Lando Norris tops FP1 in Abu Dhabi. The first session of the championship showdown may have gone in favour of Norris, but Max Verstappen wasn’t far behind.
Rookies on track
It was an unusual grid for the first session at the Yas Marina circuit, as many rookie drivers took to the track. Championship contender Oscar Piastri claimed Zac Brown’s seat on the pitwall, as Pato O’ Ward took his seat in the McLaren.
Rookies for FP1
Pato O’ Ward – McLaren
Arthur Leclerc – Ferrari
Arvid Linblad – Red Bull
Jak Crawford – Aston Martin
Cian Shields – Aston Martin
Paul Aron – Alpine
Ryo Hirakawa – Haas
Ayumu Iwasa – Racing Bulls
Luke Browning – Williams
Photo Credits – Formula 1
Flo vis for McLaren
Lando Norris emerged from the pits with flo vis paint on his rear wing. Proving that even in these late championship stages, it’s all to play for. Meanwhile, the track action was ramping up as all the drivers got used to the track conditions. Both Alpine’s had a wobble on the final corner.
Luke Browning had a tricky start to the session with radio issues. Isack Hadjar complained of impeding, as Luke couldn’t hear his radio near the hotel section.
Championship fight begins
With 53 minutes to go Lando Norris set the fastest lap on mediums with with a 1.35.454. However, his championship rival Max Verstappen was only 0.014 behind on the hard tyre compound.
The order swapped half way through the session with the Red Bull driver setting 1.24.493 lap time on softs. But the McLaren driver was only 0.026 behind him.
Problems for Bearman
It wasn’t the smoothest of sessions for Ollie Bearman, as he experienced difficulties with his car. The Haas driver limped back to the pits with a suspected hydraulic leak with 41 minutes left in the session.
Photo Credits – Formula 1
Rookies get the laps in
Meanwhile the rookies were making the most of their track time. Paul Aron was the fastest rookie on track with 21 minutes to go in the session. Although there were a few wobbles on track as Arthur Leclerc ran off at turn 12 with 37 minutes left in the session Luke Browning locked up into turn 1 with 6 minutes to go.
Photo credits – Formula 1
Lando Norris tops FP1
Although the championship contenders were neck in neck for most of the session, it was Lando Norris who topped the times in FP1. This might provide extra confidence for the McLaren driver, but it’s clear from the times that the RedBull driver is still very much in the battle.
With Oscar Piastri on the pitwall for FP1, we don’t know how he will fare on the Yas Marina circuit yet. All we know is it’s impossible to call who is going to take the title yet. It makes for a very exciting final round of the season.
Top 3 in FP1
Lando Norris – 1.24.485
Max Verstappen – +0.008
Charles Leclerc – +0.016