- Oscar Piastri and Jack Doohan will be the Australians on the track
- Piastri seeks another F1 victory as Doohan debuts
- Both had contrasting luck in the first training session.
Oscar Piastri is inching closer to being part of a world championship-winning team, while new Australian Formula One driver Jack Doohan was left struggling at the other end of the timesheets in training for his Formula One debut. Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Unsurprisingly, the gap between the two Australians was striking at the Yas Marina Circuit on Friday, as Piastri finished second fastest behind team-mate Lando Norris, with McLaren enjoying the perfect start to their first title. builders since 1998.
Their quest will be greatly aided in Sunday’s race by Ferrari, which is 21 points behind the British team and will receive a grid penalty that will condemn its star driver Charles Leclerc to starting no better than 11th on the grid.
While Piastri was 0.234 seconds behind Norris ahead of Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas in the second of two Friday sessions, Doohan, 21, found life much more difficult at the start of his first weekend with Alpine, finishing 19th in the 20 pilots. in both sessions, with his best lap some 1.1 seconds slower than his compatriot.
However, Doohan, son of motorcycling great Mick Doohan, loved every minute of his first experience of back-to-back practice sessions for a grand prix, declaring: “It was a great day.”
Doohan, who is on track to become the 16th Australian driver to start an F1 race on Sunday, was watched by his father, who had flown in to support him.
Jack Doohan will make his Formula One debut with Alpine at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
His great motorcyclist father Mick Doohan has been a proud support throughout his journey.
Doohan has chosen to leave Jack alone for his debut, so as not to put too much pressure on him.
‘He’s happier to be able to see me all weekend. We sat together and had breakfast this morning, which was really nice. “He’s really excited for me too, so it’s a super exciting moment,” Doohan said.
And did you receive any advice from your five-time world champion father? “Nothing now,” Junior smiled.
‘He’s leaving me with it. He has passed on so much experience, so much knowledge and advice to me throughout my years. It feels comfortable and sure where my head is at. “We are just enjoying the time together.”
Doohan, who was 0.444 seconds slower than Alpine teammate Pierre Gasly (12th), felt he had much more to give in Saturday’s qualifying. “It was a great experience on a very busy day,” he said.
‘But there is room for improvement before FP3. My goal is to feel more comfortable with each lap and continue to get closer to the level I aspire to.’
The big news of the practice day was Leclerc’s drop of 10 places on the grid because Ferrari had to install a new battery in his car, exceeding its allocation of two for the season.
The Monaco driver had set the fastest lap in the first practice sessions, but his drop down the grid makes Ferrari’s task of overcoming the 21-point deficit behind McLaren even more unlikely.
Leclerc, whose younger brother Arthur was also on track at the same time in the Ferrari usually driven by Carlos Sainz, clocked one minute 24.321 seconds to lead the morning timesheets.
His Australian compatriot Oscar Piastri will seek a good end to the 2024 F1 season
But Norris, second fastest in the morning, clocked 1:23.517 in the second key session, with Piastri at 1:23.751.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Grand Prix will remain on the Formula 1 calendar until at least 2030 thanks to a contract extension.
The agreement was reached despite the fact that the first Chinese F1 driver, Zhou Guanyu, will not have a seat to race next year.