Charles Leclerc emerged quickest on a busy yet disruptive day of Friday Practice for 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Mercedes’ George Russell topped FP1 but in a disruptive FP2 with two red flags in cooler and more representative conditions, it was Leclerc who emerged quickest amidst a flurry of late fast laps ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Now, here is a roundup of Friday Practice for the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix which saw ten regular drivers – including both Red Bull drivers – sit out FP1, in order to allow for rookie drivers to participate in the opening session.
FP1
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and FP1 driver, Felipe Drugovich were first out on track and Stroll quickly set the benchmark time of 1m 31.035 in the fourth minute.
Mercedes’ George Russell however soon set the pace a minute later with 1m 27.673 on the medium tyre a minute later, and lowered the benchmark time to 1m 26.983 a further seven minutes later.
Russell consolidated his lead by the half-way mark of the session with 1m 26.313 set in the 18th minute as he headed Stroll and AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda.
Williams’ FP1 debutant, Zak O’Sullivan meanwhile ran teammate, Logan Sargeant close in the opening minutes and briefly found himself 0.235 seconds quicker than the American, but Sargeant eventually finished the session 0.718s ahead of the Brit.
Russell eventually finished fastest overall with 1m 26.072 ahead of Drugovich once soft tyre runs were completed, with the Brazilian fastest out of the FP1 runners.
Ferrari’s Robert Shwartzman was the closest FP1 runner to his teammate – Carlos Sainz with the pair split by 0.027s in seventh and sixth positions respectively.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1m 26.072 |
| 2 | Felipe Drugovich | Aston Martin | + 0.288 |
| 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | AlphaTauri | + 0.361 |
| 4 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | + 0.381 |
| 5 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 0.559 |
| 6 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | + 0.593 |
| 7 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | + 0.604 |
| 8 | Robert Shwartzman | Ferrari | + 0.631 |
| 9 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | + 0.648 |
| 10 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | + 0.653 |
| 11 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | + 0.670 |
| 12 | Frederik Vesti | Mercedes | + 0.743 |
| 13 | Jack Doohan | Alpine | + 0.793 |
| 14 | Theo Pourchaire | Alfa Romeo | + 1.021 |
| 15 | Pato O’Ward | McLaren | + 1.042 |
| 16 | Jake Dennis | Red Bull | + 1.136 |
| 17 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | + 1.172 |
| 18 | Zak O’Sullivan | Williams | + 1.388 |
| 19 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | + 1.390 |
| 20 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | + 1.497 |
FP2
Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg and Williams’ Alex Albon were back in the cockpit after missing FP1 and straight out on track, with Hulkenberg setting the initial benchmark time of 1m 27.147 but he was displaced by Max Verstappen who went 0.694s quicker.
Russell however continued his dominant pace from FP1 early into FP2 as he posted 1m 25.906 in the sixth minute to go quickest from Ricciardo and Stroll.
The session however was halted in the ninth minute after Sainz lost control upon hitting a bump into Turn 3 whilst following the “dirty air” of Ricciardo, which sent the Spaniard spinning into the barriers and stopped the session for 27 minutes.
Haas’ Magnussen and Hulkenberg were first back out on track heading a queue of cars desperate to get out of the pits, with Verstappen left infuriated at Sargeant sneaking in at the front of the queue behind both Haas drivers.
The red flags were again back out just two minutes after the restart because Hulkenberg lost the rear of his Haas at Turn 1 and spun into the inside barriers, which ended his session early.
FP2 resumed seven minutes later with Lando Norris first to get back out amidst chaos behind him, as Verstappen overtook both Mercedes drivers in the pit exit tunnel round the outside.
Norris took advantage of the clear air as he posted 1m 25.625 in the 48th minute to go fastest on medium tyres, having found himself 19th fastest after the opening runs.
Norris’ time however was usurped quickly by those who opted for the soft tyre as Leclerc went quickest with 1m 24.809 in the 49th minute, with half of the field having opted to do medium tyre qualifying simulations, whilst others opted for the faster soft tyre.
Leclerc eventually finished quickest from Norris and Verstappen with the trio split by 0,173s with the top 15 covered by 0.850s overall, whilst Magnussen was the sole runner to do his fastest qualifying simulation time on the medium tyre – aside from Sainz and Hulkenberg.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1m 24.809 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | McLaren | + 0.043 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | + 0.173 |
| 4 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | + 0.215 |
| 5 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | + 0.303 |
| 6 | George Russell | Mercedes | + 0.313 |
| 7 | Guanyu Zhou | Alfa Romeo | + 0.414 |
| 8 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | + 0.506 |
| 9 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | + 0.512 |
| 10 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | + 0.552 |
| 11 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | + 0.588 |
| 12 | Daniel Ricciardo | AlphaTauri | + 0.658 |
| 13 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 0.683 |
| 14 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | + 0.757 |
| 15 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | + 0.860 |
| 16 | Alex Albon | Williams | + 1.272 |
| 17 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | + 1.604 |
| 18 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | + 1.850 |
| 19 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | + 1.898 |
| 20 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | + 2.338 |
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