The Friday in F1 Abu Dhabi GP saw multiple rookies in action as red flag hampered the second session which has left teams with limited data.
The first session in Friday in F1 Abu Dhabi GP saw 10 rookies in action which went rather smoothly apart from some moments. The second session saw red flag stoppages which hampered running and limited the field in data collection.
They only got the chance to do a qualifying lap in conditions suited for the grand prix. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc set the pace but McLaren’s Lando Norris was close behind, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen struggled a bit on the balance side.
Even though Mercedes weren’t in the top positions in FP2, but Leclerc is wary of their race pace in the limited running they got. The qualifying will be crucial in their fight in the standings and after Carlos Sainz’s crash, it puts him on the brink of a penalty.
If there is larger damage, he may have to drop back helping Mercedes. Their fight will also be dictated by how Sergio Perez and McLaren pair of Norris and Oscar Piastri will do, who were looking decent. The pack seems to be closely matched in the Top 4.
Leclerc: “Yeah, because I only did one lap on the medium [tyre] then straightaway a lap on the soft and it was feeling pretty good. It’s a good sign when it starts like this, so [I] hope we can have a great weekend from now on. It’s true that also Mercedes looked very strong. I don’t know what happened exactly in FP2 – they looked a little bit less strong compared to FP1, so we’ve still got a lot of work to do because we will be fighting with them this weekend. I will wait before saying that it’s a strong circuit for us. We still have to prove it tomorrow in qualifying, and then tyre management will be the biggest thing this weekend. We know that we have to be prepared for that on Sunday, so we’ll do our best. The fourth place in the drivers’ [means] absolutely nothing, the second place in the constructors’ though is nice. Honestly I would really like the team to be second at the end of this weekend. We’ve had a tough season and everybody deserves it. They’ve worked like crazy in order to bring the upgrades earlier, and it would be deserved to be in second at the end of the year, so we’ll do absolutely everything for that. And then in the drivers’, honestly I don’t have too much hope of finishing fourth. If this happens then good, if not I don’t really mind. I just want to win that championship as soon as possible.”
Sainz: “I’m feeling good thanks, it was a pretty big crash but in the end, again with these safe cars you can get away with these pretty big hits pretty untouched and that’s the case. A little bit sore but nothing to worry about. Yeah, for some reason there’s been a change in the track compared to other years. There’s two bumps, one in the exit of Turn 2 and one in the entry of Turn 3 that, with these new generation of cars, is upsetting the car a lot. It nearly caught me out in FP1, I changed a few things in the set-up and in the line trying to get rid of it and then again in that lap, it surprised me. It must have been an angle or an exact way I took the bump and it made me just be a passenger from there on. We’ve seen before with this generation of cars, any small bumps can really make you spin, make you have a pretty heavy crash. It is what it is, it is not ideal but we’ll try and make it better tomorrow. We were definitely changing things from FP1 to FP2 which might have had an effect, but obviously I’m not going to go into details of that. But unfortunately, I just couldn’t control the car. It snapped on me and it’s those moments you feel as if you are a complete passenger and you wish maybe you would have done something different.”
Verstappen: “I think from our side the balance was very off, a lot of understeer, a lot of jumping, so definitely a few things to figure out for tomorrow. A lot to figure out for FP3 to be good in qualifying, but we’ll see. I didn’t expect it to be so far off, so that’s also a bit of a question mark for us. We’re still P3, it’s not too bad, but balance-wise I think it can be a lot better, so we’ll try and have a look at what happened there. They have to move. They are all driving slow and I want to go out, because [we’re] all limited on time. They just keep on driving in the middle and then when I tried to pass they tried to squeeze me in the wall, so a bit silly.”
Hamilton: “Not particularly. It was not the greatest of days. I think I only got like four timed laps really. So that’s not a lot in a day in terms of your knowledge of the car and the track. But the car doesn’t feel bad, I think we were not in a terrible place, I just hope I get some more running tomorrow. At the moment no. I’m just going to try and see if there is way to get into Q3. We’ve had difficult qualifying sessions and getting out of Q1 into Q2 has always been a tough battle. Even just getting into Q3 is a challenge. The work tomorrow morning is just going to have to be about making sure we can get into Q3. I think it’s going to be close. I think George is looking good, he might be in a better place, but he didn’t miss FP1. Nonetheless, I’m not going to make any excuses I’m just going to try and get on it tomorrow.”
