EL1: Hamilton advantage over Rosberg

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) set the best time in free practice 1 of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix by completing a lap of the Yas Marina circuit in 1:42 on soft tyres. Nico Rosberg's challenger was more than 869 tenths ahead of his teammate who finished just ahead of the Red Bull de Max Verstappen et Daniel Ricciardo.

The German was unable to improve his time with the yellow sidewall tires. As for the Briton, he suffered a scare when he spun at the exit of turn 5 after completing a long stint on ultra-soft tires.

The Ferrari respect the current hierarchy by being separated by the Force India of Sergio Pérez. Sebastian Vettel completed the top five while Kimi Räikkönen was ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr. (Toro Rosso). Felipe Massa (Williams) and Marcus Ericsson (Sauber) completed the top ten ahead of Alfonso Celis Jr (Force India) who replaced Nico Hulkenberg in this session.

Romain Grosjean (Haas) finished in 12th place. The Frenchman still seemed to be in trouble on his VF16, missing his braking several times, even spinning off at full speed. The French driver beat Felipe Nasr (Sauber) and Esteban Gutiérrez (Force India). Valtteri Bottas (Williams) is only 15th in front of the Renault by Jolyon Palmer and Kevin Magnussen.

The McLaren are behind with Fernando Alonso 18th while his teammate Jenson Button finished 20th between the Manor of Pascal Wehrlein and Jordan King, who replaced Esteban Ocon, after being stuck in the garage due to mechanical problems. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) completes the ranking after suffering a puncture forcing him to dismount.

The second practice session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be broadcast live from 14 p.m. on Canal+ Sport.