EL2 – Hamilton responds to Verstappen, Raikkonen in the wall

After a short break, action resumes in Abu Dhabi for the second free practice session as the F1 World Champion title is due to be handed over this weekend. This morning, Max Verstappen took the best of Lewis hamilton with a best time of 1’25 “009 set on soft tires. The mark should be improved now that the sun has set in Yas Marina, however the drivers will focus more on the relay race simulations.

Verstappen, Hamilton and the vast majority of the riders start the session with medium tires. The seven-time World Champion takes the fastest time in 1’25 “127 with 26 thousandths ahead of Lando norris in soft tires. On a second attempt, Hamilton slipped under the 85 second mark (1’24 “943).

His Dutch rival achieved a similar time but it was canceled for not respecting the limits of the track. He therefore has to do it twice before setting a competitive time, but this second attempt, in 1’25 “065, is not as good as the first. For his part, Hamilton drives the point home with a time from 1’24 “126.

Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, the referees of this weekend’s duel, are currently absent subscribers. The Finnish driver even got scared when he touched the rail at turn 14, after passing under the hotel. Nicholas latifi he spun into the previous curve and damaged his rear wing. The yellow flag is waved but the Canadian manages to regain the pits on his own.

After twenty minutes of driving, Bottas kicked off the qualifying simulations by moving up to second position on the soft tires. The number 77 then took the lead in 1’24 “083, which was not beaten by either his teammate or Verstappen. Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso surprise and enter the top 5, the Frenchman even taking the best time in 1’24 “034! But Hamilton ends up giving a glimpse of the real performances of the W12 by crossing the line in 1’23” 691.

The Briton’s time will not be beaten as the race simulations begin shortly afterwards with soft tires for Verstappen and medium tires for Hamilton. The Dutchman wins around eight tenths per round with his red-sided envelopes on his rival and six tenths on Bottas, also in mediums. This suggests that Mercedes has the advantage in qualifying and Red Bull race.

The session ends under a red flag, a consequence of the accident in Kimi Raikkonen at turn 14. The future retiree loses control of his Alfa romeo when exiting a curve and hits the rail from the rear before hitting it again from the front.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Free Practice 2