by Red Bull driver Max Verstappen eclipsed George Russell’s Mercedes and Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari in FP2 for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which took place in more representative evening conditions.
Verstappen, one of eight drivers sitting out first practice for several rookie runs, quickly got up to speed on the Yas Marina Circuit and set a benchmark time of 1:25.146 on the soft compound tyre.
READ MORE: Hamilton leads Mercedes 1-2 in first practice at Yas Marina as plenty of youngsters get the chance to shine
Russell finished three-tenths back after running into traffic in the last sector of his push lap on the red marked rubber, prompting an apology from his engineer, to which he replied: “No problem. If only it isn’t there tomorrow!”
Leclerc was still a tenth behind in third, closely followed by FP1 pacemakers Hamilton, Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz – the latter taking to the track for the first time this weekend and also headed for traffic lights.
|
1 max Verstappen FAR Red Bull races |
1:25,146 |
|
2 George Russell RUS Mercedes |
+0.341s |
|
3 Karel Leclerc LEC Ferrari |
+0.453s |
|
4 Lewis Hamilton HAM Mercedes |
+0.615s |
|
5 Sergio Perez PER Red Bull races |
+0.706s |
In addition to Verstappen and Sainz, Lando Norris (McLaren), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Nicholas Latifi (Williams), Fernando Alonso (Alpine), Mick Schumacher (Haas) and Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) returned to the cockpit.
Alonso and his Sebastian Vettel tribute helmet were eighth, just behind team-mate Esteban Ocon, while McLaren duo Daniel Ricciardo and Norris were ninth and 11th respectively, squeezing in Valtteri Bottas, who kept his Alfa Romeo in the top 10.
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Ricciardo endured a tricky session, starting with a wild moment in the fast turn 3 that led him to pit for set-up changes, before reporting he was having trouble stopping on his pit lane markings due to a “slippery spot” and then slowed down by an oil leak.
Vettel survived a massive lock-up en route to 12th as his farewell weekend progressed, beating the other Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu, teammate Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda’s AlphaTauri.
Williams’ attack was led by Alex Albon in 16th, with Haas duo Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen taking P17 and P18 positions respectively. Schumacher pitted for floor checks after replays showed his car bouncing across the tarmac.
READ MORE: ‘I have not been a bad teammate to anyone’, says Verstappen after a fight about Brazil team orders
Pierre Gasly and Latifi were at the back of their AlphaTauri and Williams machines, clear of teammates Tsunoda and Albon, with a field of just over two seconds around the 5.281km circuit.
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