Norris: “It was decent. Messy of course, not many laps today, I think like five push laps in total. So, not the Friday that I would want, especially from an FP2 perspective and trying to make up laps on everyone, I just felt like I lost even more. But I got comfortable and confident very quickly which is always important on a day when you miss FP1. But I got confident quickly and could push on, the car was performing pretty well, a few things to look into but otherwise a decent day. For just one session today I was happy, the car was obviously quite quick, definitely a bit to find. I think it’s just very close, it’s going to be very close here tomorrow in qualifying. One or two tenths is easily five, six positions come tomorrow afternoon. It’s not if you’re first or last today, I don’t think that really matters, but it’s trying to find the little things tonight that can make a big difference come tomorrow. We are in a good position definitely. We are more confident and comfortable than we were in Vegas and a few other races, but not many high fuel long run laps that I managed to get today. Actually zero. A little bit behind from a long run perspective but maybe I can make up for that tomorrow.”
The Top 10 had different cars with AlphaTauri, Alfa Romeo and Alpine showing their pace too. In paricular, Valtteri Bottas was on song with a fourth place finish in both FP1 and FP2, while Daniel Ricciardo too showed decent pace along with Yuki Tsunoda.
The AlphaTauri are chasing Williams and one good points haul could help in eradicating the seven points gap. Both Alexander Albon and Logan Sargeant are 50-50 about their pace and their big aim will be stop AlphaTauri from scoring any point.
In the mix was Aston Martin and Alpine too, where both seemed to similarly matched. Haas seemed a bit off and they were further down after a mistake from Nico Hulkenberg who called out the second flag of the day to further limit everyone chances.
Bottas: “It is definitely quite nice to finish both sessions in P4, although it’s quite difficult to say where we really stand at the end of today. We had a couple of unusual sessions today: the first one featuring several rookie drivers, and the second one affected by two red flags in a row – therefore not allowing everyone to get good laps in. Still, we went through the full programme for the day, and the feeling in the car is pretty good, which is promising for the days ahead. Of course, there is still a long way to go, and we need to be at our best for Qualifying and for Sunday’s race as well. Our target for Saturday remains Q3, and if we do our homework right overnight, we have a solid chance of achieving that tomorrow.”
Alonso: “I didn’t learn much from FP2. We were unlucky with the pair of red flags and there wasn’t much action. It’s important to get some practice in and FP2 is the only practice session with conditions that represent Qualifying and the race, so we have some work to do, but it’s the same for everybody. We will try everything to end the season positively. Anything can happen, as we saw in the last two events. We will fight until the last lap and see what we can do.”
Ricciardo: “I think it was a solid day. I definitely felt the positives from the upgrades immediately in FP1, and we could see the benefits from it. We made some changes for FP2, trying to exploit it and get the best all-round package. It was a slightly disrupted session, so we were a little compromised with our programme, but I’m sure others were too. Looking at us, I’m confident we can find even more performance, so I’m not too concerned about our positions in FP2. We did look like we had a decent pace on the medium tyres, so I think we’ll be a top-ten car if we get it right.”
Gasly: “We started our Abu Dhabi weekend here at Yas Marina with an interesting day’s Practice where running was shortened due to the two red flags in Free Practice 2. Firstly, I’m glad Carlos is OK as it looked like a big impact. From our side, with the running we were able to do, we’ve had a fairly standard day in the car. I think we’re in a good position and now it’s important we take the time and do our work overnight to find some improvements ahead of Qualifying. I’m feeling comfortable and we will see what tomorrow brings.”
Hulkenberg: “It was a mistake on my side – driver error – I just wanted a bit too much, too soon. I lost the car, it wasn’t a big impact, but it ended my session, so it’s been a very short day in general with only one lap on the board as I didn’t drive FP1 either. FP3 is in the daytime with much hotter track temperatures, so it’s not really representative and not great in terms of learning for the car, but it will be useful for me to feel comfortable in the car.”
Albon: “I feel a little bit on the backfoot this weekend but I’m obviously not alone in that, with a group of drivers all in the same situation after sitting out of FP1 and the disrupted FP2 session. Realistically, the long run pace is okay and we’re feeling up to speed with this, however the setup direction is also not easy, so we’ll have to look at Logan’s side of the garage to see what they’ve learnt from today. I feel confident in ourselves when it comes to the fight for 7th, so we’ll just focus on our own race and see how we go.”
As noted about the F1 rookies, Aston Martin’s Felipe Drugovich showed pace in his second time and joining him in the ‘second time’ list were Ferrari’s Robert Shwartzman, Mercedes’ Frederik Vesti, Haas’ Oliver Bearman, Alpine’s Jack Doohan and Alfa Romeo’s Theo Pourchaire.
