Abu Dhabi GP: Free Practice #1 - Re-Cap & Times

ABU DHABI GP - FREE PRACTICE #1 - RE-CAP & TIMES

    Sebastian Vettel pipped Lewis Hamilton to the top spot in the first free practice ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

    With the top three drivers separated by just 0.15s, FP1 promised a close battle in the final race of the 2017 season, though conditions in the session were unrepresentative of those predicted for qualifying and the race.

    Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen topped the times early in the session, with Daniel Ricciardo close behind. Improvements from Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, and Max Verstapen pushed them both down the order, but Raikkonen improved late in the session to finish fourth.

    Hamilton ran quickest for most of the session, before Vettel jumped up the order late in the day. The Ferrari driver set a 1m39.006s lap around the Yas Marina circuit to finish 0.120s faster than Hamilton.

    Verstappen claimed third quickest, just 0.028s slower than Hamilton in his first lap on the ultra-soft tyres.

    Bottas finished fifth overall, behind Raikkonen, with Force India’s Sergio Perez half a second behind him in sixth.

    The McLaren duo slotted in at seventh and eighth, with Fernando Alonso beating Stoffel Vandoorne by just 0.047s.

    Felipe Massa and Ricciardo rounded out the top 10.

    Friday drivers George Russell and Antonio Giovinazzi were both in action. Russell, in the second Force India, finished 11th overall, just before taking his fourth GP3 pole position of the season. Giovinazzi, driving one of the Haas cars, could only manage 18th fastest after spinning at turn 17.

    His team-mate Romain Grosjean also suffered a spin. Grosjean lost control of his Haas late in the session, briefly touching the barriers at the exit of turn 19. He ended the session 12th, ahead of Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly.

    Carlos Sainz Jnr, who didn’t set a time on the quickest ultra-soft tyre, finished 15th quickest, just 0.004s faster than Pascal Wehrlein and 0.116s faster than team-mate Nico Hulkenberg.

    Marcus Ericsson and Brendon Hartley completed the order.

TIMES:

1. Sebastian Vettel - 1:39.006 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany
2. Lewis Hamilton - 1:39.126 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain
3. Max Verstappen - 1:39.154 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands
4. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:39.518 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland
5. Valtteri Bottas - 1:39.741 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland
6. Sergio Perez - 1:40.293 / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico
7. Fernando Alonso - 1:40.522 / McLaren-Honda / Spain
8. Stoffel Vandoorne - 1:40.569 / McLaren-Honda / Belgium
9. Felipe Massa - 1:40.723 / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil
10. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:40.773 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Australia
11. George Russell - 1:41.131 / Force India-Mercedes / Great Britain*
12. Romain Grosjean - 1:41.306 / Haas-Ferrari / France
13. Lance Stroll - 1:41.581 / Williams-Mercedes / Canada
14. Pierre Gasly - 1:41.646 / Toro Rosso-Renault / France
15. Carlos Sainz - 1:41.748 / Renault-Renault / Spain
16. Pascal Wehrlein - 1:41.752 / Sauber-Ferrari / Germany
17. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:41.864 / Renault-Renault / Germany
18. Antonio Giovinazzi - 1:42.065 / Haas-Ferrari / Italy*
19. Marcus Ericsson - 1:42.344 / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden
20. Brendon Hartley – 1:42.585 / Toro Rosso-Renault / New Zealand

* - Notes driving in FP#1 only.

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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