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McLaren’s Lando Norris has
claimed the early advantage in free practice for the title decider, going
quickest in both sessions on the soft tyre. The sessions were held at
different times of day, with FP2 being more representative of qualifying and
the race.
Most drivers started FP2 at 17:00 local time on the medium
tyre, in track temperatures of 28 degrees, but some of the early quickest
times came on the soft courtesy of Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) and Oliver
Bearman (Haas).
Verstappen was the first of the frontrunners to
switch to the soft as the sun set with half an hour to go, and quickly moved
onto longer runs on the medium for race simulation. With all the cars then
selecting the soft towards the end of the session, Norris claimed the upper
hand by 0.3s.
One of the standout performances came from Bearman, who
finished the session in P4, while Piastri – another of the three
championship contenders – ended up P11.
THE DAY ON TRACK:
The opening FP1 session at 13:30 was held in warmer conditions, with Norris
again going fastest from Verstappen by a much smaller margin.
Piastri
missed FP1, as Pato O’Ward took over his McLaren: one of nine rookie drivers
participating in the session (with a rookie officially defined as a driver
who has started no more than two grands prix). This year, every driver is
obliged to give his car to a rookie in two practice sessions. All three
compounds were used during the FP1 session.
Simone Berra: Chief Engineer:
“The times on the first day of Abu Dhabi are in line with simulations: about
half a second faster compared to last year. In both sessions we found some
instances of graining, mainly on the front-right, which has the effect of
slightly accelerating degradation. In this context, the most consistent race
tyres seem to be the medium and hard, whereas the soft appears to be more
suited to a flying lap.
One factor to bear in mind though is track
evolution. The support races are laying down rubber onto a surface that was
initially quite dirty, improving grip. This means that graining could well
be reduced in the next couple of days, putting the soft C5 back into play.
From what we just saw today, a one-stop strategy seems to be most
likely. Nonetheless, as the weekend goes on, a two-stopper could also become
a possibility. It’s not by chance that both McLarens and the Aston Martin of
Alonso did not run the hard at all in FP2, saving a new set.
An extra
set of hard C3 tyres during the race gives more options in terms of
strategy, especially if there’s a safety car, and delivers performance very
similar to the medium C4. The performance gap between the C3 and C4 is
currently around two tenths of a second, while there’s a bigger gap between
medium and soft of about seven to eight tenths of a second."
Formula 2:
Roman Stanek qualified for the F2 feature race on
pole, as his Invicta team bids to seal back to back teams’ championships.
With grip ramping up thanks to track evolution, most of the action took
place in the closing minutes of the half-hour session, as drivers swapped
fastest times right up to the end at 15:30.
By qualifying in P10, Campos Racing’s Arvid Lindblad – recently announced as an F1 driver for
Racing Bulls next year – has secured pole for tomorrow’s F2 sprint race,
which takes place at 16:15. The longer feature race, by contrast, happens on
Sunday at 13:15, where tyre strategy will play a key role. The tyre tactics
for qualifying today were much more straightforward, with all the drivers
benefiting from the speed of the supersoft.
Unusually, four of the drivers had just taken part in Formula 1 free practice before F2 qualifying,
including second-placed Jak Crawford (DAMS) – meaning they had to adapt
quickly to changing circumstances.
Like last year, there’s a performance gap between compounds for the final round of the F2 season –
with medium and supersoft nominated. The softest compound has a significant
advantage at the start, although its performance duration is limited.
Those starting on the supersoft are banking on a safety car to reduce the time lost during a pit
stop. Starting the feature race on the medium should deliver a shorter
theoretical overall race time, but any neutralisation after lap six or seven
would wipe out that advantage. The Yas Marina circuit has become faster and
smoother following changes four years ago. The track surface, which produces
low levels of grip, is generally quite easy on tyres, allowing for several
strategy options.
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