McLaren’s Lando Norris set the pace in the final first practice session of the Formula 1 season, edging out Max Verstappen by a razor-thin margin of just 0.008 seconds. Max Verstappen finished as the second-fastest driver at Yas Marina Circuit.
Charles Leclerc claimed third place on the timing sheets, with Kimi Antonelli following in fourth. Nico Hulkenberg completed the top five, highlighting a competitive opening session ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
As is customary in FP1 at Yas Marina, several rookie drivers got their chance on track. This season saw nine rookies across eight teams taking part, with Aston Martin choosing to run new reserve driver Jak Crawford and academy driver Cian Shields in place of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
Both Red Bull and Mercedes have already fulfilled their rookie practice requirements, with Gabriel Bortoleto and Kimi Antonelli participating in two of the four mandatory sessions for their respective teams.
Result Free practice 1 – Abu Dhabi
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Tyre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |   Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:24.485 |  |
| 2 |   Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:24.493 | |
| 3 |   | Ferrari | 1:24.501 | |
| 4 |   Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 1:24.608 | |
| 5 |   Nico Hulkenberg | Stake | 1:24.629 | |
| 6 |  George Russell | Mercedes | 1:24.733 | |
| 7 |   Gabriel Bortoleto | Stake | 1:24.742 | |
| 8 |  Oliver Bearman | Haas | 1:24.759 |  |
| 9 |   Carlos Sainz | Williams | 1:24.771 | |
| 10 |   Franco Colapinto | Alpine | 1:24.855 | |
| 11 |   Ryo Hirakawa | Haas | 1:24.934 | |
| 12 |   Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | 1:24.977 | |
| 13 |  Paul Aron | Alpine | 1:25.204 | |
| 14 |  Pato O’Ward | McLaren | 1:25.246 | |
| 15 | Arvid Lindblad | Red Bull | 1:25.256 | |
| 16 | Arthur Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:25.360 | |
| 17 | Ayumu Iwasa | Racing Bulls | 1:25.475 | |
| 18 | Luke Browning | Williams | 1:25.490 |  |
| 19 |  Jak Crawford | Aston Martin | 1:25.889 | |
| 20 | Cian Shields | Aston Martin | 1:26.432 | |
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