Free Practice 1 – Abu Dhabi: Lewis Hamilton takes the lead over Nico Rosberg

For the start of this first Friday morning practice session, the weather conditions are perfect: 28°C in the air and 35°C on the track. Obviously, the chances of rain are 0%.

Two small changes compared to the line-up of the last Grand Prix, Jolyon Palmer is back in Romain Grosjean’s Lotus and Roberto Mehri has reclaimed his seat, which was left to Alexander Rossi for five races.

At the green light, many drivers take to the track for a reconnaissance lap. They use the soft tires, which are the hardest compounds brought by Pirelli for this race. Even Pastor Maldonado, whose preparation was once again disrupted, is able to take to the track in the first few minutes. However, Jolyon Palmer is not able to do the same. Lotus might have chosen to prioritize the Venezuelan’s car and work on the second only for the second session when Romain Grosjean will regain his seat.

GREEN LIGHT: We’re under way in #FP1 at the final race weekend of the /f1/actualite/20596-romain-grosjean-prepare-ses-adieux-a-lotus-dans-un-contexte-complique.html season #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/2Oqu9qvZ79

— Formula 1 (@F1) 27 Novembre /f1/actualite/20596-romain-grosjean-prepare-ses-adieux-a-lotus-dans-un-contexte-complique.html

You have to wait for the 10-minute mark to see the first recorded time of the session. It’s Nico Rosberg who sets a very modest 1:55.130. He immediately improves with a time of 1:44.626. Lewis Hamilton quickly takes second place but is more than a second behind his teammate, especially when the latter improves again with a 1:46.102.

After the first half hour, only fourteen drivers have set a time. The top 10 is then Rosberg, Hamilton, Räikkönen, Hülkenberg, Perez, Maldonado, Bottas, Verstappen, Massa, Button. The gap between the two Mercedes drivers has narrowed to just a tenth, while the Ferrari driver is more than 1.3 seconds behind.

Sign that preparations on Jolyon Palmer’s Lotus are not yet complete, the car has been hoisted onto trestles and the mechanics continue to work on it, testing the various mechanical elements of the vehicle. It is unlikely that the Briton will do more than a few laps, if he is able to go out…

Although it took Fernando Alonso some time to set his first time on track, it proves to be interesting as his 1:46.660 secures him a nice ninth place. However, it’s important to note that the two Red Bulls (who conducted aerodynamic tests) and Sebastian Vettel have yet to register a single time on the scoreboard.

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (halfway through #FP1) It’s Rosberg from Hamilton from Räikkönen #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/eNb7GbjhKT

— Formula 1 (@F1) 27 Novembre /f1/actualite/20596-romain-grosjean-prepare-ses-adieux-a-lotus-dans-un-contexte-complique.html

Kimi Räikkönen is showing slight improvement, allowing him to get back under a second behind the two Mercedes. Similarly, Nico Rosberg is out for another attempt. The German delivers the best performance in the first two sectors before losing time in the last, preventing him from improving his best time of the session.

The two Red Bulls eventually set a time after numerous single-lap runs. Daniel Ricciardo immediately positions himself 4th, 0.998 seconds behind Rosberg, while Daniil Kvyat takes 6th place. We can also see that Felipe Massa continues his tradition of lagging behind on Friday mornings as he only holds the 15th time.

If Kimi Räikkönen complains on the radio about a loss of power, his team informs him that it was likely an issue with his MGU-K but that the problem should now be resolved. The Finn also came very close to his former teammate, Fernando Alonso.

Half an hour from the end, Lewis Hamilton picks up the pace and manages to beat his teammate’s benchmark by a tenth. The top 10 is then Hamilton, Rosberg, Räikkönen, Kvyat, Ricciardo, Perez, Hülkenberg, Vettel, Verstappen, Maldonado.

The end of the session is not dedicated to seeking the best time but to assessing tire degradation, which explains why there are few improvements to note. However, Jolyon Palmer is finally able to take to the track twelve minutes before the end of the session.

This looks really really interesting!

#AbuDhabiGP #FP1 pic.twitter.com/kZoPmRqBV6

— Lotus F1 Team (@Lotus_F1Team) 27 November

Eight minutes from the end, Nico Rosberg is urgently asked to return to his pits due to low fluid pressure. This should not have a significant impact on the rest of the weekend for the German.

However, Jolyon Palmer’s session continues to be complicated with a wide exit in turn 18, concluding with a spin. But the Briton is able to get back on track without further consequences.

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (end of #FP1) #AbuDhabiGP #F1Finale pic.twitter.com/beaJrcyHe7

— Formula 1 (@F1) 27 Novembre /f1/actualite/20596-romain-grosjean-prepare-ses-adieux-a-lotus-dans-un-contexte-complique.html

From our special correspondent in Abu Dhabi