The final weekend of the season continues as FP2 kicks off at the Abu Dhabi GP.
The news of the moment being Charles Leclerc being handed a 10-place grid penalty for a battery replacement. Slightly blurring the hopes of achieving the World Constructors’ Championship, and possibly overtaking Lando Norris for P2 in the World Drivers’ Championship.
F1 debutant Jack Doohan starts us off, dropping a 1:26’434. The Alpine driver replacing Esteban Ocon for the final weekend. Zhou Guanyu goes wide momentarily, causing a small yellow flag in sector 1. Lando Norris clocks the fastest lap 10 minutes in with a 1:24’932. The Brit lowers his benchmark, with a 1:23’517. However, he is also one of the drivers going off.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen goes a bit wide. As they go through a tumultuous practice, with him complaining about understeer. Behind him is teammate Sergio Perez, sitting in 10th, being 4 tenths behind his teammate.
Sainz clocks in a run of 1:24’570. Leclerc then checks in with a 1:24’540, placing himself into second on the leaderboard.
Franco Colapinto, taking advantage of the soft compound tyres, pushed too hard and ran over a kerb at turn 9, then aborting the lap. Unfortunately, the car now needs to be repaired due to the floor damage.
Meanwhile Alex Albon limps home as the car seemingly gives coming into Turn 5, looking into a potential right rear hub failure. Albon’s car cleared to go after extensive checks.
Lewis Hamilton splits the Ferraris, now P4 and P6, pushing a P5 with a 1:24’119.
Honorable mentions go to Sauber Valtteri Bottas as he puts his hand on the top 10 table, lapping a 1:24’230. and especially to Haas driver Nico Hülkenberg, 3rd on the table with a 1:23’979, only 0.462 behind Norris at the top of the standings on his fastest lap.
McLaren locks the top times in the standings, Norris ahead, Piastri behind by 2 tenths, Hülkenberg, Sainz, Hamilton, Leclerc, Bottas, Magnussen, Albon, and Tsunoda rounding out the top 10 in FP2 at the Abu Dhabi GP.
