Unfortunate Saturday for George as he ends qualifying in P17 ahead of Formula One’s finale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

In the final practice session of the year, George made a steady start to the day as he ventured onto the track 15 minutes into the session on a set of the Medium compound Pirelli tyres.

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On his first run, George put in a 1.26.726 lap time to place into P17 before returning to the pits to change onto the Soft tyres and re-joining the track with only 20 minutes remaining.

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George slotted himself into P9 with a 1.23.274 lap time on his first run on the Soft tyres as he explored the reconfigured areas of the Yas Marina circuit.

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As the session drew to a close, the rest of the pack delivered their best final laps and George dropped down to P17 where he ended FP3.

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In Q1, George began the session on a set of Sot tyres to put himself into P9 after his first run but dropped down into P14 as the rest of the field began to deliver their flying laps.

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A red flag to remove a bollard from the track briefly sent the field back into the pits but it wasn’t long before the green light showed, and action could resume.

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With only two minutes remaining, George re-joined the track for his final run but due to his tyres not being in the optimal window, he was unable to improve and returned to the pits to finish in P17.

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George Russell – Williams Racing Driver

The car was feeling great on our flying laps and I was really confident that we could progress into Q2. We went for one push lap at the end and unfortunately, the tyres weren't quite ready so we didn't improve our best time and that was a shame. However, the points are scored tomorrow and the most important thing is to secure P8 in the Constructors' Championship. I believe we can achieve that, but we know it's not over until it's over. We will be doing everything we can to finish ahead of Alfa Romeo.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will get underway at 1pm GMT on Sunday, December 12.

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