A very nice start for title leader Max Verstappen and Red Bull in the first free practice session for the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, although Lewis Hamilton was only a few hundredths off before his time was deleted. Never before, though, had so much been riding on a practice session as this weekend Formula 1 will crown its 2021 World Champion
Underlining the track changes at the Yas Marina circuit, the early lap times here were 10 seconds already quicker than last year’s pole time on the original layout.
Scuderia Ferrari did not have the best start to the weekend, Charles Leclerc not setting a time in the opening 25 minutes as he was back in the pits after two laps for a rear wing change. The Monégasque driver, running helmet cam at the Yas Marina circuit, also had a moment with one of the Red Bull cars. His team-mate Carlos Sainz also spent time in the garage, informing the Maranello team that something wasn’t right but short on the details. Carlos Sainz made it back out for the final 20 minutes of the first free practice session (+0.877 as compared to Max Verstappen’s best lap time of FP1, finishing with the ninth fastest time, one place behind Charles Leclerc.
Here are the complete results from practice one ahead of this weekend’s 2021 F1 World Championship decider at the Yas Marina Circuit.
Times
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:25.009
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 0.196s
3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 0.346s
4 Sergio Perez Red Bull 0.354s
5 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri 0.812s
6 Fernando Alonso Alpine 0.616s
7 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 0.813s
8 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 0.837s
9 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 0.877s
10 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin 0.998s
11 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1.016s
12 Lando Norris McLaren 1.114s
13 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo Racing 1.180s
14 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing 1.400s
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1.599s
16 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren 1.667s
17 Jack Aitken Williams 2.472s
18 Nicholas Latifi Williams 2.478s
19 Mick Schumacher Haas 2.689s
20 Nikita Mazepin Haas 3.296s
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