Mercedes quickest in Abu Dhabi FP1

Published on 18 November 2022 by Stefan Meens

Lewis Hamilton was quickest in the opening practice session of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Hamilton’s Mercedes team mate George Russell was second fastest, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completing the top three.Max Verstappen relinquished FP1 driving duties to Red Bull Junior Liam Lawson and enjoyed the session from the garage.

To meet the rules of running ‘young’ drivers twice a year in free practice, Lawson is not the only young driver to feature in the final opening practice session of the season. Robert Schwartzman is driving for Ferrari, Jack Doohan occupies an Alpine, Pato O’Ward steers one of the McLarens, Haas opt for Pietro Fittipaldi, Felipe Drugovich features for Aston Martin, Williams allow Logan Sargeant some track time and Robert Kubica laps the Marina Bay circuit for Alfa Romeo.

The session is run under pleasant conditions with the ambient temperature reaching 33 degrees and the track temps in the mid forties. During the majority of the hour-long session, Sergio Perez sets the pace, However, first Charles Leclerc and later the two Mercs of Russell and Hamilton jump to the top of the leader boards, indicting that the Silver Arrows could have another strong weekend, following their one-two finish in Brazil last week.

The second free practice scheduled for Friday afternoon will feature Max, Fernando Alonso, Lando Norris, Mick Schumacher, Lance Stroll, Zhou Guanyu and Nicolas Latifi back in their cars for the remainder of the weekend.

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Results first free practice Abu-dhabi: