Leclerc sets the pace before penalty woes hit Ferrari

What was supposed to be a memorable and emotional FP1 session for Charles Leclerc was flipped on its head when early session complications forced Ferrari to fit a new battery to the #16’s car, resulting in a 10-place grid penalty despite setting the fastest time of the session.

In a session riddled with six rookie drivers, the final race weekend of the longest-ever season in Formula 1 history got underway at the Yas Marina Circuit.

Cars exited the underground pitlane, many sporting excessive aero rakes, as drivers were instructed to complete the first session with the sole purpose of gathering data.

Oscar Piastri was just one driver to be replaced by a rookie for his mandated rookie driver session, with World Endurance Championship driver Ryo Hirakawa stepping into his MCL38 for FP1.

Along with the Japanese driver, Isack Hadjar stood in for Max Verstappen, Ayumu Iwasa stood in for Yuki Tsunoda, Luke Browning stood in for Alex Albon, Felipe Drugovich stood in for Lance Stroll, and Arthur Leclerc stood in for Carlos Sainz, running in the SF-24 alongside his brother as the pair looked set to make history as the first-ever brothers to run in an F1 session as teammates.

That record was put in jeopardy, however, when Charles Leclerc was held in the garage with no end in sight, his car being pulled apart just minutes before the session got underway.

The Ferrari driver finally made it out of the pitlane with under 30 minutes remaining, chasing his brother as he started his delayed FP1 program on the medium compound tyre.

One driver getting straight to the point was Jack Doohan who began his Formula 1 debut weekend with a time of 1:28.678s.

Jack Doohan during FP1 at the Abu Dhabi GP. Image: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images.

His progress at the halfway point of the session saw him halfway up the order in P10, 1.2 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton’s then-benchmark.

The Australian then retreated to the pitlane for a significant amount of time before laying down his first soft tyre run of the weekend, boosting him to P14. 

After setting his primary C5 time of 1:26.304s, Doohan instantly returned to the pitlane, only returning with five minutes on the clock.

Falling to the second slowest ranking, Doohan remained in P19 through to the chequered flag, ending the first practice session 1.9 seconds behind the benchmark.

With a rookie for a teammate, Liam Lawson didn’t have a direct comparison in the VCARB 01, however, he did find himself sitting just eight-tenths off the top time after running the medium compound tyre for the first 30 minutes of the session.  

Lawson circuited for a further 10 minutes on the C4, continuing with his long-run simulations before making the switch to the soft tyre.

Looking to boost himself from P13, Lawson set off on his first soft tyre run which rewarded him with a top-ten time of 1:25.463s.

Informing his team that conditions had become “gusty”, Lawson continued circulating the Yas Marina Circuit until the final two minutes of FP1, when he completed a pitstop simulation before darting back through the pit exit tunnel.

He ended the session with the 12th fastest time, heading to the grid to complete his first practice start of the weekend.

Liam Lawson on track during practice at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Image: Joe Portlock/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.

As for the rest of the field, the first half of qualifying was dominated by the Mercedes-powered cars, with George Russell topping the table with a time of 1:25.571s, ahead of Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton and Franco Colapinto. 

It was an uncharacteristically difficult opening to FP1 for the driver running in the world champion’s car, with wheel clearance and efficiency issues resulting in a decent spin for Hadjar at Turn 7. 

Sitting second in the Formula 2 championship standings by just half a point, the Red Bull driver got back on track, still struggling with his hands clipping his knees as he turned through the 16 corners of the Yas Marina Circuit.

With a time of 1:24.542s, already half a second faster than 12 months ago, Norris used his fresh set of soft tyres to promote himself in P1, with the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg for company a significant eight-tenths behind. 

In his last weekend as a Mercedes driver, Hamilton split the top two, coming within two-tenths of his compatriot on his first soft tyre run, before the #63 joined him in the top three.

A lull fell over the circuit with 15 minutes on the clock, with the usual front runners of Charles Leclerc and the second RB20 yet to breach the top five. 

Upon return, Charles set two fastest sectors on his C5s, resulting in the #16 skyrocketing to the very top of the session with a lap of 1:24.321s, however, his hopes came crashing down when it was announced that the Ferrari driver would be forced to take a 10-place grid penalty for changing his battery pack.

That news would bring joy to the #4 McLaren who ended the session with the second fastest time, two-tenths behind Charles Leclerc and two-tenths ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

Image: Steven Tee / LAT Images

Free Practice 1 Results:

2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Schedule: 

Friday, December 6:

FP1: 20:30 – 21:30

Saturday, December 7:

FP2: 00:00 – 01:00

FP3: 21:30 – 22:30

Sunday, December 8:

Qualifying: 01:00 – 02:00

Monday, December 9:

Race: 00:00

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