FP1: Leclerc sets the pace during first practice in Abu Dhabi as several rookies join the action

Charles Leclerc has gone quickest in first practice ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the Ferrari driver having set the pace from Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton in a session that saw a number of rookies take part. However, Leclerc looks set to face a grid penalty for Sunday's race with the driver needing to take on a new Energy Store following issues at the start of the session.

Six teams opted to run a young driver in place of their usual drivers for the final FP1 of the year, with Ryo Hirakawa, Arthur Leclerc, Isack Hadjar, Felipe Drugovich, Ayumu Iwasa and Luke Browning all in action for McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, Aston Martin, RB and Williams respectively.

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This meant that Oscar Piastri, Carlos Sainz, Max Verstappen, Lance Stroll, Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon would be sitting out for the session. And while the rookies prepared for action, it was the veteran Fernando Alonso who hit the track first in the Aston Martin.

There was a bit of a moment early on for F2 title contender Hadjar, who suffered a spin in the Red Bull at Turn 6 after reporting problems with wheel clearance. The Frenchman also informed his engineer that he was “limited” due to his legs touching the car.

This FP1 was set to make history as the first time that brothers had participated as team mates, but Charles Leclerc was slow to join the action, with the Ferrari team taking apart the Monegasque’s car after seemingly looking into a battery issue.

Elsewhere it was confirmed that the stewards would investigate an impeding incident between Hamilton and Norris after the session, the McLaren driver having voiced a complaint over the radio. It was the former who led the way on the timesheets as FP1 neared its halfway point, the Briton leading from team mate George Russell on a 1m 25.566s.

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There was good news at Ferrari as the elder Leclerc eventually got going to join his sibling on track, while Hadjar was getting vocal after claiming that his lap had been “destroyed” by a Williams ahead. Norris, meanwhile, had gone fastest by pumping in a 1m 24.542s on a weekend where McLaren are vying to win their first constructors’ title since 1998.

As the session entered into its final stages, Charles Leclerc bounced back from his belated start to displace Norris at the top on a 1m 24.321s, putting him 0.221s clear of the Briton, while Hamilton followed in third during his final weekend as a Mercedes driver.

Team mate Russell was fourth, ahead of an eye-catching fifth for Pierre Gasly as he looks to continue his recent good run of form for Alpine. Nico Hulkenberg went sixth fastest in the Haas, ahead of Williams’s Franco Colapinto, the second Haas of Kevin Magnussen, Drugovich in the Aston Martin and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.

Alonso just missed out on the top 10 in 11th, with Liam Lawson behind in 12th for RB and Valtteri Bottas in 13th as he participates in his last event for Kick Sauber. Hirakawa took 14th position, while Hadjar was 15th for Red Bull.

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Zhou Guanyu slotted into P16 ahead of rookies Iwasa and Arthur Leclerc. Another new name was P19 in the form of Jack Doohan, the Australian having been brought in early at Alpine – prior to his first full season in 2025 – to replace Esteban Ocon for the season finale. F2 driver Browning, meanwhile, rounded out the order in P20.

The drivers and teams will now have a chance to examine their data ahead of second practice, which is set to get under way at 1700 local time.