Abu Dhabi – Free Practice 1: Verstappen and Ricciardo, Winning Double for Red Bull
The two Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo secured the two fastest times of this session, far ahead of the competition on a track whose grip is expected to evolve over the weekend.
Formula 1 makes a final stop in the tropics of Abu Dhabi for the ultimate Grand Prix of this 2018 season. The Yas Marina circuit is therefore the opportunity to see these single-seaters race one last time, as well as some drivers whose future will take place outside of the discipline next year, like Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne at McLaren, Sergey Sirotkin at Williams, Marcus Ericsson at Sauber, and Esteban Ocon at Force India.
At Williams, it is Robert Kubica who is already taking the place of the Russian for this first practice session. Newly announced as the 2019 driver for the British team, the Pole continues to settle in with the goal of the first 2019 Grand Prix in Australia next March.
#FP1 time 👍#AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 pic.twitter.com/0ghZfksDSi
— WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) 23 novembre 2018
Antonio Giovinazzi, also appointed at Sauber in 2019, took Charles Leclerc’s seat for this start of the weekend. But the biggest surprise of this morning comes from the Mercedes garage where Lewis Hamilton’s car proudly displays the world champion’s number 1! The Briton chose to set aside his favorite number 44 for a day to wear the symbol reserved for the reigning world champion.
It’s been a while… but the #1 is back in @F1! #AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/1vgcfSq9dg
— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) 23 novembre 2018
If the track activity isn’t particularly exciting with the best time for Max Verstappen’s Red Bull on Hyper soft tires after an hour of the session, more than a second ahead of Lewis Hamilton, the tributes to a soon-to-retire Fernando Alonso from Formula 1 keep coming.
The one who will replace him at McLaren next year, his compatriot and friend Carlos Sainz Jr, proudly displays the number of his idol on the side of his helmet. The Renault driver is nonetheless one of the most diligent on track with 13 laps completed after an hour and a 9th fastest time.
1⃣4⃣@Carlossainz55 is paying tribute to his hero this weekend 👍#AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/pCU5hCphun
— Formula 1 (@F1) 23 novembre 2018
The track still lacks grip for this first session and despite the soft compound tires provided by Pirelli, the drivers are struggling to stay within the track limits, like Valtteri Bottas, in a fast lap where he still ends up nine-tenths of a second behind Verstappen.
Track’s to your left, Valtteri 😉#AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/f6IOP9OjD5
— Formula 1 (@F1) 23 novembre 2018
The Haas team, which lodged a complaint earlier in the weekend against Racing Point Force India, is feeling quite comfortable on the Yas Marina track. With a quarter of an hour left in the session, Kevin Magnussen is in 6th place on the leaderboard and Romain Grosjean is 10th!
The Haas leaders have brought the issue to the FIA that the “new” Racing Point Force India team was using the cars of the “old” Force India team. However, the technical regulations state that each team must race its own cars and not those built by another entity. The authorities have so far refrained from commenting on this matter and should try to make a quick decision.
At the end of the session, Daniel Ricciardo joins his teammate at the top of the standings with the second fastest time, but still nearly half a second behind the Dutchman whose 1:38.491 seems unbeatable this morning!
Even further back, the Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen are in 7th and 8th place, two seconds behind the Red Bulls, who thus secure a one-two finish in this first session.
The full classification of FP1:
FP1 CLASSIFICATION (90/90 MINS): A perfect start for @redbullracing #AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/1FfkaVc3Wq
— Formula 1 (@F1) 23 novembre 2018
