Hamilton facing red flag investigation after Perez tops FP3

Lewis Hamilton is facing a Formula 1 stewards investigation for failing to slow for red flags, as Red Bull again set the pace in final practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

key moments:

> Hamilton overtook under red flag

>RedBull 1-2

> Ferrari’s behind Norris

The session was red flagged midway through the hour after Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri broke its front right wheel over the Turn 9 exit kerb and left debris on the circuit.

Puncture for Gasly

The front right tire winglet flies off his car with his tire deflating#AbuDhabiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/t8f346P3HQ

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 19, 2022

Hamilton overtook Lando Norris’s McLaren and a Haas approaching Turn 5, and the apparent offense was reported by Norris over team radio.

“Hamilton overtook the Haas as well under red flag” – Lando#AbuDhabiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/oZimJWkkCZ

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 19, 2022

Both cars were traveling slowly off-line, while Hamilton was on a flying lap. From replays it looks as though the red light panel only just began to flash as Hamilton overtook Norris.

The investigation will aim to establish the precise facts, but Hamilton could be penalized if he is found guilty.

Hamilton set the pace on soft tires for much of the first part of the session, before Perez’s medium-tyred Red Bull broke into the 1m25s and leapt to the top of the timesheet just before the Gasly incident.

When the red flag period ended, both Mercedes took a turn at the top of the timesheet as teams attempted qualifying simulation runs on the soft compound rubber – but both ended up shy of Perez, who was the only driver to lap below 1m25s.

Team-mate Max Verstappen didn’t appear on track until after the red flag, and initially ran on used tires – having effectively ‘borrowed’ a Saturday set for an extra FP2 run yesterday.

After swapping to fresh softs, he went second-fastest, 0.152s slower than Perez though Red Bull suggested Verstappen’s lap breached track limits in two places so would not count if he repeated the lines in qualifying.

After a difficult time with an oversteering Mercedes in FP2, Hamilton got within 0.25s of the pacesetting Red Bull in FP3, while George Russell was fourth in the other Mercedes, 0.173s further back.

Norris was impressively fifth-quickest in his McLaren, ahead of both Ferraris, while Daniel Ricciardo’s McLaren, Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin and Alex Albon’s Williams rounded out the top 10.

Charles Leclerc complained of oscillations from his Ferrari engine, and also suggested it was “not looking good” for Ferrari in terms of front tire life.

Leclerc produced a late lap 0.034s quicker than team-mate Carlos Sainz, but the best of the Ferraris was still 0.589s down on Perez’s Red Bull as Ferrari’s struggles to be competitive around the Yas Marina circuit continued.

The Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso were both very competitive on the medium compound early in this session, but slipped to 11th and 12th after electing not to use the soft tyre.

Practice 3 results

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