Drivers Charles Leclerc, who hails from the Principality of Monaco, and Briton Lando Norris, in their Ferrari and McLaren cars, dominated yesterday the first and second free trials of the Etihad Airways Grand Prix, scheduled tomorrow at the Yas Marina Circuit at the conclusion of the Formula 1 World Championship. .
Charles Leclerc led in recording the fastest time in the first free trials, circling the 5.28-kilometre circuit, with a time of one minute, 24 seconds and 321 hundredths of a second, better than the British McLaren driver Lando Norris by 221 hundredths of a second, while third place went to The Mercedes team with its British driver Lewis Hamilton, recording a time of 1 minute, 24 seconds and 806 hundredths of a second.
The first session witnessed a unique phenomenon in the history of Formula 1 racing, with the participation of two brothers in official trials with one team. The younger brother, Arthur Leclerc, who is the development driver for the Ferrari team, finished the first trials in 18th place, 1.8 seconds behind his older brother, leader Charles. Leclerc.
In the second free trials, the McLaren team was able to respond to its competitor, Ferrari, as part of its quest to clinch the World Constructors’ Championship title, after Briton Lando Norris recorded the fastest time and first place in the second trials, at a time of 1 minute, 23 seconds, and 517 parts of a second, a difference of 234 parts of a second. The second came from his McLaren teammate, Australian Oscar Piastri, who came in second. The strongest surprises came from German Nico Hulkenberg, driver of the Haas team equipped with a Ferrari engine, as he came in third place with a total time of 1 minute, 23 seconds and 979 hundredths of a second, ahead of the Spanish Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz in fourth place by 20 hundredths of a second.
Hamilton refuses to compare him to the legendary Schumacher at Ferrari
Briton Lewis Hamilton. From the source
British world champion Lewis Hamilton, who will move to Ferrari next season, refused to compare him to German legend Michael Schumacher, who won five of his seven championships with Ferrari.
Hamilton said in press statements on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which is his last with his current team, Mercedes: “I do not seek to compare with Michael Schumacher, who won several championships with Ferrari,” indicating that he is focusing in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on concluding the career with Mercedes that he began. With the German team since 2013.
Regarding the failure of the drivers to achieve what Schumacher achieved with Ferrari, Hamilton said: “I do not look at this in terms of comparison with what Schumacher achieved with Ferrari. Glory is not something I think about, and the coming days will be filled with mixed feelings. There is a lot of excitement related to the future. “Moving to a big brand from Ferrari has increased my motivation, and I think it is exciting to start next season with the focus, strength, belief and passion that I had when I joined Mercedes.”
A successful double mission for Frenchman Hajjar on the Yas Marina Circuit
Ishaq Hajjar. From the source
Yesterday, the French driver of Algerian origin, Isaac Hajjar, succeeded in performing two tasks at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, which tomorrow hosts the final round of the 2024 Formula 1 racing season (Abu Dhabi Grand Prix). At 1:30 p.m., Hajjar was able to drive the world champion’s car. Max Verstappen’s quartet, and the Red Bull team and Verstappen were given initial data for the car’s tuning standards, in preparation for competing in the final Formula 1 race on Sunday. Tomorrow, after completing his first mission, which came as part of Red Bull’s plan to encourage second-row drivers, he went directly to drive his car in the qualifying rounds for the Formula 2 series race.
Hajjar, who is participating in the auxiliary races for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, is looking forward to clinching the world championship title for the Formula 2 racing series, as he is competing in his final race for this series behind the wheel of the Compass team car, and he is behind in the general standings by half a point behind the Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortolino, as he represents… This year is the last opportunity for him to move to the top of single-seater racing and join Formula 1 teams next season.
A significant increase in public turnout During the last 10 years
Official figures from Formula 1 and Yas Marina Circuit officials revealed a significant increase in public turnout for watching the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix over the past 10 years.
In 2014, the Abu Dhabi Award recorded sold-out tickets, and a full attendance of 60,000 spectators on the race day, before the numbers continued to rise until the 2019 edition, which recorded 65,000 spectators on the race day.
After recovering from the “Corona pandemic”, the 2021 edition continued to increase public attendance, recording an attendance of 153,000 spectators, before rising in the 2022 edition to reach 160,000 spectators, while last year’s edition recorded 170,000 spectators.
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