FP1: Vettel leads close first practice session in Abu Dhabi

  • Published on 24 Nov 2017 11:37
  • comments 0
  • By: Sam Gale

Sebastian Vettel was quickest in the first practice session for the final Grand Prix of the season in Abu Dhabi followed by the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull of Max Verstappen respectively, with the the top threee cars all covered by less than two tenths of a second. It looks like it will be a battle again between those three drivers, who collectively have won the last ten Grand's Prix.

The teammates of the top three drivers all had mixed sessions, with Kimi Raikkonen, Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo all some way from their teammates pace, all over half a second from their teammates pace. Daniel Ricciardo in particular was all the way down in tenth place, amongst the midfield pack and over a second and a half behind his teammate, with some work to do for the rest of the weekend.

The Force India of Sergio Perez again showed impressive pace taking his customary place as one of the best of the midfield, and will be looking to secure his best ever points tally in F1 this weekend if he finishes sixth or better, especially as his teammate Esteban Ocon sat out FP1 for George Russell who finished the session eleventh

The two McLaren's of Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne had an impressive session, with both cars in the top ten in seventh and eighth respectively, and will be looking to end the miserable McLaren Honda era of the team on a high before hopefully a return to the front of the grid for the team next year with Renault engines.

The two Williams again looked to have good pace as they had in Brazil, with Felipe Massa having a good showing to put his car ninth and in a position to score points in his final Grand Prix of his career, with Lance Stroll a bit further back in thirteenth place.

In the extremely tight battle for sixth place in the constructors championship it looks to be Haas who has the advantage of pace this weekend so far, with Romain Grosjean the quickest of the Haas, Toro Rosso and Renault cars, but as he was only 12th place and needing three points to overhaul Renault and seven to overhaul Toro Rosso it may not be enough to make a dent on the teams ahead.

Renault had seemingly a poor session in terms of pace, after being capable of challenging for the top ten consistently in the last few races at this crucial point have chosen to have relatively poor pace, only managing 15th and 17th for Sainz and Hulkenberg respectively and will be hoping to challenge for a spot inside the top ten come Sunday.

Toro Rosso meanwhile are continuing their poor finish to the season with their inexperienced drivers ahead of their move to Honda engines next season, and will need their luck to hold out for one more race to maintain their best ever constructors position, with Gasly and Hartley looking unlikely to add to their points tally after they were 14th and 20th in first practice.

Sauber will be looking to end a miserable season as quickly as possible before they get modern Ferrari engines next season which should see them propelled some way off the back of the grid. The team has only managed five points all season, and are unlikely to score any on Sunday after finishing 16th and 19th in first practice.

 

Sam Gale

F1Grand Prix United Arab Emirates - Free practice 1

AE Yas Marina Circuit - 24 November 2017

Replies (0)

Login to reply

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 11:32

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 11:32

World Championship standings 2025

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2025

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
14 - Mar 16
Australia
21 - Mar 23
China
4 - Apr 6
Japan
11 - Apr 13
Bahrain
18 - Apr 20
Saudi Arabia
2 - May 4
United States of America
16 - May 18
Italy
23 - May 25
Monaco
30 - Jun 1
Spain
13 - Jun 15
Canada
27 - Jun 29
Austria
4 - Jul 6
United Kingdom
25 - Jul 27
Belgium
1 - Aug 3
Hungary
29 - Aug 31
Netherlands
5 - Sep 7
Italy
19 - Sep 21
Azerbaijan
3 - Oct 5
Singapore
17 - Oct 19
United States of America
24 - Oct 26
Mexico
7 - Nov 9
Brazil
21 - Nov 23
United States of America
28 - Nov 30
Qatar
5 - Dec 7
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2025

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
14 - Mar 16
Australia Albert Park
21 - Mar 23
4 - Apr 6
11 - Apr 13
18 - Apr 20
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
2 - May 4
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
16 - May 18
23 - May 25
Monaco Monte Carlo
30 - Jun 1
13 - Jun 15
27 - Jun 29
Austria Red Bull Ring
4 - Jul 6
United Kingdom Silverstone
25 - Jul 27
1 - Aug 3
Hungary Hungaroring
29 - Aug 31
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
5 - Sep 7
Italy Monza
19 - Sep 21
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
3 - Oct 5
17 - Oct 19
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
24 - Oct 26
7 - Nov 9
Brazil Interlagos
21 - Nov 23
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
28 - Nov 30
5 - Dec 7
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team Red Bull Racing
  • Points 3,123
  • Podiums 115
  • Grand Prix 215
  • Country NL
  • Date of b. Sep 30 1997 (27)
  • Place of b. Hasselt (Belgie), NL
  • Weight 70 kg
  • Length 1.8 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar