By Alan Baldwin
ABU DHABI, Dec 6 (Reuters) – Lewis Hamilton crashed his Ferrari in the final practice session of the Formula One season in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, with Mercedes’s George Russell denying McLaren’s championship leader Lando Norris a sweep of fastest times.
Russell was 0.004 quicker than his fellow Briton, who dominated Friday at Yas Marina and was still the fastest title contender.
Norris leads Red Bull’s four-times world champion Max Verstappen by 12 points with McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri a further four adrift.
If the 26-year-old Norris finishes in the top three on Sunday he will be champion but a fast Mercedes in the mix could complicate matters.
Verstappen was third, 0.124 off the pace, while Piastri was fifth fastest and behind Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
Seven-times champion Hamilton brought out red flags when he spun at turn nine before spearing into the tyre wall halfway through the session.
“Something buckled at the front and snapped the rear,” the Briton, yet to stand on the podium since joining Ferrari from Mercedes in January, said over team radio.
There had been drama already, with Norris having to swerve to avoid a dawdling Red Bull driven by Yuki Tsunoda and the Japanese then caught up in a pitlane collision with Mercedes’s Kimi Antonelli and both cars suffering damage.
Mercedes released the Italian rookie from the garage straight into Tsunoda’s path, with stewards investigating.
“You told me yes and Tsunoda was coming,” exclaimed Antonelli.
Verstappen was also complaining about his car jumping. “I can’t keep my feet on the pedals,” he said over the radio.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin; editing by Clare Fallon)
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