Charles Leclerc was fastest in first practice as he became the first driver to partner his brother Arthur in the same team during a Grand Prix weekend at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The older Leclerc set a 24.321 on the soft tyres which put him two-tenths faster than Lando Norris, but after a battery change will take a ten-place grid penalty.
He was fastest despite losing much of the first half of the session because of the battery issue, but was soon up to pace with him going fastest. While his brother Arthur made his FP1 debut going eighteenth in the second Ferrari, the first pair of brothers to drive in a session for the same team.
Leclerc and team-mate Carlos Sainz said on Thursday that Ferrari really needed a one-two in the race to have their best shot at their first title since 2008. Ferrari trails McLaren by twenty-one points heading into the 2024 F1 finale and realistically needs a one-two race finish to truly place their rivals under pressure as they chase a first constructors’ crown since 2008.
The least reprehensive session of the weekend could have major ramifications in the fight with McLaren for the constructor’s championship as they seek to close the twenty-one-point gap. The top two teams were separated by two tenths although that gap is likely to come down as the evening gets underway.
Lewis Hamilton was third the seven-time champion was a quarter of a second behind Norris and ahead of teammate George Russell by just under half a second. Hamilton heads into his final weekend as a Mercedes-backed driver after two decades-long partnership, before going to Ferrari next season.
The seven-time champion is under investigation for impeding Norris mid-way through the session at the final corner.
Russell has dominated the build-up to this weekend following a feud with Max Verstappen over their fight on Sunday in Doha, Russell labelling the four-time champion a ‘bully’ and the four-time champion accusing Russell of ‘personal attacks’. Off track, the news broke by Verstappen’s partner Kelly Piquet was the Dutchman becoming a father to their first child together, her second after her relationship with Daniil Kvyat.
Verstappen didn’t take part in the session, his car driven by French F2 driver Isack Hadjar, a contender for a seat at Red Bull’s RB team next year.
Pierre Gasly continued Alpine’s strong finish to the season going fifth, the Frenchman going four hundredths faster than Nico Hulkenberg. Franco Colapinto narrowly split the two Haas, the Argentine a hundredth behind Hulkenberg and ahead of Kevin Magnussen by six hundredths. Though conditions are unrepresentative of qualifying, and the race again highlighted how close it remains with about a second covering the top ten, but as night draws in the gap will close further
Felipe Drugovich was ninth fastest of the reserve/young drivers, the Brazilian a hundredth behind Magnussen and ahead of Sergio Perez by two hundredths. Perez goes into the weekend facing an uncertain future as Red Bull considers dropping him after a second difficult season.
Perez spilt the two Aston Martins as he went two hundredths faster than Lance Stroll. Valtteri Bottas started what could also be his last race going thirteenth, he was half a tenth behind Lawson and ahead of Ryo Hirakawa who replaced Oscar Piastri for FP1. Hirakawa was three thousandths faster than Hadjar who replaced Verstappen, the Frenchman also in the mix for an RB seat depending on the Perez situation.
Hadjar, who is also battling for the F2 title this weekend against Gabriel Bortoleto with half a point separating the pair, spun early on in the session.
Hadjar and Aymu Wasa were spilt by Guanyu Zhou, the Sauber driver four and a half hundredths behind the Frenchman and ahead of the RB by two-tenths. While his brother topped the session Arthur Leclerc settled for eighteenth, a second and eight-tenths off the time set by Charles.
Jack Doohan started his first full weekend as an F1 driver in nineteenth, the son of five-time MotoGP champion Mick was a tenth and a quarter behind the younger Leclerc, as he put his Alpine two-tenths faster than Luke Browning who replaced Alex Albon.
