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Abu Dhabi (AFP) – British Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and his rival in Red Bull Dutchman Max Verstappen, who won the world title for the second season in a row, were the fastest in free practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the last twenty-second round of the Formula One World Championship.
The Mercedes team showed again the progress it achieved in the last rounds of the season, which was embodied by Hamilton coming second for three consecutive races, and his teammate and compatriot George Russell achieved his first victory in the first category in the last race at the Brazilian Interlagos circuit.
And in his first appearance on the Yas Marina circuit, in which he lost the world title last season in a controversial way that allowed Verstappen to overtake him on the last lap and remove him from the throne, Hamilton finished the first round of free trials in front of his colleague Russell.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc from Monaco came third in front of the Mexican Red Bull duo Sergio Peris and the New Zealander, twenty-year-old Liam Lawson, who replaced Verstappen in this round, as did many of the other eight reserve drivers with the New Zealander.
In the second round, Verstappen returned behind the wheel to impose his control in front of Russell and Leclerc in a class in which the drivers used the medium-soft and hard tires in order to preserve the soft tires for Saturday’s qualifying experiences and Sunday’s race, which will be farewell to four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin).
And after he was the first driver to use the soft tire in the second session, Verstappen recorded a fast time of 1:25.335 minutes despite having a problem with the brake pedal, then he improved this time by recording 1:25.146 minutes, which secured him the lead by 0.341 seconds from Russell, while he came Leclerc third, more than a tenth of a second behind the Mercedes driver.
Hamilton finished fourth in front of Pires and Ferrari’s Spanish driver, Carlos Science.
Results of the first free round:
Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 1:26.633 (21 laps)
George Russell (GBR/Mercedes) 1:26.853 (30)
Charles Leclerc (Monaco/Ferrari) 1:26.888 (22)
Sergio Peris (Mexico/Red Bull) 1:26.967 (23)
Liam Lawson (New Zealand/Red Bull) 1:27.201 (22)
Sebastian Vettel (GER/Aston Martin) 1:27.268 (20)
Robert Schwarzman (Israel/Ferrari) 1:27.429 (24)
Daniel Ricciardo (Australia/McLaren) 1:27.619 (21)
Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Alfa Romeo) 1:27.655 (23)
Alexander Albon (Thailand/Williams) 1:27.840 (26)
Results of the second free round:
Max Verstappen (Netherlands/Red Bull) 1:25.146 (25 laps)
George Russell (GBR/Mercedes) 1:25.487 (27)
Charles Leclerc (Monaco/Ferrari) 1:25.599 (30)
Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 1:25.761 (22)
Sergio Perez (Mexico/Red Bull) 1:25.852 (26)
Carlos Science (ESP/Ferrari) 1:25.932 (31)
Esteban Ocon (France/Alpine) 1:26.038 (28)
Fernando Alonso (Spain/Alpine) 1:26.043 (29)
Daniel Ricciardo (Australia/McLaren) 1:26.124 (14)
Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Alfa Romeo) 1:26.300 (29)
© 2022 AFP