FP1: Verstappen edges the Mercedes duo in the opening practice
Max Verstappen topped the opening practice session for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, edging the Mercedes duo of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton.
After the intense and nail-biting inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Formula One drivers returned to action for a final push, visiting the rebuilt Abu Dhabi circuit. The track, which has hosted the final race of the season in recent years, has been modified for 2021 in the hope that it would promote better and closer racing.
The changes have made the track sifnigicantly faster with times expected to drop by eight seconds. Although Red Bull’s Max Verstappen put in a faultless effort last year to dominate qualifying and the race, the modifications are believed to favour the characteristics of Mercedes W12.
More to follow…Results
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:25.009 | 23 | |
| 2 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:25.205 | +0.196s | 26 |
| 3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:25.355 | +0.346s | 25 |
| 4 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:25.363 | +0.354s | 24 |
| 5 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Alphatauri Honda | 1:25.378 | +0.369s | 22 |
| 6 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine Renault | 1:25.625 | +0.616s | 26 |
| 7 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alphatauri Honda | 1:25.822 | +0.813s | 28 |
| 8 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:25.846 | +0.837s | 20 |
| 9 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:25.886 | +0.877s | 25 |
| 10 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin Mercedes | 1:26.007 | +0.998s | 26 |
| 11 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault | 1:26.025 | +1.016s | 25 |
| 12 | 4 | Lando Norris | Mclaren Mercedes | 1:26.123 | +1.114s | 26 |
| 13 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 1:26.189 | +1.180s | 25 |
| 14 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 1:26.409 | +1.400s | 25 |
| 15 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Mercedes | 1:26.608 | +1.599s | 26 |
| 16 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Mclaren Mercedes | 1:26.676 | +1.667s | 29 |
| 17 | 89 | Jack Aitken | Williams Mercedes | 1:27.481 | +2.472s | 27 |
| 18 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams Mercedes | 1:27.487 | +2.478s | 26 |
| 19 | 47 | Mick Schumacher | Haas Ferrari | 1:27.698 | +2.689s | 23 |
| 20 | 9 | Nikita Mazepin | Haas Ferrari | 1:28.305 | +3.296s | 22 |
