Here is our full text transcript from the first free practice session for the 2023 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The 22nd and final Grand Prix weekend of the season is upon us! Formula 1 is back in Abu Dhabi for the season finale, with plenty still to be settled at the Yas Marina Circuit. Mercedes are trying to hold Ferrari off for second in the constructors’ championship, while world champion Max Verstappen will be out to sign off one of the most spectacular season’s the sport has ever seen. We’ll be keeping you updated throughout the weekend, with stunning sights under the lights to come during the evening sessions.
Rookies take centre stage in first practice
You could be forgiven for thinking you’ve tuned into an F2 rather than an F1 session in first practice. There are going to be ten rookies on track as teams fulfil their obligation to field young drivers in at least two sessions throughout the season.
Here are the new names taking part:
Ferrari – Robert Shwartzman
Red Bull – Isack Hadjar & Jake Dennis
Mercedes – Frederik Vesti
McLaren – Pato O’Ward
Aston Martin – Felipe Drugovich
Alpine – Jack Doohan
Williams – Zak O’Sullivan
Alfa Romeo – Theo Pourchaire
Haas – Oliver Bearman
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Green light!
Practice One for the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is go and Formula E world champion Jake Dennis is one of the first drivers out on track in Max Verstappen’s Red Bull.
54 mins to go: Very early days but it’s George Russell who is quickest on a 1:27.673. Carlos Sainz is second and Daniel Ricciardo third for AlphaTauri. Quite the aero-measuring contraption behind the front wheels on the Aston Martin for Felipe Drugovich’s car for his opening run in this session. With qualifying and the race taking place later in the day in Abu Dhabi compared to now, this opening practice session is always something of an experimental one for teams.
50 mins to go: Jake Dennis says his helmet is “nowhere near tight enough” so comes back into the pit lane. Red Bull quickly sort him out and he’s back out there. All 20 cars have been out on track already and it’s very strange to see the likes of Verstappen and Hamilton on the pit wall with F1 cars going around a circuit.
47 mins to go: George Russell is only a few tenths slower now than the quickest practice one time from last year. He’s nearly a second ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, who’s second. He’s not completely happy though because he reports “something doesn’t feel quite right with the steering. I’m having to turn so much on the apex at low speed, but more than when we’ve ever tested this before.”
45 mins to go: We’ll certainly end up with a different-looking timesheet to normal here with so many inexperienced drivers, in F1 terms, in the field. Behind Russell, Yuki Tsunoda is currently second quickest for AlphaTauri ahead of Williams’ Logan Sargeant and Pierre Gasly’s Alpine. Carlos Sainz is fifth for Ferrari. The fastest rookie at the moment is Zak O’Sullivan in seventh for Williams.
32 mins to go: Theo Pourchaire just reported an uncomfortable moment in the Alfa Romeo: “Did you see Turn 2 and 3 I had crazy bottoming,” he said – “I almost lost the car there due to bottoming.” That’s the one thing these young drivers will want to avoid, putting the car into a wall!
23 mins to go: Pierre Gasly has just jumped up to second on the timesheet. He was on course to go fastest, but an untidy final sector saw him lose time to George Russell. Meanwhile, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda has gone ahead of Logan Sargeant into third.
18 mins to go: Lance Stroll just got caught out by a tail wind on his way into the final corner and very nearly ended up going sideways. Ultimately a good save from the Aston Martin driver. Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri has gone up to second for McLaren. 11 mins to go: An ever-changing cast of drivers moving into second on the timesheet, but George Russell remains clear up front. Valtteri Bottas now takes over P2 for Alfa Romeo, 0.381s adrift of his former Mercedes.
7 mins to go: Felipe Drugovich is the new highest placed young driver, after going second and within 0.4s of George Russell. Also impressing is Robert Shwartzman in the Ferrari, who has just gone seventh, and is only a few hundredths of a second back from Carlos Sainz. Of course, we have no idea what setups and fuel loads the drivers are running, which makes comparisons a little risky.
“That was scary!” A big snap of oversteer for Ferrari’s Robert Shwartzman going through Turn Three, which certainly caught his attention and put his car control to very good use. Logan Sargeant will have a meeting with the stewards at 11am. The Williams driver is being investigated for driving erratically after almost causing a collision with Jack Doohan.
Chequered flag: That’s it for your final Practice One session of the season. George Russell takes the honour of topping 2023’s final P1 for Mercedes with Aston Martin’s Felipe Drugovich the leading stand-in up in second place. Daniel Ricciardo takes third for AlphaTauri with Valtteri Bottas fourth for Alfa Romeo. Carlos Sainz finished the first practice session in P7, just ahead of Ferrari junior Robert Shwartzman in P8.
As ever in Abu Dhabi Practice One – and particularly this year with half the usual field sitting this session out – next to nothing can be read into the timesheet!
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