Lando Norris topped the final first free practice session of the F1 season, going just eight-thousandths of a second quicker than Max Verstappen, who was second fastest.
Charles Leclerc was third on the timing board at the Yas Marina Circuit, ahead of Kimi Antonelli. Nico Hulkenberg rounded out the top five.
FP1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix routinely sees a swathe of rookies participating, and this campaign was no different, with nine across eight teams — Aston Martin opting to run new reserve driver Jak Crawford and academy member Cian Shields in place of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
Stake and Mercedes have both already satisfied the rookie practice criteria; Gabriel Bortoleto and Antonelli covering two of the mandated four sessions at each team.
New Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad took Yuki Tsunoda's seat for the opening hour of running. The 18-year-old finished the session P15.
Oliver Bearman, who had looked competitive in eighth, had to retire his Haas from the session with around 20 minutes to go after persistent issues. The American squad later confirmed it was due to a problem with a sensor.
Check out the full results from FP1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix below!
Result Free practice 1 - Abu Dhabi
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Tyre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results are being loaded... | ||||
Get the latest F1 news from RacingNews365 directly in your Google feed! Click on the link below and you’ll see your favourite F1 website appearing even more often. That way, you’ll never miss any news, analyses, interviews, or exclusives.
Follow RacingNews365 on GoogleMost read
In this article
Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.
Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar
A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..
Join the conversation!