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Formula 1 Abu Dhabi GP

F1 Abu Dhabi GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP1 & FP2

Friday's action from the 22nd round of the 2023 Formula 1 season.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75

The F1 season finale begins with the major honours long decided in favour of Max Verstappen and Red Bull. After Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton confirmed second and third in the drivers' championship, attention turns to the fight for fourth between Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc. 

In the constructors' table, Mercedes and Ferrari are separated by four points, while there is a fierce battle between Williams, Haas, Alfa Romeo and AlphaTauri for seventh position, with significant financial rewards on offer for triumphing.

FP1 will get under way at 9:30am GMT with FP2 following at 1pm GMT. 

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Sainz is now back in the Ferrari garage and is explaining the shunt to his engineers.
Still no indication of when this session will resume - but we expect it won't be the hours of delays that followed Sainz's woes in Vegas...
Let's not forget Ferrari is in a fierce battle with Mercedes for second in the constructors' standings with just four points separating the teams. Could this crash result in another grid penalty for Sainz and again hamper Ferrari's bid?
This red flag further reduces the time available for teams and drivers to get running in representative conditions. The 10 rookies avoided any major slip-ups earlier but it's taken just nine minutes for one of the regulars to be in strife here.
Sainz gets into the medical car and for the second week in a row the Ferrari mechanics have a major repair job on their hands.
There's a bit of damage to the back of the car as Sainz gets out and he says the car just snapped and he lost the rear.
It was a high-speed spin for Sainz as he completely lost the rear through the second corner as the car bottomed out.
Red flag
But Sainz has now had a bit more than a mild wobble! It's a red flag as he's in the barriers!
Replays show Sainz having a little wobble out there as the drivers continue to put some early times on the board.
Stopwatch
Russell is the latest one to hit the top of the times while Ricciardo puts the AlphaTauri up to second.
Stopwatch
And, in fact, Magnussen's open effort now sends him to the top of the times as he goes 0.04s faster. Not that it means anything at this stage.
Stopwatch
But that time is soon bettered by Verstappen, although only by the relatively modest margin of 0.4s! All times so far set on the mediums, except for Bottas who has braved the hards.
Stopwatch
Albon is the fastest of the early runners with a 1m26.941s.
But, just as we type that, Sargeant does indeed now venture out so we have all 20 cars on track!
Everyone has now left the pits with the exception of Sargeant - who was guilty of blocking Doohan during that session. The American was given a reprimand for his actions.
It's still daylight as this session begins but the sun is setting and it won't be long before the drivers will be faced with the glare of the lights.
Now a flood of cars join him with the Red Bulls, Alpines, Astons and Alfas all venturing out.
Hulkenberg in the Haas is the first one to immediately head out - and he was one of the drivers who stepped aside earlier, with Oliver Bearman taking his place.
Green flag
Here we go, the final FP2 of the year begins!
Breaking news

While this is a conventional race weekend, one story to emerge since FP1 concerns the sprint races. More format changes are planned for next year, although exactly what they will be, nobody knows. So far, all the F1 Commission has been able to agree on is that change is needed. Here are the (limited) details:

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-approves-sprint-format-revamp-for-2024-tyre-blanket-ban-abandoned-/10550944/

Right, less than five minutes until things are due to get back under way - and, in the least surprising news of today, there's a 0% risk of rain expected in this session!
But, with plenty of cars sporting a whole raft of aerodynamic devices earlier, now more useful mileage can take place. Can Ferrari continue its resurgence and challenge Red Bull again or will Verstappen be back in control? We should get some clues in the next hour or so.

Robert Shwartzman, Ferrari SF-23

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Robert Shwartzman, Ferrari SF-23

There were no major errors from any of the 10 'young' drivers and 2022 F2 champion Felipe Drugovich was the most impressive, ending up second for Aston Martin, while Robert Shwartzman almost matched the time of Ferrari stablemate Carlos Sainz.
Breaking news

FP1's running earlier was unrepresentative in warmer conditions and, in case you missed it, here's a round-up of what happened with George Russell topping the times for Mercedes, while 10 rookie drivers substituted for race regulars:

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-abu-dhabi-gp-russell-tops-first-practice-with-10-rookies-in-action/10550879/

It's just over 10 minutes until second practice is due to begin - and this is the important one as it represents the conditions the drivers should face in qualifying and the race.
Hello, and welcome back to Autosport's live text coverage of the Friday of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix!
And with that, it's time for us to take a break before returning for FP2. Until then, here is the full FP1 session report - just in case you missed anything. 

We'll be back soon! Bye! 

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-abu-dhabi-gp-russell-tops-first-practice-with-10-rookies-in-action/10550879/
George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14

Only Haas will know its exact run plan, but it is unlikely that Magnussen will be best pleased to have been the only regular-season driver in the bottom eight positions, finishing FP1 P19 with Sargeant the next lowest, in P11.
This incident between Stroll and Hadjar has finally been shown, with the Aston Martin driver dawdling on the racing line into the Turn 6 braking zone. Hadjar was forced to use the runoff in avoidance.
Ricciardo and Bottas draw battle lines for AlphaTauri and Alfa Romeo in the battle for P7, ending the session third and fourth.
In a session where it is difficult in the extreme to draw any conclusions, Russell is fastest from Drugivoch.
Bearman takes the flag first and will end the session slowest of all.
Checkered flag
The chequered flag falls on FP1.
All 20 drivers are on the track with one minute remaining. Time for one final push lap for the rookie drivers before calling time on their F1 experience for the weekend.
An incident involving Stroll and Vesti has been noted by the stewards. No investigation has been announced as of yet.
Drugovich goes faster still but cannot match Russell's earlier times, with Ricciardo now moving up to P3. 

At the other end, Magnussen and Bearman are the slowest drivers for Haas.
Hadjar goes as slow as you like through the final sector, briefly causing the yellow flags to be shown due to his pace. Now, he fires his Red Bull onto a flying lap.

By: Autosport Staff

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