George Russell maintained top spot for most part of FP1 in F1 Abu Dhabi GP with Felipe Drugovich ending up P2 from Daniel Ricciardo.
It was a rookie show in FP1 of F1 Abu Dhabi GP where as many as 10 drivers had a go with Red Bull choosing to run both in one session at one go, leaving Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez on sidelines after having sorted their drivers’ championship’s position sorted.
Mercedes’ George Russell was on song all-through to end up on top in FP1 of F1 Abu Dhabi GP with a 1m26.072s lap ahead of Aston Martin’s Felipe Drugovich – filling in for Fernando Alonso – after a late improvement from the Brazilian.
It was a late improvement for AlphaTauri’s Daniel Ricciardo to be third as the team is trialing a new floor not just for 2024 but also to see if they can leapfrog Williams. Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas was fourth from Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.
The Canadian too improved late on but he had quite the moment in the final corner as did his teammate Durgovich along with Williams’ Zak O’Sullivan and McLaren’s Pato O’Ward. The Canadian was caught interrupting Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar’s run rather dangerously.
He didn’t move away from the racing line as a fast Hadjar came at him and had to take avoiding action in the run-off. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was sixth from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Robert Shwartzman – who was filling in for Charles Leclerc.
The Russian was another to have a moment in the final corner. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was ninth from AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda in the Top 10, as Williams’ Logan Sargeant slotted in 11th. The American is under investigation for driving erratically.
He tried to move away from fast coming Alpine’s Jack Doohan but they both went to right in the approach to the final corner. Mercedes’ Frederik Vesti was 12th – filling in for Lewis Hamilton – with Doohan in 13th after taking Esteban Ocon’s place.
Alfa Romeo’s Theo Pourchaire got a full run in FP1 in 14th where he filled in for Zhou Guanyu, as O’Ward was 15th – taking Lando Norris’ seat. The two Red Bull drivers were 16th and 17th against this year’s results, with Jake Dennis ahead of Hadjar.
Dennis was in Max Verstappen’s car, while Hadjar took Sergio Perez’s machine. Williams’ O’Sullivan was 16th from the Haas pair of Kevin Magnussen and Oliver Bearman, where the latter was in Nico Hulkenberg’s car.
