The final round of the 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship began with practice Friday at Yas Marina Circuit as teams prepared for Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Two 90-minute sessions – FP1 and FP2 – on the 5.554-kilometer (3.451-mile), 21-turn track ran under clear conditions.
Both Haas F1 drivers started their Friday programs with an installation lap and timed stint utilizing the Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium tires before switching to the Red soft compound for two additional runs. Grosjean’s best lap on the softs was a 1:39.146 which was good for sixth overall. Magnussen was eighth on the timesheet, also on the soft rubber, courtesy of a quick lap of 1:39.350. Two red flag stops marred the opening session – both involving cars stranded on track, the first being Daniel Ricciardo’s expired Renault, the second Sebastian Vettel’s Scuderia Ferrari in the barrier at Turn 19.
Lap times dropped under the floodlights as day turned to night in FP2. Contact from Valtteri Bottas ended Grosjean’s evening early at Turn 11 as the subsequent damage to his VF-19’s floor was too extensive to continue. The incident with the Mercedes driver occurred just seven laps into Grosjean’s planned long-distance run, the Frenchman having earlier set a lap time of 1:37.601 on soft rubber for seventh quickest. Magnussen ended the session 14th overall, the Dane banking a lap of 1:38.080 on softs, before completing his run plan with a high-fuel, long-distance stint.
Between the two sessions, Haas F1 Team ran a total of 85 laps – 50 by Magnussen and 35 by Grosjean.
Drivers have one more practice session on Saturday (14:00-15:00 local time) before qualifying starts at 17:00. Qualifying consists of three rounds, with the 15 fastest drivers from Q1 moving on to Q2. Then, the 10 fastest drivers from Q2 advance to Q3 where they’ll battle for the pole.
Haas F1 Team PR
