George Russell topped FP1 in Abu Dhabi but Aston Martin reserve driver Felipe Drugovich was best of the rookies in second.
FP1 was full of new faces with 10 current drivers making way for rookies to drive. All teams bar AlphaTauri put a young driver in the car in order to complete their rookie practice running requirement for the year.
While some teams such as Mercedes could have one permanent driver in the car, others had to give up both seats.
Red Bull had neither Max Verstappen or Sergio Perez behind the wheel. Both drivers were replaced by 2023 Formula E world champion Jake Dennis and Isack Hadjar.
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Although the final race of 2023, many saw the session as an opportunity to prepare for 2024.
AlphaTauri are running a new floor package to prepare for next season and several other teams ran elaborate aerodynamic rakes.
The mixture of factors ultimately made FP1 a non-competitive session. Russell put the fastest laps in early doors setting a 1.26.313, five seconds faster than Lance Stroll’s benchmark time.
Pitting before the halfway point and changing medium tyres for softs, Russell set a quicker time of 1.25.081.
Rookie mistakes as Doohan and Sargeant almost collide
While Russell was setting this lap, F1’s 2023 rookie Logan Sargeant and Mick Doohan in Esteban Ocon’s Alpine nearly collided in the final turns.
Doohan flew round the double right complex at the end of the track only to be met by Sargeant who was preparing for his own flying lap.
Sergeant turned right as Doohan tried to overtake causing a close call for both drivers. The incident will be investigated after the race.
However, this wasn’t the only close call at Hadjar and Stroll had a near moment.
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While coming towards the end of the first straight, the Red Bull junior driver had to run wide to avoid collecting Stroll who was running slow into the chicane.
Russell later improved again setting a 1.26.072 and was followed by Drugovich, Daniel Ricciardo, Valterri Bottas and Stroll.
Abu Dhabi proves tough on car and tyres
Several drivers had scary moments, coming sideways out of the final corner, a sign of the life of the soft tyre over a single lap. Carlos Sainz, Williams junior Zak O’Sullivan and McLaren IndyCar driver Pato O’Ward were victims of such incidents.
Meanwhile several teams also suffered issues with bottoming out. Schwartzman and Theo Pourchaire, who replaced Zhou Guanyu at Alfa Romeo, nearly lose the car through the opening corners.
While they were the only visually obvious sufferers, Oscar Piastri stated this is an issue all teams faced in FP1. The main reason can be concluded to be due to teams still unsure of ride heights due to the track resurfacing at turns 6,7,10 and 11.
The session finished with a test of the new rain light warning system on the rear of the cars.
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