George Russell fastest in first free practice of Abu Dhabi GP

Published on 24 November 2023 by Florence Cobben

George Russell finished fastest in the first free practice session of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In a practice overrun by rookies, the Brit was more than two-tenths faster than Felipe Drugovich. Daniel Ricciardo completed the top three. Max Verstappen did not drive during FP1, instead, the world champion handed his car keys to Formula E champion Jake Dennis.

The first free practice at the Yas Marina circuit has some new faces. As many as ten rookies will take the place of current Formula 1 drivers. A rule mandates that for every car on the grid, at least one driver must drive with two or fewer grands prix to his name. Oracle Red Bull Racing has not yet put a rookie in their cars for the first 21 races. As a result, reigning Formula E champion Jake Dennis and Formula 2 driver Isack Hadjar took Max Verstappen’s and Sergio Perez’s cars for a spin during the first practice session.

In the first twenty minutes, the circuit sees a lot of action. Many cars are taking to the track on medium tyres. Only the Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and rookie Robert Shwartzman are driving on the soft tyre, and Formula 2 championship leader Theo Pourchaire is the only one driving on the hard tyre. Although the practice is dominated by rookies, a paddock regular is the fastest: Russell is over nine-tenths faster than number two Yuki Tsunoda, who is in turn a few thousandths faster than his teammate Ricciardo.

In the second part of FP1 the track is less busy. An incident takes place between Logan Sargeant and Jack Doohan: Sargeant does not register that Doohan is on a fast lap. He pulls over too late, forcing Doohan to swerve from the racing line. Both drivers will have to report to race control afterward.

With fifteen minutes to go, most of the drivers are in the pits. At this point, fourteen drivers have set laps on soft tyres, including Russell. He is still the fastest, with a time half a second faster than number two Oscar Piastri. Pierre Gasly completes the top three.

In the last fifteen minutes, eager viewers see some changes. Drugovich improves his times to claim second place, just behind Russell. Ricciardo ends the practice in third place. The Red Bulls, with Dennis in Max’s car and Hadjar in Perez's car, end the practice in sixteenth and seventeenth place. Nevertheless, they managed to test the cars by completing many laps. Dennis drove as many as 24 laps and Hadjar drove 20.

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Results first free practice Abu-dhabi: