Lewis Hamilton crashes in final practice at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton will face a race against time to participate in qualifying for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after he crashed out of final practice.

The seven-time world champion lost control of his Ferrari through turn nine at the Yas Marina Circuit.

He completed a 360-degree pirouette before crunching the barriers head-on and sustaining significant damage to the front of his Ferrari.

His spin came before championship hopeful Lando Norris finished second, just four thousandths of a second behind Mercedes’ George Russell.

Max Verstappen was third, 0.124 seconds off the pace with Oscar Piastri fifth.

Hamilton was able to walk away from the accident, reporting on the radio: “Something buckled at the front and snapped the rear.”

He then apologised to his team – retrieving a damaged section of his front wing and putting it on top of his wrecked car – before heading back to the pit lane on the back of a moped.

The one-hour running was red-flagged for 13 minutes as Hamilton’s Ferrari was removed from the track.

With qualifying due to start at 18:00 local time (14:000 GMT), Hamilton’s mechanics will have less than three hours to repair his car.

Hamilton, 40, has endured a painful first season with Ferrari and is set to end the year without a single podium finish.