session of his Mercedes career in third with MAx Verstappen in fourth and Carlos Sainz completing the top five

How Free Practice 3 for the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix unfolded

Saturday arrived at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi which would be the day of the final qualifying session of the season set to take place in 2024 for round 24 of the longest season in Formula One history.

​ However, first the final free practice session of the season was to be completed and that would be free practice 3, in the daylight of the United Arab Emirates. In FP1 and FP2 on Friday, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris were fastest in those sessions respectively.

It would be a slow start to Free Practice 3 as the session would get underway but there would be little to no action out on track. Two minutes would go by until the first cars were out on track and it would be the two Aston Martin drivers - Fernando Alonso followed by Lance Stroll.

The two Aston Martin cars would be out on circuit for pit stop practice and would return to the pit lane. The first 10 minutes would only see two lap times completed with Jack Doohan and Pierre Gasly making use of the quiet circuit and would have it as an Alpine 1-2 with Doohan top ahead of his teammate.

Sure enough, around 15 minutes into the session, there would be cars slowly heading out onto the circuit as Lance Stroll would take top spot as he and his Aston Martin teammate Alonso would have lap times.

As the session approached 20 minutes complete, almost every driver apart from the Williams cars of Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto, as well the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton would be out on circuit. 

Kevin Magnussen would go to the top spot with a great lap three tenths quicker than Lando Norris. A 1:24.470 for Magnussen, who is leaving Haas after the season finale. He is top from Norris, Nico Hulkenberg and Oscar Piastri who are the top four.

Lewis Hamilton would knock Piastri down to fifth by going fourth around the halfway point in the session as Magnussen would remain fastest.

An issue would arise for the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz as he was trundling around the circuit after replays showed small puffs of smoke coming from his exhaust. Ferrari have already had problems this weekend as Charles Leclerc is set to take a grid penalty for an extra energy store than the maximum allowed per season for each driver.

It would only be a seemingly minor issue as he would go back out on track,on the medium tyres, and would go second fastest ahead of Max Verstappen who had made improvements. However, with 20 minutes remaining, Magnussen was still fastest.

Alex Albon would go fastest with just over 15 minutes remaining as the end if FP3 qualifying runs were set to happen in the latter stages of the session. A 1:24.378 for Albon, just under a tenth faster than Magnussen's lap time. 

When everyone had an attempt at a practice qualifying lap, it would be a McLaren 1-2 with Oscar Piastri having the fastest time by nearly two tenths to his McLaren teammate Lando Norris. Piastri's time was a 1:23.433.

​ Lewis Hamilton would elevate himself to third with a late improvement but as the chequered flag flew from the Race Control tower.

McLaren would be feeling the happiest in a weekend where they could clinch their first Constructors Championship since 1998, the ended the final free practice session 1-2 with Oscar Piastri fastest ahead of his teammate Lando Norris.

Lewis Hamilton in his final practice session for Mercedes ended third with that late improvement and he finished ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz who completed the top five.

A mighty session for Haas saw them finish seventh and eighth behind George Russell in sixth, Nico Hulkenberg would be one thousandth of a second faster than Kevin Magnussen in seventh and eighth respectively.

Charles Leclerc would finish ninth in the other Ferrari, while the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez would complete the top 10.

With all of free practice of the 2024 Formula One World Championship now completed, all attention now turns to the final qualifying of the year, which will be the next action later on Saturday.

2024 FIA Formula One World Championship: Round 24 - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

1. Oscar Piastri (Australia, McLaren)
2. Lando Norris (Great Britain, McLaren)
3. Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain, Mercedes)
4. Max Verstappen (Netherlands, Red Bull Racing)
5. Carlos Sainz (Spain, Scuderia Ferrari)
6. George Russell (Great Britain, Mercedes)
7. Nico Hulkenberg (Germany, Haas F1 Team)
8. Kevin Magnussen (Denmark, Haas F1 Team)
9. Charles Leclerc (Monaco, Scuderia Ferrari)
10. Sergio Perez (Mexico, Red Bull Racing)
11. Yuki Tsunoda (Japan, Visa Cash App RB)
12. Alex Albon (Thailand, Williams Racing)
13. Pierre Gasly (France, Alpine F1 Team)
14. Jack Doohan (Australia, Alpine F1 Team)
15. Fernando Alonso (Spain, Aston Martin)
16. Valtteri Bottas (Finland, Kick Sauber)
17. Liam Lawson (New Zealand, Visa Cash App RB)
18. Lance Stroll (Canada, Aston Martin)
19. Zhou Guanyu (China, Kick Sauber)
20. Franco Colapinto (Argentina, Williams Racing)

Brandon Whiteside
Writer & X Contributor - F1 Journal