Abu Dhabi GP FP1 and FP2 report

A host of rookie drivers made strong first impressions while two red flags stunted meaningful running in Friday's second practice session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

FP1 Rookie report

The opening session saw 10 rookie and reserve drivers take over race seats to meet F1's mandated young driver requirements.

Aston Martin reserve Felipe Drugovich impressed by slotting his car second fastest, just 0.288s off George Russell's leading time.

Ferrari junior Robert Schwartzman, Alpine tester Jack Doohan, and Mercedes protégé Frederik Vesti also featured inside the top 10.

The rookies largely focused on prescribed test programs rather than outright pace. Still, Doohan and Theo Pourchaire for Alfa Romeo closed to within 0.15s of their teammates, underscoring their credentials.

"Both did a great job. Very useful for us," said Red Bull boss Christian Horner of his rookies Isack Hadjar and Jake Dennis.

Sainz crash cuts FP2 short

The running was interrupted when Ferrari's Carlos Sainz crashed heavily at Turn 3, with the session red flagged to repair trackside barriers.

Sainz reported the car "surprised me" after bottoming out over bumps that have become more severe since recent track changes.

The similarities to Lando Norris's airborne crash in Las Vegas were concerning.

"You have to run them so low at the rear to get the downforce out of them and you end up going into a place that becomes pretty sketchy," said Daniel Ricciardo, who endured his own bump-related FP2 crash in Monaco last season.

After a 25-minute delay, Nico Hulkenberg promptly crashed his Haas on an out lap, sustaining rear wing damage.

The curtailed session meant little could be gleaned regarding true pace or race simulations heading into the weekend.

Leclerc tops red-flagged FP2

On low-fuel runs after the second stoppage, Charles Leclerc set the FP2 pace in 1:24.557 using soft tires, with Lando Norris and Max Verstappen the only others dipping into the 1:24s.

Mercedes had topped FP1 but struggled more relative to one-lap pace in the second session.

"I didn't expect the balance to be so far off, there was a lot of understeer and jumping. There's a lot to figure out," said Verstappen, who was frustrated by an inability to start push laps after each red flag.

Leclerc, however, was buoyed by Ferrari's single-lap form. "It's a good sign when it starts like this. I hope we can have a great weekend," he asserted.

Mercedes, Ferrari set for tight duel

With inconclusive long-run data, definitive pace analysis entering the weekend is challenging. However, Mercedes and Ferrari appear closely matched.

"Mercedes looks very strong," Leclerc noted. "I don't know what happened exactly in FP2, they look a little bit less strong compared to FP1. But we've got a lot of work to do because it will be tight with them this weekend."

George Russell concurred it was "a relatively positive Friday" but that "we didn't get a completely clear gauge" due to the disrupted sessions.

Abu Dhabi FP2 Results