Hamilton ignores red flag, penalty looms

Lewis Hamilton must fear he will have to start the last Grand Prix with a grid penalty. The Englishman ignored a red flag during the final free practice session and the consequences will be investigated after the session.

In FP3, the session was briefly halted after Pierre Gasly suddenly suffered damage and drove slowly. At the time the red flag was shown, Hamilton was just on a fast lap. He did not slow down and even overtook a Haas. This did not escape race control. So possibly this will have unpleasant consequences for his race.

At least Mercedes was in good shape in Abu Dhabi. Hamilton ended the session in third place, behind the Red Bulls of Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen. Mercedes also had little to fear from Ferrari, with whom it is battling for spot two in the constructors' championship. Later in the day, it will get cooler during qualifying, which often does not suit the Mercedes car.