In this final race weekend, the title rivals can be found on the track soon after the start of the 1st free practice session. The drivers do a lot of laps on this modified circuit, but the lap times will not yet be completely representative. The temperature is still high because the sun is shining on the Yas Marina Circuit. During qualifying and the race it will be dark and the temperature will drop. The difference in temperature will have a major effect on the behavior of the cars.
That is why Verstappen cannot cheer too hard for his result. He is at the top of most of the training with the fastest time. Hamilton comes close on a number of occasions, but time and again he goes off track, invalidating his time. Hamilton does not seem to be completely satisfied with his car yet and Verstappen’s title rival has to work on the car’s set-up. Finding the border does of course give him and his team valuable information.
In addition, the drivers focus entirely on the speed of one lap in this training. We don’t see any racing simulations yet. As a result, nothing can be said about the speed that the cars will have on the day the points are divided. This first training is therefore positive for Verstappen, but there are still many uncertainties.
1st free practice of the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP
01. Max Verstappen
02. Valtteri Bottas
03. Lewis Hamilton
04. Sergio Perez
05. Yuki Tsunoda
Dates and times of the Abu Dhabi GP 2021
Friday December 10, 2021
2nd free practice: 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Saturday 11 December 2021
3rd free practice: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Qualification: 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Sunday 12 December 2021
Race: 2:00 p.m.
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