F1 | Abu Dhabi GP | FP2 Report: Hamilton fastest from Ocon, Verstappen P4
The championship eader answers to this morning's P1 by Verstappen by breaking the 1:23s wall, Ocon continues to display his Yeddah good form and Bottas is a close third, whereas Red Bull appears faster in the race simulations.
A strong display from Mercedes, as championship leader Lewis Hamilton tops the second practise session of the day and his teammate Valtteri Bottas slots in P3. Another brilliant performance from Esteban Ocon completes the podium, keeping up with the good form shown by the French team in the last outings. The Red Bull drivers were stuck in P4 and P5.
McLaren in their quest for P3 in the constructors' championship didn't impress, with both drivers out of the top ten, whereas Ferrari slottedin P8 and 9. The AlphaTauri drivers as well showed up in the top ten.
Lewis Hamilton goes fastest in FP1, and look at Esteban Ocon!#AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/l7PoX2Mmrm
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 10, 2021
First out on track was Valtteri Bottas, quickly followed by the majority of the other drivers bar Ricciardo. The Finn, in his last GP at Mercedes, improved the first lap time signed by Giovinazzi.
With all drivers having signed a lap, Hamilton is the fastest in 1:25.127 on the mediums, with a small gap of 26 hundreds on Norris who mounted softs, and Bottas completing the podium.
Ten minutes in the session, Leclerc went third fastest as Norris improved Hamilton's first time while Verstappen signed a lap that would have put him in P2. Both Norris and Verstappen's laps were cancelled for track limits.
She’s poppin’. 🎨#AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 pic.twitter.com/9csYSV0gmd
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) December 10, 2021
Bottas made contact with a guardrail at Turn 14 and was forced to stop in order to check the conditions of the car, and a few laps later it was Williams' Nicholas Latifi to spin at Turn 13, getting wing damage.
VB at Turn 14 just now: 😅😂 pic.twitter.com/Q3mY1fOuIU
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) December 10, 2021
Verstappen signed a 1:25.065 on the mediums, but Hamilton improved his lap time to 1:24.126, nine tenths faster then the Dutch driver. Third fastest is Alpine's Esteban Ocon, after his impressive fourth place in Saudi Arabia, who is nursing an headset issue as well.
Twenty minutes in the session, Bottas has reached Hamilton in P2, signing a 1:24.272. Track limits might prove their importance in tomorrow's qualifying, as an always increasing number of drivers have had their lap times cancelled, including both Ferraris and Raikkonen.
At the half hour mark, the session leader is Esteban Ocon in 1:24.034, quicky followed by both Mercedes drivers, with Bottas closer to get in the lead again but suffering from blockage. The Alpine looks impressively fast in the hands of Alonso too in P5, just behind Max Verstappen, as Norris returned on track after a front wing change.
The first driver to break the 23s wall is Lewis Hamilton, going on top of the leadboard with a 1:23.691, as most of the drivers begin focusing on longer stints and race simuations. Red Bull looked faster in this part of the session, with both drivers in the 1.28s while Mercedes were in the 1.29s.
At the end of the session, a red flag was issued as Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikonen lost the rear and hit the wall at Turn 14 after the chequered flags were already out,forcing the other drivers to skip the start simulations.
An incident for Kimi brings out the red flag and the session is called. He is ok and out of the car.
— Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN (@alfaromeoracing) December 10, 2021
Mercedes are setting the pace 🚀
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 10, 2021
Lewis Hamilton currently leads the way, Max Verstappen is in P4#AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/u7AY1597w5
