FP1 Highlights | 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

And so to Abu Dhabi for the very last race of 2022 and the very last Grand Prix for four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel who will be hanging up his helmet after this weekend. His dad Norbert was in the garage for first practice to cheer him on one last time and he watched his son pop in the sixth fastest time for Aston Martin. This weekend we'll also see Vettel's former teammate Daniel Ricciardo race for McLaren for the last time before he drops off the grid for next season at least. He goes into this weekend with a three-place grid penalty thanks to his lap one tangle with Kevin Magnussen in Brazil and his P8 at the flag. But as we prepare to say goodbye to a couple of the old guard we also got a glimpse of the future in FP1 when a host of young drivers took to the track at the Yas Marina circuit. IndyCar star Pato O'Ward was in Lando Norris's McLaren but he'd barely turned a wheel on his outlap when his car developed a problem and he had to immediately head back to the garage. Something's going on with the car. Pato we will need to box this lap, we need to box this lap. The team managed to get him back out on track and he eventually completed 22 laps on his Grand Prix weekend debut. F2 racer Liam Lawson took Max Verstappen's Red Bull for the session and almost missed his pit box when coming in after his first run. Can we push? Sorry I'm used to driving further down. But when he got back out was soon up to speed and popped in the fifth quickest time just two tenths shy of Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull in an impressive showing from the New Zealander. Logan Sargent will be racing for Williams next year if he secures enough super license points in the F2 season finale this weekend and he was back in an F1 seat in this session. He had just gone P3 on the timesheets on the soft tyre before he locked up and spun at turn one just keeping the car out of the barriers before recovering to the pits. Mercedes are riding high after their impressive 1-2 last time out in Brazil and they continued that form into first practice here in Abu Dhabi. Lewis Hamilton leading Sao Paulo winner George Russell in another Silver Arrows 1-2 at the top of the timesheets with Hamilton now left with one last chance to seal a win himself this year on what is his 200th race with Mercedes. So Hamilton finished the session top of the charts followed by Russell then Charles Leclerc. Perez and Lawson were fourth and fifth for Red Bull followed by Vettel and then Robert Schwartzman who was running in Carlos Sainz's Ferrari. Ricciardo was eighth with Valtteri Bottas and Alex Albon rounding out the top 10. It was P11 for Pierre Gasly with Esteban Ocon 12th for Alpine ahead of Yuki Tsunoda and Robert Kubica who was in Joe Guanyu's Alfa Romeo. Sargent was P15 followed by Kevin Magnussen then Pietro Fittipaldi in the second Haas. O'Ward finished P18 with Jack Dewan 19th on his run for Alpine with F2 champion Felipe Drogovic 20th on his FP1 debut for Aston Martin.