Desire- Posted November 24, 2023 Posted November 24, 2023 Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg both crashed in an eventful Friday second practice session at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The session was shortened to 20 minutes following a near half-hour delay caused by repairs to barriers damaged by Sainz in a heavy crash at Turn Three. Hulkenberg's off at Turn One then immediately cost another seven minutes. Sainz's team-mate Charles Leclerc set the pace, just 0.043 seconds ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris. Red Bull's Max Verstappen was third fastest, 0.173secs off the pace, complaining at one point that his car was "bouncing like a kangaroo" in the final sector of the lap around the marina. Mercedes driver George Russell was sixth fastest, behind the Alfa Romeo of Valtteri Bottas and the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez. Lewis Hamilton in the second Mercedes was eighth fastest, 0.193secs behind his team-mate. Inside the mind of record-breaking Red Bull's design genius How to follow the Abu Dhabi GP F1 bosses back sprint race format change for 2024 Life begins at 43: Aston could extend Alonso contract The truncated session meant teams and drivers had very little time to set up their cars and none managed to do the usual race-simulation runs, so there was little indication as to potential form for the weekend. Sainz lost control of his Ferrari after just eight minutes of running. His car hit a bump as it went through one of the fastest corners of the track. This likely caused a loss of downforce and therefore the driver to lose control. He was following an Alpha Tauri car at the time, and Sainz reported to his team over the radio: "Dirty air from the car gave me a massive snap. Dirty air and the bump, I think." In the first session, a number of the junior drivers who were used by nine of the 10 teams as part of their mandatory "young driver" running had wild moments over the same bump, without actually losing control. Sainz was unhurt in the accident but the barriers were extensively damaged and there were just 25 minutes of the session remaining when it was restarted. But just two minutes later there was another red flag after Hulkenberg ran wide on the exit of Turn One, put his right rear wheel on the artificial grass outside the kerb and spun. The car rotated back across the track and its rear corner smashed into the barriers, causing the session to be stopped again, for seven minutes this time while the damaged Haas was removed. That meant a hectic final quarter-hour, which started with Verstappen barging his way past both Mercedes drivers as the cars left the pits, and accusing them of "blocking him". The lack of running will make the teams' work overnight tougher than usual as they head into a race weekend in which a number of championship positions are still contested. Key among them, Ferrari are just four points behind Mercedes in their battle for second place in the constructors' championship behind Red Bull. Both teams are keen to secure the position, not least for the extra $10m or so of prize money but also as a morale boost after difficult seasons. Ferrari have the momentum after a stronger second part of the season following a series of upgrades that have improved their difficult car. There is also some uncertainty over fourth place, with McLaren 11 points ahead of Aston Martin. At the back, the bottom four teams - Williams, Alpha Tauri, Alfa Romeo and Haas - are covered by just 16 points. Meanwhile, in the drivers' championship, Sainz and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso are tied on 200 points in fourth and fifth places, just five points ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris, who is himself just seven ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/67518951
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