Hamilton leads Mercedes one-two in FP1 for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton has topped the timesheets in the first free practice session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. His teammate and now one-time Grand Prix winner George Russell rounded out a one-two for Mercedes. The two protagonists this weekend, Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez, traded times at the top for much of the session but it was the Ferrari driver who finished one place ahead in third. Those two drivers are looked on equal points in the championship and fight for second place. 

During the first free practice in Abu Dhabi, eight drivers relinquished their cars to rookies. Only AlphaTauri and Mercedes fielded their two regular drivers during practice. One veteran, an intended future Formula 1 driver, and several rookies making their debut in the sport this weekend. The names included Logan Sargeant (Williams), Jack Doohan (Alpine), Pietro Fittipaldi (Haas), Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin), Pato O'Ward (McLaren), Robert Kubica (Alfa Romeo), Robert Shwartzman (Ferrari) and Liam Lawson (Red Bull).  

There were a few issues for these drivers. Sargeant spun at turn one, Doohan cooked his engine whilst sitting in the pitlane unable to move, O'Ward had a systems failure at McLaren and Lawson almost missed his pit box. But overall, most managed to impress their employers and proved why the new 2022 rookie practice rule has become a success. 

Abu Dhabi weekend

Perez and Leclerc made a surprisingly early move to soft tyres. Those two drivers traded times at the top of the leaderboard for much of the session providing a good marker for their inexperienced teammates during the 60 minutes. 

McLaren had a troublesome start to the weekend. On his opening lap, Pato O'Ward was told to leave Lando Norris' car in second gear and return to the pits. The McLaren team were then spotted doing some work on the furniture inside the garage. In the final quarter, Mercedes put on soft tyres and demonstrated some speed. With 13 minutes to go, both Mercedes driver returned to the P1 and P2 slots they earnt last weekend in Brazil. Towards the end of the session, Lawson posted a lap time just two tenths slower than Perez. On his final weekend in Formula 1, Vettel started postively by finishing inside the top eight. 

As has become frequent during recent FP1 sessions, it was a difficult session to read. The track conditions and temperatures seen in this session won't be replicated during qualifying and the Grand Prix.