Valtteri Bottas has made a statement of intent after setting the fastest time in Abu Dhabi. Hamilton and Verstappen are not far behind, while the midfield battle looks set to end with an almighty bang.
Hamilton returned to his Mercedes after Russell took his seat for the Sahkir GP. Having come painfully close to winning, the young Briton will now have to settle for his usual car toward the back of the grid.
Verstappen led the way in Free Practice 1. However, the mix of tyres and running during daytime heat rended most of the results in FP1 useless.
Mercedes out in front
All eyes turned to FP2 for an understanding of true performance. Unsurprisingly, Mercedes jumped to the top early on and remained there until the end of the session. Bottas led from Hamilton in usual formation for the practice sessions.
After taking the ‘P3’ seat in his press conference, Verstappen showed why with another P3 finish in a 2020 F1 session. Team-mate Albon performed well finishing 4th, but yet again could not match his team-mate.
Midfield battle reaches fever pitch
After a tight battle all year long, the midfield fight now seems to be heading toward an incredible climax, with 3rd place in the constructors still available.
Norris led the pack in 5th, but just behind were 4 cars with an almost unbelievable gap. Ocon, Perez, Leclerc and Ricciardo ran in formation, but were separated by an astonishing 0.003s.
Stroll rounded out the top 10, ahead of Gasly and Sainz, who would be disappointed with this finishing position tomorrow. It was a day to forget for Vettel, who struggled to 15th. He will be hoping his last race with Ferrari provides a points paying position
Back of the grid
The usual suspects took up the rear of the grid. Giovinazzi’s strong form continued as he finished highest of the bottom 3 teams. Raikkonen was just behind in 16th while Haas followed closely. Fittipaldi’s times were not able to match those of his more experienced team-mate, but he did managed to out perform Latifi. Russell took the fastest time in the first two practice sessions, but had to settle for 18th on his return to Williams.
While no-one would have wished him any harm, Lewis Hamilton’s return has somewhat dampened the mood after the chaos in Sahkir. However, the Briton has spent a lot of time recovering and may not be at 100%. Bottas will desparately want to end a torrid season on a high note and, although perhaps just too far out of reach, Verstappen will be waiting, ready to pounce.
While Abu Dhabi is not renowned for providing fans with tense racing, it would not be surprising if this incredible year of F1 ends with something a little bit unexpected.
Featured Image Credit: Formula1.com
