Abu Dhabi GP: Max Verstappen starts the finale week on the front foot; tops FP1 charts ahead of Bottas, Hamilton

Abu Dhabi GP: Max Verstappen starts the finale week on the front foot; tops FP1 charts ahead of Bottas, Hamilton

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton

Max Verstappen has drawn the first blood in the finale week in Abu Dhabi, as the Red Bull driver finished FP1 on the first position. It is a massive boost for the Dutch driver, who has finished above both Mercedes drivers in the Yas Marina Circuit.

It was a rather disappointing session for the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, who finished third and second respectively in FP1. Verstappen clocked a timing of 1:25.009, with Valtteri Bottas being almost two-hundredths of a second down.

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are level on points for the final race of the season, after the latter’s epic win in the first ever Saudi Arabian GP. However, it was not a great start for Hamilton in Abu Dhabi, as the Briton came in third, being four-hundredths of a second behind his rival, Verstappen.

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Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen
Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen

The second free session of the day will be held later in the evening, with the conditions being similar to what it will be during the qualifying and main race. Max Verstappen had steering wheel issues during the opening stages, which was attended to by the Red Bull crew. He clocked his best time of the session on soft tyres.

Lewis Hamilton came close to Max Verstappen’s time in FP1, being just 0.033 seconds slower than the Dutchman. However, that lap time was deleted as the Briton exceeded track limits on Turn 16.

FP1 Standings:

  1. Max Verstappen
  2. Valtteri Bottas
  3. Lewis Hamilton
  4. Sergio Perez
  5. Yuki Tsunoda
  6. Fernando Alonso
  7. Pierre Gasly
  8. Charles Leclerc
  9. Carlos Sainz
  10. Sebastian Vettel
  11. Esteban Ocon
  12. Lando Norris
  13. Kimi Raikkonen
  14. Antonio Giovinazzi
  15. Lance Stroll
  16. Daniel Ricciardo
  17. Jack Williams
  18. Nicholas Latifi
  19. Mick Schumacher
  20. Nikita Mazepin

Sergio Perez had a decent start to the weekend, as he finished fourth. Fernando Alonso was among the pick of the drivers in FP1, as he held the top spot for a while. Nevertheless, he ended the session on P6, behind Yuki Tsunoda.

Also Read: Lewis Hamilton reveals why he is against using number one on his car, despite being the world champion