FORMULA 1
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Charles Leclerc fastest in FP1 but will take grid penalty for Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix6/12/2024  Credit: Kym Illman Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was the quickest in the opening practice session on Friday at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi but will take a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Leclerc would only get out for the second half of the free practice 1 session due to the battery pack issue that the Ferrari mechanics had to spend fitting a new one. Sadly for Leclerc, this battery pack exceeded the maximum allowed for each individual car per season. Therefore, Leclerc will have to take a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday's Grand Prix which dents any hopes of Ferrari's Constructors Championship with the gap already at 21 points and one of Ferrari's drivers starting out of position. In relation to the free practice 1 session itself did see Charles Leclerc partnered by is brother Arthur Leclerc at Scuderia Ferrari for FP1, which would be the first ever brother duo to participate in the same Formula 1 session with the same team. A wholesome moment for the Leclerc family and for both Arthur and Charles. Leclerc was quickest in the session by over two tenths clear of McLaren's Lando Norris who would finish in second position. Lewis Hamilton in his final weekend for Mercedes would complete the top three and would start the weekend just how he would hope it to finish - on a high result. How Free Practice 1 unfolded for the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand PrixFormula 1 is back for one last Grand Prix weekend in 2024 as the world championship heads to the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi for the season's finale. It would be the final free practice 1 of the season and the final Friday of a Grand Prix weekend in 2024. What would be expected though would be many rookies or young drivers participating in the session due to the mandatory rule of each driver has to vacate their seat for at least one free practice 1 session. The six changes for FP1 would be as follows:
The session would last 60 minutes and it would be the first of three 60-minute practice sessions across the weekend. Soon enough at 13:30 local time, the green light came on at the end of the pit lane. In what was going to be a wholesome session for the two Ferrari brothers to spend free practice 1 together, as it would be the first ever time in Formula 1 that two brothers would compete in the same team at the same event and in the same session. This would take a terribly long time and almost the entire first half of FP1 until Charles would emerge from the pit lane and would head out onto the circuit. He would end up having his battery pack changed. Therefore, as this was an additional one to the maximum allowed in a season, he would be made to take a 10-place grid penalty for the Grand Prix on Sunday. Another rookie having a tough early stage of the session would be Hadjar who had a spin down at turn six. Thankfully this would not be the end of his session and he was able to carry on. In the first quarter of the session, not many of the grid had set lap times but it was George Russell who was leading the way with his effort ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton as Mercedes were looking strong in the early stages of practice. Mercedes would want to be delivering a strong performance this coming weekend to give a decent farewell result to their long-serving legend Lewis Hamilton, who had part of all of the teams' eight Constructors Championship success. Lap times would continue to be pumped in with the Mercedes drivers showing pace and times from Isack Hadjar were showing improvement as he was getting to grips with Max Verstappen's Red Bull car. Hadjar would be struggling with traffic in the session when he was on quick laps with fellow Formula 2 driver Luke Browning being the main culprit in affecting Hadjar's lap times. At the halfway point the order would have changed but Mercedes were still shining up at the top of the time sheets. Lewis Hamilton would be the driver on top ahead of George Russell and Lando Norris. An all-British top three it would be on the time sheets as the session would head into the final half an hour. Earlier on in the session, there would be a potential incident of impeding by Lewis Hamilton on Lando Norris. It would be noted and then would be followed up by an investigation after free practice 1 had concluded. Heading into the last quarter of the session, it would still be an all-British top three but the order of the drivers had slightly changed. Norris would leap above both Mercedes to go quickest overall, with Hamilton in second ahead of Russell. It would remain that way until Charles Leclerc's first lap on the soft tyres would see him go quickest with a 1:24.321 - a lap that would be two tenths faster than Norris' personal best. Leclerc would hang onto the top spot but would have the penalty hanging over him for later on in the weekend. However, he would end the session fastest which would give Ferrari some consolation that Leclerc has pace in the car underneath him. At the end of FP1, it would be Leclerc fastest ahead of Lando Norris who would be two tenths back in second. Lewis Hamilton would end the session in third ahead of his teammate George Russell in fourth. Alpine's Pierre Gasly completed the top five. Both Haas drivers were sixth and eighth in their final FP1 sessions with the team with Hulkenberg in sixth and Magnussen in eighth. Franco Colapinto of Williams split the pair and ended up finishing second. The higher placed Aston Martin driver Felipe Drugovich was ninth with the Red Bull of Sergio Perez completing the top 10. 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship: Round 24 - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix free practice 1 result
 Brandon Whiteside
Writer & X Contributor - F1 Journal
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