Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas set the pace during the opening practice session for Formula 1’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, while a crash for Sebastian Vettel brought running to a premature halt.
Bottas, who will drop to the back of the grid on Sunday after taking a fresh engine, set a time of 1:36.957 on the Medium tyres to finish atop the pile.
Bottas’ lap left him 0.535s clear of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, while reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton – who sported the number 1 on his car for the opening half of the session – was third.
Hamilton briefly reported a loss of power midway through the session but Mercedes swiftly confirmed that a sensor issue caused the car to enter limp home mode.
The session was interrupted – and brought to an early halt – by two major incidents.
The first befell Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo, who suffered a sizeable engine failure as he approached the final corner, dousing oil on the circuit.
The session was halted in order for marshals to retrieve Ricciardo’s car, and to sweep the circuit, with the team confirming he was on an engine with very high mileage that was set to be discarded after FP2.
Running was then brought to an early halt when Sebastian Vettel crashed through Turn 19.
Vettel spun exiting the left-hander beneath the W Hotel and caused terminal damage to the left-rear of the Ferrari SF90, preventing him from limping back to the pit lane.
Vettel, who missed Thursday’s circuit activities due to the birth of his third child, classified in fifth place, behind Red Bull’s Alexander Albon.
Haas enjoyed a competitive session as Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen classified sixth and eighth respectively, sandwiching the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi and departing Renault driver Nico Hulkenberg completed the top 10.
Friday’s second 90-minute practice session will begin at 17:00 local time
