F1 Abu Dhabi: Lewis Hamilton crash stops session with red flag

Lewis Hamilton looking downcast at the Qatar Grand Prix — Photo: © IMAGO

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Practice

Lewis Hamilton crash stops Abu Dhabi Grand Prix session

The final practice session of 2025 got underway on Saturday!

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 6 December 2025 12:28

Seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton crashed out of the final practice session of 2025, causing a red flag at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Hamilton headed into turn nine and experienced a huge snap of oversteer, which sent his SF-25 spinning around and into the barriers.

Hamilton took to team radio to state that something had broken on his car prior to the spin: "Something buckled at the front and snapped the rear," he told Riccardo Adami, while also confirming that he was okay.

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With his car off track but not in an easily-recoverable area, a red flag was waved in FP3, and Ferrari now face a job to get his car fixed up and ready for qualifying later on Saturday.

It was quite a strange incident, and followed another strange incident from Hamilton's Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc in FP1 earlier in the weekend, when he spun round at turn five.

Ferrari ready to wave goodbye to 2025

The red flag only lasted around five minutes, and the other drivers were able to continue on in the final practice session of the weekend, and indeed, the season.

Ferrari have had an awful 2025 season, so will be desperate for the season to end, with Hamilton not even claiming a grand prix podium throughout 2025, and their two drivers sitting five and sixth in the drivers' championship.

Hamilton has already said that he's not necessarily looking forward to 2026, but that he cannot wait to get rid of this season.

And this latest crash will not improve his mood. Sky Sports F1's Anthony Davidson revealed what happened in FP3 in a piece of analysis on the Sky pad.

"As far as I can see, there's nothing that's buckling on the right, everything looks ok," Davidson said.

"Of course, when it goes into the wall, the damage is done to the right front and they're not going to be able to tell now. Their post-session investigation is going to be a lot more difficult now because it's all destroyed on the right front.

"The sparks start when he's on the kerbs, the one tiny spark being kicked up, which is the first tell-tell sign that he's ventured onto the kerb and lowered the car's ride-height just before turning into the corner.

"I think the combination of that, high-speed corner and the turbulence of the car in front, on top of the balance not being great as well, went against him there."

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F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Abu Dhabi Grand Prix