Formula 1 News: Leclerc tops opening practice for Abu Dhabi GP

In a session that saw 6 rookies get a chance to wheel an F1 car, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc turned the fastest lap of 1m24.321s to top opening practice for the 2024 Abu Dhabi GP around the Yas Marina Circuit.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

In the battle for the 2024 F1 Constructors’ Championship, Ferrari drew first blood over rival McLaren as Lando Norris was 2nd fastest in his #4 McLaren, 0.221s behind Leclerc whose lap was less than a second away from last year’s pole.

Leclerc will be taking a 10-place grid penalty on Sunday because of a Energy Store component replacement. Not good news for Ferrari’s championship hopes.

Lewis Hamilton was the faster of the two Mercedes, 0.485s behind Leclerc.

George Russell put his #63 Mercedes in 4th, 0.844s behind Leclerc.

Pierre Gasly rounded out the top-5 for Alpine, 1.012s behind Leclerc.

This isn’t a representative session either, given qualifying and the race take place under the lights once conditions have cooled.

Not good news for the Williams drivers. It looks like they have need to fit both cars with a new gearbox for this weekend, exceeding their allocation for the year.

That means both are set for grid drops for Sunday’s race.

2024 Abu Dhabi GP Practice 1 Results