2025 F1 Abu Dhabi GP FP3: As it happened - Russell quickest from Norris in final FP session of season

A very quick breather now - just two and a half hours - before the all-important qualifying session for the Abu Dhabi GP kicks off

We'll back in the run up to qualifying, don't miss it! It's going to be a cracker

Alonso pops up into fourth place, displacing Piastri to fifth

No improvements from Norris and Piastri on their final runs - they sit second and fourth respectively, split by Verstappen in third.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Mercedes garage, George Russell goes quickest by 0.004s

1- Russell

2- Norris

3- Verstappen

4- Piastri

5- Ocon

6- Bearman

Some bad timing between Mercedes and Red Bull, with Antonelli being released a moment after Tsunoda is released from his garage

Their pit boxes are right next to each other, so in that brief moment between releases, perhaps a bump is a risk. Either way, if a penalty is coming, it'll be for Mercedes

Sauber are keen to go out on a high with Hulkenberg and Bortoleto showing well in these closing stages, up in third and seventh 

Lots of green sectors coming in though

Uh-oh, we've got a yellow flag... in the pit lane.

Antonelli and Tsunoda have come together, causing damage to the Mercedes and leaving debris in an awkward place.

Norris is pushing on, so much so he clatters the kerb at Turn 6 and gets a fistful of opposite lock.

And yet, it's still good enough for him to take just over two tenths out of Piastri's time and move top.

Things are looking very good for the Briton right now

A clean lap at last for Piastri... and it's quick too, more than half-a-second quicker than Verstappen.

Something to settle the Aussie's nerves having completed relatively little track time compared to his title rivals

Verstappen lowers his best time to create a new benchmark for his rivals to aim for - a 1m 24.116s

With 15mins to go, our top five is Verstappen, Stroll, Bearman, Hamilton and Leclerc

Speaking of Red Bull, it will enter into a partnership with Ford to develop its engine - it remains to be seen how involved the American giant will be beyond paying checks, but it's another welcome return for one of F1's most stories marques

While we wait for the session to restart, let's look ahead again to 2026 and this time consider Aston Martin, which welcomes back Honda to the sport just five years after it left.

Honda has been in and out of F1 on numerous occasions - its most recent stint was defined in the early years by a slow and unreliable engine that famously led to a fall out with McLaren.

Red Bull took the risk of taking it under its wing in order to ditch its Renault engines and it worked a treat, winning the title together in 2021... just as Honda exited the sport.

Technically speaking, though Red Bull took engine development in house, Honda was still involved in the background, so it'll be interesting to see if it's full-scale return with Aston - where it will reunite with Adrian Newey - has an impact on Red Bull's pace

The Ferrari has been prone to some spins in recent rounds - Leclerc went around in São Paulo, Vegas (several times), in Qatar and on Friday in Abu Dhabi - but this time it is Hamilton and this time he found something hard to hit

It's a fast off for Hamilton, his Ferrari snapping round at the rear on the bumps.

Driver ok but another confidence-sapping incident for a driver who looks set to end the year without a podium to his name

We've covered Sauber and Alpine, but there is of course even more to come in 2026

While Audi enters F1 on the back of Sauber, there will be an entirely new 11th entrant coming in the form of Cadillac, which heralds General Motors' much anticipated move into F1.

Not too much is known about the entry - we know Perez and Bottas will return as drivers and Ferrari will supply the engines, but Cadillac, with exception to its moderately successful WEC programme, doesn't have much historical prestige in motorsport, compared to Audi.

Still, the anticipated black, gold and silver livery should look mint!

Verstappen powers round with three purple sectors to move to the top of the timesheets, while Stroll and Hamilton slot in just behind the Red Bull driver

Bearman - who was waxing lyrical about his Haas on the radio yesterday - gets closest to Norris, just eight thousandths of a second off the top spot.

1- Norris

2- Bearman

3- Leclerc

4- Tsunoda

5- Piastri

35mins of the session remaining

Norris goes quicker again, despite getting it a little bit loose on the exit of the final corner - he holds a near four-tenths lead over Tsunoda

Twenty minutes in and we're getting some lap times on the board now with Norris resuming his place atop the timesheets, followed by Tsunoda and Piastri. Only half of the field have put in fast laps so far though

In fact, amid all of the drama of the title fight, this season finale marks the end of an era for some and signals the start of others

For one,  everyone's favourite plucky privateer team Sauber returns to a dormant state as an independent entity as it prepares to morph into the eagerly-anticipated Audi works team.

F1 has been trying for decades to get the VW Group involved in the sport and in 2026 it will finally happen as the manufacturer that has previously dominated rallying, sports cars and touring cars at last gives the pinnacle of the sport a crack.

That's not to say the Swiss outfit - which has maintained a presence in F1 since 1993 in various guises, even during the BMW and Alfa years - will never return, but 2026 will be the first time the Sauber name won't be above the garage in 33 years