Verstappen second in final free practice Abu Dhabi

Published on 11 December 2021 by Kees-Jan Koster

Max Verstappen finished second in the third free practice session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Dutchman did 23 laps on the modified Yas Marina Circuit. With a time of 1:23.488 Verstappen was two tenths slower than title rival Lewis Hamilton. Valtteri Bottas finished third, with Sergio Perez in P4.

With an outside temperature of 27 degrees Celsius and a track temperature of 39 degrees Celsius, the third and final free practice session on the 5,281-meter long Yas Marina Circuit gets underway. The last free practice of the year is also the last session this year under daylight.

Max comes out on track straight after the lights go green. With a set of medium compound tyres the Dutchman sets a 1:24.997 as his first time. After this lap Max returns to the Red Bull Racing garage, after which he comes out again for a second run, setting a 1:24.828.

Not much later sets Hamilton a time more than half a second quicker than Verstappen. However, the Mercedes driver was on soft tyres. After a short break in the pits comes Max back out again on medium compound tyres. This time the Dutchman does a stint of seven laps on race pace, after which he returns to the pits.

The rear wing of the RB16B is replaced, with just over fifteen minutes on the clock Max comes back out again. This time with a set of soft tyres on his car, Max improves his time to a 1:23.488, putting him in second position two tenths behind Hamilton. During his last flying lap Max loses some grip in turn nine and he decides to abandon the lap. As usual the third free practice session is finished with a practice start.

Hamilton finished the session as fastest, with Verstappen in P2. Both teammates follow in P3 (Bottas) and P4 (Perez). Lando Norris finishes in P5 as ‘best of the rest’.

Contest GP Abu Dhabi: win a by Max Verstappen signed 1:2 helmet 2021!

Results third free practice Abu-dhabi: