Abu Dhabi – Free Practice 1: Romain Grosjean on the edge
Romain Grosjean set the fastest time in the first free practice session of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in the final minutes. He is ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.
As autumn gently settles in our regions, Formula 1 follows the sun to Abu Dhabi with 34 degrees in the air and a track showing 45 degrees. Conditions that are not particularly representative of those to be encountered in qualifying or during the race.
Session during which many regular drivers vacate their seats. This is the case for Chilton, who is replaced by Gonzalez, Van der Garde by Kovalainen, and Sutil by Calado.
Little activity on track during the **first 15 minutes**, but at Lotus they are busy at the rear of Kimi Räikkönen’s car as he waits patiently in the cockpit to be able to hit the track.
The first lap time of this morning is credited to Sergio Pérez with a 1:48.525. After 30 minutes of calm, is this the start of serious action? The Mexican significantly improves on the next lap and completes the Yas Marina circuit in 1:45.889. The second McLaren driver joins the party as Pérez stays on track. Jenson Button clocks in at 1:47.010. Romain Grosjean also sets a time, but at 1:52.741. There’s no doubt the Frenchman will do better on the next lap.
At McLaren, Jenson Button is surprised by the lack of grip on the medium tires. It’s time for the season to end for the British team, which hasn’t done better than 5th in a race since Melbourne.
At mid-session, the Top 10 is as follows: Sergio Pérez ahead of Romain Grosjean, Button, Maldonado, Bottas, Gutierrez, Ricciardo, Vergne, Kovalainen, and Bianchi. Pic is 11th and the last driver accredited with a time at this point in the practice session.
The next fifteen minutes will see the rest of the field launch an assault on the stopwatch. As they approach the final 30 minutes, Rosberg leads Vettel, Räikkönen, Hamilton, Webber, Di Resta, Grosjean, Pérez, Alonso, and Button.
15 minutes from the checkered flag, Lewis Hamilton is the fastest ahead of Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg. Vettel is 4th, but the new four-time world champion doesn’t intend to stop there and positions himself in second place, 2 tenths behind Hamilton.
In the final moments of these Free Practice 1 sessions, Romain Grosjean emerges ahead of Lewis Hamilton with a 1:44.241. The final Top 5 is composed of Grosjean, Hamilton, Vettel, Webber, and Rosberg.
Free Practice 1 Results of the 2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix:
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
1 | Grosjean | Lotus F1 Team | 1:44.241 | 21 | |
2 | Hamilton | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1:44.433 | +0.192 | 23 |
3 | Vettel | Infiniti Red Bull Racing | 1:44.499 | +0.258 | 18 |
4 | Webber | Infiniti Red Bull Racing | 1:44.712 | +0.471 | 20 |
5 | Rosberg | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1:44.741 | +0.500 | 24 |
6 | Räikkönen | Lotus F1 Team | 1:44.929 | +0.688 | 23 |
7 | di Resta | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 1:45.040 | +0.799 | 20 |
8 | Button | Vodafone McLaren Mercedes | 1:45.099 | +0.858 | 20 |
9 | Maldonado | Williams F1 Team | 1:45.150 | +0.909 | 24 |
10 | Perez | Vodafone McLaren Mercedes | 1:45.331 | +1.090 | 20 |
11 | Hülkenberg | Sauber F1 Team | 1:45.378 | +1.137 | 23 |
12 | Alonso | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:45.440 | +1.199 | 18 |
13 | Bottas | Williams F1 Team | 1:45.823 | +1.582 | 22 |
14 | Calado | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 1:45.924 | +1.683 | 20 |
15 | Gutierrez | Sauber F1 Team | 1:46.068 | +1.827 | 18 |
16 | Vergne | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 1:46.114 | +1.873 | 22 |
17 | Massa | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:46.124 | +1.883 | 18 |
18 | Ricciardo | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 1:46.126 | +1.885 | 21 |
19 | Pic | Caterham F1 Team | 1:47.600 | +3.359 | 22 |
20 | Kovalainen | Caterham F1 Team | 1:47.670 | +3.429 | 22 |
21 | Bianchi | Marussia F1 Team | 1:47.723 | +3.482 | 23 |
22 | Gonzalez | Marussia F1 Team | 1:49.565 | +5.324 | 22 |
