F1 Abu Dhabi GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP1
Minute-by-minute updates for FP1 for the 2024 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The F1 season reaches a climax in Abu Dhabi with McLaren and Ferrari set to battle it out for glory on the constructors' championship.
Off-track, a war of words between Max Verstappen and George Russell has stolen the spotlight from drivers, including Lewis Hamilton, who are either racing with teams for the last time or are making potentially their final appearance in the category.
First practice gets under way at 9:30am GMT.
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"The cockpit feels very hot," says Russell. Given the sessions of any real meaning will take place in the cooler nighttime conditions, that is unlikely to be a consistent issue across the weekend.
"I have zero efficiency, sorry," reports F2 title challenger Hadjar, as replays show a spin was to blame for his Turn 7 spin.
Hadjar stopped briefly at Turn 7 and he's complaining about the steering and how the wheel isn't clearing his body as it should.
Concern for Ferrari as while the younger Leclerc is on the track, Charles remains in the garage with the floor off and the mechanics are looking at something around the battery.
McLaren and Ferrari are using the rookie drivers to complete some aero testing early on, with Arthur Leclerc and Hirakawa both running substantial aero rakes.
The final FP1 of the season is go!
Air temperature is 27.9C, track temp is 41.7C and the wind is blowing in a westerly direction (providing a headwind into Turn 1) at around 3m/s.
And thank you to the FIA weather report for the obvious in the glorious UAE sun, there is a 0% chance of rain for the coming session.
So much housekeeping this week, but with three minutes before the session begins, I think we're just about up to date!
On top of this all, Jack Doohan makes his official Alpine debut one race weekend early, after Esteban Ocon was relieved of his duties following the Qatar weekend.
Beyond the younger Leclerc, Ryo Hirakawa stands in for Oscar Piastri at McLaren, Felipe Drugovich is on for Lance Stroll at Aston Martin, Isack Hadjar replaces Max Verstappen at Red Bull, Ayumu Iwasa is in for Yuki Tsunoda at RB and Luke Browning stands in for Alex Albon at Williams.
But away from all that, we have a few rookie drivers in for FP1, notably Arthur Leclerc at Ferrari, marking the first time that brothers will have driven for the same team at the same time in an official F1 session.
Charles Leclerc, Arthur Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
Photo by: Erik Junius
There's a lot to breakdown from the drama, and fortunately, Ben Hunt has done exactly that for us.
Then, in the FIA press conference, Verstappen responded by commenting: "If I had to do it again, maybe I would have said even more, knowing the outcome of the race result," this regarding his previous public criticism of Russell.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/verstappen-would-have-said-even-more-about-lying-russell/10679464/
Firstly, Russell made the accusation that Verstappen had said he would "put me on my f****** head in the wall" after receiving his one-place grid penalty in Qatar.
The weekend has already been a dramatic one with George Russell and Max Verstappen continuing their spat which began in Qatar.
Good morning and welcome to first practice for the final weekend of a marathon F1 season at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
By: Autosport Staff
