Charles Leclerc set the fastest time for Ferrari during the opening practice session for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Leclerc used Soft tyres to post a time of 1:24.321s in the one-hour daytime session, which takes place in largely unrepresentative conditions.
Leclerc was 0.221s faster than McLaren’s Lando Norris as the two teams prepare to duel it out for the Constructors’ Championship at the Yas Marina Circuit.
McLaren heads Ferrari by 21 points as the teams strive to end a 26-year and 16-year Constructors’ title drought respectively.
Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were third and fourth respectively, as the seven-time world champion prepares to bid farewell to the Silver Arrows.
Pierre Gasly edged Nico Hulkenberg for fifth place by just four-hundredths of a second ahead of Alpine and Haas contesting sixth position in the standings.
Franco Colapinto was seventh for Williams but both he and team-mate Alex Albon face five-place grid penalties for Sunday’s race due to taking on fresh gearbox components, exceeding their allocation for the campaign.
Kevin Magnussen placed eighth for Haas while Aston Martin tester Felipe Drugovich and under-pressure Red Bull driver Sergio Perez rounded out the top 10.
Six rookie drivers participated in the first practice session – completing the teams’ quota for 2024 – including three debutants, and a special alliance at Ferrari.
Arthur Leclerc, younger brother of Charles, replaced Carlos Sainz at Ferrari for the session, becoming the first siblings to line up alongside each other at the outfit.
Elsewhere Luke Browning made his debut for Williams while sportscar ace Ryo Hirakawa tested for McLaren, ahead of his outing for Haas in the test next week.
There were also practice runs for Isack Hadjar at Red Bull, long-term Aston Martin reserve Felipe Drugovich, and Red Bull protégé Ayumu Iwasa at RB.
Hadjar was the only one of the sextuplet to encounter issues after spinning the RB20 through Turn 9 during the opening stages of the session.
READ MORE – Ferrari F1 title hopes dashed by Charles Leclerc 10-place grid drop in Abu Dhabi
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