Valtteri Bottas comfortably led the way in the first practice session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, aided by the brand new power unit in his Mercedes.
The FIA confirmed during the session that Bottas will start from the back of the grid on Sunday after taking a new engine, turbo and power unit this weekend. He used it to good effect in the opening 90 minutes of running, ending up half a second clear of Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, despite using medium compound tyres to his rival’s softs.First practice at Yas Marina is held earlier in the day than qualifying and the race, however, and the considerably hotter conditions usually make for changes in the competitive order.
The session came to an early end due to a red flag when Vettel spun into the barrier at turn 19. The Ferrari snapped away from him as he bounced over the apex kerb. He narrowly missed the end of the TecPro barrier, crunching his left-rear wheel and suspension against the Armco.
This was the second time the session was red-flagged. Half an hour earlier, Daniel Ricciardo’s Renault engine blew at the end of the lap. As he had an old power unit in the car, replacing it should not mean he has to take a penalty.
As last year, Lewis Hamilton briefly ran the number one on the front of his Mercedes – and the usual 44 at the back – at the start of the first practice session at Yas Marina. He ended up with the third-quickest time after his engine went into ‘limp home’ mode earlier in the running.
Alexander Albon was fourth ahead of Vettel, while Romain Grosjean with sixth-quickest having tried a new set-up on his Haas. He narrowly out-paced Charles Leclerc, while Kevin Magnussen ensured both VF-19s appeared in the top eight. Antonio Giovinazzi was next and Nico Hulkenberg began his final F1 race weekend in 10th place.
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Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Best lap | Gap | Laps |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’36.957 | 23 | |
2 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull-Honda | 1’37.492 | 0.535 | 22 |
3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’37.591 | 0.634 | 20 |
4 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull-Honda | 1’38.084 | 1.127 | 23 |
5 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’38.906 | 1.949 | 19 |
6 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas-Ferrari | 1’39.146 | 2.189 | 18 |
7 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’39.249 | 2.292 | 18 |
8 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’39.350 | 2.393 | 19 |
9 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’39.423 | 2.466 | 20 |
10 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1’39.505 | 2.548 | 22 |
11 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Renault | 1’39.628 | 2.671 | 18 |
12 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’39.864 | 2.907 | 23 |
13 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’39.888 | 2.931 | 17 |
14 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point-Mercedes | 1’39.901 | 2.944 | 17 |
15 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso-Honda | 1’39.969 | 3.012 | 20 |
16 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso-Honda | 1’40.401 | 3.444 | 17 |
17 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | McLaren-Renault | 1’40.687 | 3.730 | 23 |
18 | 88 | Robert Kubica | Williams-Mercedes | 1’40.792 | 3.835 | 21 |
19 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1’40.850 | 3.893 | 12 |
20 | 63 | George Russell | Williams-Mercedes | 1’41.362 | 4.405 | 24 |
First practice visual gaps
Valtteri Bottas – 1’36.957
+0.535 Max Verstappen – 1’37.492
+0.634 Lewis Hamilton – 1’37.591
+1.127 Alexander Albon – 1’38.084
+1.949 Sebastian Vettel – 1’38.906
+2.189 Romain Grosjean – 1’39.146
+2.292 Charles Leclerc – 1’39.249
+2.393 Kevin Magnussen – 1’39.350
+2.466 Antonio Giovinazzi – 1’39.423
+2.548 Nico Hulkenberg – 1’39.505
+2.671 Lando Norris – 1’39.628
+2.907 Lance Stroll – 1’39.864
+2.931 Kimi Raikkonen – 1’39.888
+2.944 Sergio Perez – 1’39.901
+3.012 Daniil Kvyat – 1’39.969
+3.444 Pierre Gasly – 1’40.401
+3.730 Carlos Sainz Jnr – 1’40.687
+3.835 Robert Kubica – 1’40.792
+3.893 Daniel Ricciardo – 1’40.850
+4.405 George Russell – 1’41.362
Drivers more then ten seconds off the pace omitted.
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2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
- 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Star Performers
- Leclerc would welcome Hamilton as Ferrari team mate
- Vettel aiming for small improvements and fewer mistakes in 2020
- Perez praises Norris’s driving after last-lap pass
- Dominant Hamilton shows F1’s new generation the way in 2019 finale
Jere (@jerejj)
29th November 2019, 10:37
I’m surprised YMC still hasn’t got a third DRS-activation zone. I was expecting that to happen, given Bahrain’s (where the addition wasn’t greatly needed) addition for this season, as well as Singapore’s (which I’m surprised didn’t get that for last season already). Even Mexico got an additional one, which I least expected to get it given the shortness of the third longest-straight of that circuit. The YMC S/F-straight is roughly the same length as the T13-14 straight in Singapore, as well as, the T11-12 straight in Mexico, and yet still no activation zone there, which I fully expected to happen after the three additions mentioned above, so weird.
pastaman (@)
29th November 2019, 14:09
I think back to back DRS zones is already enough to get an overtake done around here.
Craig
29th November 2019, 11:17
It’s worth noting the weather conditions in practice 1 at Yas Marina aren’t particularly representative of what they’ll encounter in qualifying or the race, so there’s not much we can really draw from this.
Jere (@jerejj)
29th November 2019, 11:31
@Craig Indeed. The FP1 and FP3-sessions are effectively entirely useless in not only Abu Dhabi but Bahrain as well, so they might as well do away with them.
chimaera2003 (@chimaera2003)
29th November 2019, 11:51
You could make that arguement for FP3 but you can still do basic set up work in FP1 such as check ride height settings which are not as temp sensitive. Also teams may be able to bring new concepts to this race as a chance to check design ideas for 2020.
Jere (@jerejj)
29th November 2019, 12:11
@chimaera2003 Valid point.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
29th November 2019, 12:17
Bottas is da man.
Gets divorce, immediately 0.5s faster than anyone else.
Vettel meanwhile, gets a new child, misses press conference,… and still drops it over the curb and crashes.
I hope by the end of the weekend family man Vettel destroys the competition and gives us dads some hope.
Martin
29th November 2019, 18:08
Gets brand new engine he only has to use for 1 race you mean
ColdFly (@)
29th November 2019, 12:51
What’s the rule on that?
– They are allowed to have two different numbers?
– What do the timesheets show? The average or the sum of those numbers?
– Can a racer change numbers within the season?
Scalextric (@scalextric)
29th November 2019, 16:47
I wonder if it was for filming purposes.