Even though the Frenchman was there in Mexico but issues hampered his run there. It was the second time for Isack Hadjar too but this time he was in a Red Bull as opposed to AlphaTauri the last time, but Jake Dennis had his first go as did Williams’ Zak O’Sullivan and McLaren’s Pato O’Ward.
Drugovich: “P2 in my second FP1 session of the year feels good! I really enjoyed it out there. The start of the session was primarily focused on some aerodynamic testing and so I had a rake attached to the car. That meant putting in some steady and consistent laps to make sure we were collecting the data we need to optimise the set-up for the upcoming sessions. After that, I was given some Soft tyres and allowed to push, which is always the best bit. The car felt quick – we’ve made progress since Monza – and I think we’re starting the weekend off in a good place. Now I’m looking forward to supporting the team this weekend and then getting back out on track on Tuesday for the end-of-season young driver test. Having a full day of running is always beneficial to get into a good rhythm and to find the limits of the car.”
Shwartzman: “Quite a positive day on my side, as everything went smoothly and I’m generally very happy. We completed the programme we had planned and in terms of lap time I was close to Carlos who was my reference today. In terms of feeling, we had to manage the rear tyres quite a bit and the car was stiff in general, so it was a good challenge. A big thanks to the team and everyone who gave me the opportunity to drive today. It’s always amazing to drive a Formula 1 car, especially a Ferrari. I’ll be back in the car on Tuesday for an entire day of testing and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Bearman: “I’m really happy to have completed another FP1 and rack up more miles in a Formula 1 car, I’ll never complain about that. It was a positive session, I built up step-by-step, the car felt good underneath me and we completed the program – that’s what I’m here to do. I think the team are happy, but I couldn’t debrief with them as I had to go back to Formula 2 afterwards, so that’s what I’m doing this evening.”
Vesti: “Taking part in my second FP1 was an incredible experience. I’ve been looking forward to it for a long time, especially as it was on a track that I know well. I was really pleased with how the session went and I was progressing well throughout the hour. I was much more confident with the car than in Mexico given the knowledge I had gained from that FP1. There are always things you can improve and there was more potential out there. I’m looking forward to getting back in the car on Tuesday for the test and carrying on that development. Once again, a big thank you to Toto and the team for giving me the opportunity and supporting me.”
Pourchaire: “Driving this car is always an incredible feeling, and I’m grateful to the team for the trust they put in me, and for the opportunity they gave me to contribute to our work today. I was really looking forward to driving, especially after missing out in Mexico, and I am pleased by the productive session we had. The track was quite green and there wasn’t much grip, but I felt better with every lap and I feel we had a good progression from Hard to Soft compounds. I am happy I was able to help the team in the session, and I’m looking forward to getting back in the car in the post-season test, especially to experience the difference in grip levels after the full race weekend.”
O’Ward: “After FP1 I was just wishing I could be in the car for FP2! It was a smooth session. We were able to work through our run plan and complete all the laps we intended. I think from my side, there’s still quite a lot of lap time to come from me, so I’m very excited to be back in the car on Tuesday for the test, where I hope to get to know the car better and keep on improving. Until then, I’ll be trying to help the team have a good Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend.”
O’Sullivan: “First and foremost, I really enjoyed today. It was my first time in Abu Dhabi and first time driving a Williams Racing F1 car. I made quite good progress throughout the session, getting on top of the car and the different procedures. Thank you to Williams Racing for giving me the opportunity. I can’t wait for the Young Driver Test on Tuesday, to refine some of the things I’ve learnt from FP1 and make some more progress.”
Dennis: “What an incredible experience, I can only thank Red Bull Racing for the opportunity to drive this car. It is immaculate to drive and these moments don’t come around very often in your career. To finally tick driving in FP1 off the bucket list is pretty special. It is so different from what I am used to, the first run was mind blowing, how quick these cars are and how much downforce and braking capacity they have. It was just a cool day in the office and I exited the car with a big smile on my face. I do a lot of work on the simulator for the Team so it’s good to correlate as much as possible back to the simulator in the factory and it is quite impressive how close it is. I had that fear factor, which you obviously don’t have on the sim and the G forces. It was a bit of a challenge, but I have given the car back to Max in one piece!”
Hadjar: “Today was a really good day! It was really busy driving in F1 and F2 in the same day but it was a really good experience, it’s a big step up from F2 to F1. Driving the fastest car in the world was great, it was out of this world, especially in these conditions on track.”
Here’s how FP1 in F1 Abu Dhabi GP panned out
Here’s how FP2 in F1 Abu Dhabi GP panned out