Abu Dhabi: What the two keenly contest practice session have made clear is that the 2017 finale – the Etihad Airways Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – is going to be pulsating affair.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel topped the afternoon practice session, then already crowned Champion from Mercedes Lewis Hamilton came roaring back as the sun began to set.
So, at a floodlit Yas Marina Circuit both the Ferrari and Mercedes drivers shared the spoils and their moment at the top of the timesheets.
“It was a good day. The car was good,” said Vettel.
“The balance was good straight away. I think it will be very close. If we can do the usual step on Saturday and improve the car a little bit – I don’t think we need to do too much – then it should be a good day.”
Hamilton was also in a happy mood – if a little tired after a long season.
“It’s been a good Friday, but I’m happy that it’s the last one of the season,” he said.
“We got lots of laps in today and made good progress with the balance of the car. We have a bit of work to do, but I feel like we’re quite competitive here. It’s relatively close still, but I like that. Especially for this weekend, I’ve got a helmet with gold leaf for the World Championship, which I’m really grateful for.”
His Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas added: “We dedicated the first practice session to testing for next year. We ran different kinds of mechanical and especially aero tests. So we didn’t learn that much for this weekend in FP1, but definitely a lot for next year.
"The second session was more straightforward. I was missing a bit of time in the last sector, so as a team we need to work on that. The temperatures here are ok; it’s definitely warm in the cockpit, but we’ve been to worse places. Overall, it’s been a pretty good day, we just need to find some more pace from my side for tomorrow.”
William’s 19-year-old rookie Lance Stroll was 13th fastest in first practice and the 14th in the second session.
He was pretty happy with his showing.
“It was a productive day and had a good amount of laps,” he said. “In general it was a good day and tomorrow that is when it starts to count. I want to try and get some points on Sunday.
“We’ll work in the night and still have to work out on a few things. There are no big issues and I got a good feel for the car and the car feels pretty good here. I think we are going in the right direction.”
“Our expectation for tomorrow is that we need to get into the Q3,” he said. “It’s been more difficult with the competitors who are gaining on us lately but we are going to do everything we can to make that happen.”
