The Ferrari driver crashed his car before the F1 final. This mistake will cost the Scuderia dearly.

The Ferrari driver crashed his car before the F1 final. This mistake will cost the Scuderia dearly.

Dmitry Zakharchenko November 24, 2023, 19:00 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.

It looks like drivers from three teams will fight for pole in Abu Dhabi, and Mercedes is not among them.

The final stage of the 2023 Formula 1 season has begun at the Yas Marina circuit, which will become the decisive battle between Ferrari and Mercedes. And for the Scuderia, the weekend in Abu Dhabi did not start in the best way: for the second time in a row, Carlos Sainz crashed his car in the first free practice, and this time it seemed to be his fault.

Sainz’s problems, the departure of Nico Hulkenberg and the good performance of Robert Schwartzman are in the review of the main events of the “Championship” day.

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A hard blow to Ferrari’s chances

Sainz’s accident occurred in the ninth minute of the second session. Carlos’s Ferrari was launched at high speed in the fast third corner of the track: the car spun on its axis and was thrown into the nearest speed bump. The Ferrari collided with the barriers on the left side and suffered quite serious damage, including to the rear, where the power plant and transmission are located.

Sainz’s destroyed Ferrari

Photo: twitter.com/f1

The extent of the damage has not yet been assessed and it is possible that after the incident with the hatch during training in Las Vegas, the Spaniard will face further grid penalties. This will greatly affect Ferrari’s chances in the fight for second place in the Constructors’ Championship; In theory, recovering four points from Mercedes is quite possible, but if one of the cars starts from the back of the field again, it will be much more difficult.

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Hulkenberg also turned

When the session resumed after Sainz’s red flags, Nico Hulkenberg lost control of the car. It is true that in his situation everything was much less dramatic: the German also reached the top, but he only managed to do so with a broken rear wing. However, the session ended for Hulk.

Hulkenberg’s U-Turn

Photo: twitter.com/f1

Furthermore, in the morning session, Nico gave the car to Ferrari apprentice Oliver Berman and was actually only able to practice for 10 minutes, until Sainz hit the speed bumps. One way or another, due to two red flags in a row, other drivers also did not have the opportunity to work properly on long stages.

Leclerc is the fastest, but the top 3 is two tenths away

The best time of the race was in the hands of Charles Leclerc, but Lando Norris lost only four tenths of a second to the Ferrari driver, and Max Verstappen could not improve in the last attempt and was potentially much closer to the Monegasque than the final difference of 17. hundredths. But also in this case everything comes to the point that the drivers of three teams will have the opportunity to get pole position.

Charles Leclerc training in Abu Dhabi

Photo: Peter Fox/Getty Images

The Alfa Romeo drivers looked very good: Valtteri Bottas set the fourth fastest time and Guanyu Zhou was seventh. The Mercedes drivers were caught between them: George Russell achieved sixth time and Lewis Hamilton seventh. However, at the moment Mercedes is only the fifth fastest car. However, the Aston Martin drivers did not make the top 10 at all.

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10 newcomers. Including Shvartsman

The first practice before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is ​​one of the most useless on the championship calendar, so almost all teams allowed young drivers and reserves to work behind the wheel this weekend. In total, there were 10 such drivers, and at Red Bull, newcomers occupied both cars.

The best of them was Felipe Drugovich, who drove Alonso’s Aston Martin and set the second time (Lance Stroll was fifth, 0.27 seconds behind). Robert Schwartzman also did a good job: the Russian-Israeli driver replaced Leclerc at Ferrari and finished eighth, just behind Carlos Sainz, who was only three hundredths faster.

Robert Schwartzman in free practice in Abu Dhabi

Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images

Frederic Vesti, who is fighting for the Formula 2 title this weekend, drove Hamilton’s Mercedes in 12th position, 0.7 seconds behind Russell. Jack Duen, working for Alpine, placed alongside the Dane, and Alfa Romeo protégé Theo Pourcher finished the session in 14th place.

Patricio O’Ward, one of IndyCar’s biggest new stars, had a chance at McLaren, but was slower than the Formula 2 drivers: 15th. But the Mexican was ahead of Formula E champion Jake Dennis and Isak Hajjar, who raced with him for Red Bull. But Zach O’Sullivan with Williams and Oliver Berman with Haas could not shine: both had difficulty staying within the limits of the track and only took 18th and 20th places.

Williams has not yet confirmed Sargent:

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Abu Dhabi Grand Prix schedule (Moscow time):

Saturday, November 25: 13:30 – third F1 practice. 15:20 – Formula 2 Sprint. 17:00 – F1 Classification.

Sunday, November 26: 12:15 – Formula 2 race. 16:00 – Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix.