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Formula 1
Abu Dhabi GP
F1 Abu Dhabi GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP1 & FP2
All of the Friday practice action from the Abu Dhabi GP at Yas Marina
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'Dear Kimi, we will leave you alone now,' reads a message on the side of Raikkonen's Alfa. He has a near-miss with Verstappen as the Red Bull exits the pits, which is just a factor of the track layout unfortunately as the 2007 champion swept around the fast Turn 3 right-hander.
Hamilton's time though is deleted for track limits at Turn 16, dropping him back behind Bottas to third.
Hamilton improves his best time to a 1m25.042s, but it's not quite enough to topple Verstappen's 1m25.009s. Bottas meanwhile takes third back from Perez with a 1m25.205s.
Aitken is doing a quietly impressive job on his return to the Williams seat in FP1, and his most recent lap - a 1m27.481s - puts him just six thousandths ahead of Latifi. Not bad on his first time in the car since his recovery from the injuries sustained in a huge Spa 24 Hours shunt.
Helmet cam is back for this weekend, and catches Leclerc moving himself up to 11th in the leaderboard. The lead Ferrari though is still behind both AlphaTauris, both Alpines, and the fastest McLaren and Aston. Sainz meanwhile is P15.
Verstappen really isn't hanging around and sets a new personal best, a 1m25.009s, to go three tenths clear of Hamilton.
Another to improve in this frantic sequence is Tsunoda, who laps a thousandth quicker than team-mate Gasly to slot into fifth on a 1m25.821s. AlphaTauri appear to be on good form here.
Ocon has a bit of drama heading down to the hairpin with no gears, which his engineer informs him was the car finding a false neutral. He's back underway again and just improves his time to go ninth quickest on a 1m26.124s.
Perez has also improved in third, setting a 1m25.544s, while Bottas re-takes fourth after Gasly had briefly snatched it away, the Finn's 1m25.558s slotting him ahead of the Frenchman's 1m25.822s.
Hamilton improves to a 1m25.355s, but it's still fractionally shy of Verstappen's earlier benchmark of 1m25.300s.
Hamilton and Verstappen are out on track again, both on softs. Although the Red Bull man is ahead, it's Hamilton who currently has the fastest first sector time.
Alonso, setting up for a fast lap in his Alpine, has shocking understeer at Turn 1 and ploughs wide, getting all out of shape over the kerb before aborting the lap. One of those where you wish real life had a 'restart' button.
Raikkonen becomes the first driver to lose the back end at the reconfigured Turn 9 banked hairpin. The rear end of his Alfa steps away and he slides backwards, harmlessly, into the run-off area without hitting anything (it takes a lot to hit something when you spin in Abu Dhabi).
Gasly immediately displaces Norris in fifth, as Bottas sets a new personal best - but it's not enough to move him above Perez to third. The Finn, remember, is in his final outing for Mercedes ahead of his move to Alfa Romeo next year.
Norris, his McLaren infused with a new livery for this weekend, shoots up to fifth with a committed lap that puts him just a shade behind Bottas the best of the non-Red Bull and Mercedes cars. Bottas is on a flying lap now though, and set to improve.
After failing to progress from Q1 with both its cars in Jeddah, it's been an encouraging start for Aston Martin with Vettel (eighth) and Stroll tenth both well up the order, sandwiching Gasly in the second AlphaTauri.
It is an improvement from Leclerc, but he remains in 14th while Sainz doesn't improve. Of course, hard to tell what fuel levels are being run here, but Ferrari would expect to be a bit further up the order here.
The only two cars out on track currently are Ferraris - down in 13th and 14th places. They're on the soft tyres now, will we see a big leap up the order?
The season finale is usually a time for great one-off helmets. Raikkonen this weekend for his big farewell is running a lid with distinctly 2001 Sauber vibes, and we like it.
Leclerc has headed out again on the softs and sets his first laptime of the session, a 1m27.418s only putting him 14th - right behind his team-mate Sainz. Another big climber is Tsunoda, who has moved up to sixth, just behind the big four and Alonso.
"Just get ready to straighten the wheel because it's getting really annoying to drive." Verstappen isn't happy with the orientation of his wheel, but he's not letting it show on the laptimes with a 1m25.300s the best of anybody so far.
The number twos at Red Bull and Mercedes have logged their best laps of the session so far, and it's Perez who takes third ahead of Bottas - the Mexican becoming just the third driver to creep into the 1m25s bracket on a 1m25.994s.
Giovinazzi has just pitted, having been pounding around on the hards he started the session with. The Italian on his last outing for Alfa is currently 13th in the leaderboard, just ahead of team-mate Raikkonen.
We've not mentioned him yet, but Jack Aitken is in the Williams normally driven by George Russell for FP1. It's been a busy week for the team's reserve, who was out at Sebring testing an IndyCar for Ed Carpenter Racing with Nyck De Vries (Myer Shank Racing) and Stoffel Vandoorne (Arrow McLaren SP).
The times keep tumbling. Verstappen and Hamilton are now both firmly in the 1m25s bracket, with the Red Bull man ahead on a 1m25.602s, compared to Hamilton's 1m25.820s.
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Ocon has a big snap of oversteer exiting the hotel complex and chases it right up to the wall, without making contact. "That was a close one," he says with a hint of understatement.
Norris has had an interesting start to the session. He's currently fourth, but has now a third laptime deleted - this time for a big left-front lockup entering the Turn 7 left-hander after the first long back straight.
Alonso now inserts himself into the private duel between the championship leaders and goes fastest of anybody so far on a 1m26.271s.
As a piece of housekeeping, Leclerc is one of two drivers that has yet to set a flying lap - having returned to the pits to have his car's sensors removed. The other is Tsunoda, who has done two laps without logging a time.
Latifi becomes the latest to fall foul of track limits at Turn 16, as he gets a big armful of opposite lock exiting the final corner. That will be one for the drivers to keep an eye on come qualifying tomorrow.
Verstappen had taken top spot on a 1m26.463s, but Hamilton rebounds with a 1m26.290s. Let battle commence...
"What's the track limit, is it white line?" asks Bottas after his engineer informs him about his lap deletion over the radio. He's in good company though, with Norris (for a second time), Alonso and Sainz on the naughty list.
Hamilton though logs his first flyer without running over the limits, and sets the benchmark with a 1m27.148s.
Already the track limits warnings have started, with Bottas and Norris the first two to fall foul at Turn 16. Bottas had briefly gone top on a 1m26.580s on the soft tyre.
"My steering wheel is quite badly right-hand side down," reports Verstappen. Maybe Red Bull heard about the new banked turn and has gone for an oval configuration on the wheel?
There appears to be some scaffolding on the back of Leclerc's Ferrari - but rather than allowing window-cleaners access to the top, it's to give an array of sensors something to cling onto. We'll see how it affects his laptime when he comes around for his first flyer shortly.
A real mix of tyre compounds chosen to start the session, with Ocon and Giovinazzi on hards, Raikkonen, Schumacher and Mazepin on mediums and everybody else so far on softs.
Green flag
And we're a go in Abu Dhabi.
The air temp is rising, at 26.7 °C - and track temps are 38.8 °C, so ideal conditions for the final FP1 of 2021.
Just over two minutes to go now - are we ready for FP1?
By: Autosport Staff
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