2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Practice

Sven Smeets, Sporting Director: Luke did a good job in FP1 and will be looking forward to Tuesday when he can have a whole day of testing. Franco had a good FP1 but then had to stop in FP2 due to some floor damage that needed attention and repairs but up till then he was confident and showed good performance. Alex started his weekend in FP2 but was very quickly up to speed with the car. He will use FP3 tomorrow to find a better balance and more performance in the car, but first impressions are that we look more competitive than in Qatar.

Alex Albon: We need to investigate what happened in FP2 further, but everything was okay in my shortened long run. It’s a shame to miss part of probably the most important weekend session, but I’m not unhappy as the car feels more competitive than in Qatar. We’ve got some work to do tonight and considering the 5-place grid penalty, the long run is crucial to understand. So, it’s not ideal but we’re taking it in our stride and will do our best to understand the car further.

Franco Colapinto: We were quite quick today, and everything was generally positive. During FP2, I ran a bit wide at the exit of Turn 9, and we had to bring the car back and unfortunately end our session early so that the team could assess the damage on the right part of the floor, which we’ll have to repair. We were really strong today, so I’m feeling good. It looks like a better weekend than Qatar, so we’ll work hard tonight and go again tomorrow.

Luke Browning: It was thoroughly enjoyable to get my first taste of a Williams F1 car. Thank you to everyone at Williams for the opportunity and an amazing learning experience. It’s never easy hopping into an F1 car in an official session for the first time, but we built up slowly and brought the car home. I can’t wait to get back behind the wheel on Tuesday for the Young Driver Test.