Ferrari FP2 report: Charles Leclerc P3, Carlos Sainz P6 | 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi GP. Ferrari FP2 report.

As we got the green light for the second free practice session ahead of the 2022 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina circuit, 18 cars headed straight out on track The only two cars still in the garage were the Mercedes.

We were seeing medium-tyre running from most of the field early on in FP2: the fastest time was initially set by Charles Leclerc, whose 1:26.045 put him three tenths clear of Esteban Ocon in second. George Russell was then out on track for Mercedes, leaving Lewis Hamilton as the only driver yet to leave the garage. We were just over five minutes into second practice session but Daniel Ricciardo was already having problems with his McLaren after losing control early on: “I nearly lost it at Turn 3,” he told the team.

Carlos Sainz, who was replaced by Robert Shwartzman in the first free practice session at Yas Marina, set a time of 1:27.022 and was P4 (+0.977s gap to his Maranello teammate), while Lewis Hamilton’s first fast run was spoilt and he didn’t appear to be very happy about it: the Brit came up behind the Haas of Kevin Magnussen, who had no interest of getting out the way. Hamilton made a hand gesture as he pulled alongside the Dane.

Max Verstappen was on the team radio with some complaints about his braking. However, he then set the fastest lap of the session so far with a 1:25.449 so it didn’t seem to be causing too much trouble. Charles Leclerc was second and +0.596 off the pace of the Red Bull.

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The sun was going down in Abu Dhabi as the drivers and teams gathered data in FP2. Sunset is during the Grand Prix on Sunday, so conditions were more representative this afternoon, but the drivers needed to make sure they have the right visor as the light level evolved. As things stood, George Russell was almost a full second back from Max Verstappen’s leading effort in seventh, with Lewis Hamilton a couple of tenths further back in ninth. They were out on track slightly later than some of their rivals, so it remained to be seen if they were behind in their running plan, or just off the pace.

Halfway into FP2, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were running on soft tyres: the Monegasque was P2 and Spaniard P5 at this stage. There was some real traffic on the track as we got into the business end of this practice session.

Fernando Alonso’s first soft time of the session put him seventh, level on pace with Esteban Ocon, while Max Verstappen was out for another run and extended his advantage over George Russell to beyond three tenths. Last weekend’s race winner was on his way back out on track, just like third-placed Charles Leclerc. Into the final 15 minutes teams were as usual completing their race simulations, with no more improvements in terms of lap times.

In the final moments of FP2, Charles Leclerc was on the team radio to ask questions about his pace but the Maranello team, at the moment, didn’t have the answers he was after: “We are slow, no? Compared to the other guys we are slow.” “We are off the pace at the moment,” was the reply from Ferrari. Leclerc sat third and +0.453 off the pace of Max Verstappen.

In the other Ferrari car, there was a hairy moment as Carlos Sainz drove away whilst one of the mechanics was still touching his car: “Check the mechanic is OK,” asks Sainz – “They had their hand on the tyre.” But was is told that everyone is OK.

One session was all Max Verstappen needed to establish control in Abu Dhabi. After missing FP1, the world champion topped George Russell and Charles Leclerc under the lights at the Yas Marina Circuit.

While Verstappen ended 0.341s clear of Russell, Mercedes looked reasonably strong once more after a one-two earlier today.

Results from the second practice session at the F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Round 22 of the 2022 F1 world championship.