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Lewis Hamilton led the second free practice session ahead of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with his rival Max Verstappen classified fourth. The Briton was followed by Alpine driver Esteban Ocon, who was second fastest, and team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who was third fastest in the session.
The reigning champion’s fastest lap was clocked at 1 minute 23.691 seconds in the evening session on the soft tire compound, ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Hamiton’s lap was 0.343 seconds quicker than Ocon and 0.392 seconds quicker than his teammate Bottas.
Championship contender Verstappen, on the other hand, topped the timesheets with a competitive lap on medium compounds in the first half of the second practice, however, he focused on his long-run simulations for the majority of the session.
Red Bull driver Sergio Perez clocked the fifth fastest time of the session but was 0.709 seconds slower than Verstappen. Both Red Bull drivers were on different simulation programs throughout the session, therefore their times were unrepresentative and their true pace was masked.
Alpine driver Fernando Alonso clocked the sixth fastest time of the second practice session, followed by Alpha Tauri driver Yuki Tsunoda, who was seventh fastest. Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz slotted seventh and eighth fastest in the second practice session, ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Alpha Tauri driver Pierre Gasly was the driver to clock the tenth fastest lap, completing the fastest half of the grid, rounding up the top 10 laps of the session.
Red Bull F1 team were sandbagging in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix FP2
The Red Bull F1 team drivers did not show their full hand in the second free practice ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Their two drivers, Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen, clocked the fourth and fifth fastest laps of the session but quickly shifted onto the long runs, keeping the race a priority.
In their first free practice, they were able to outpace the Mercedes drivers with ease, since the track temperatures were higher.
Come evening, however, they masked their pace and will probably do properly timed laps in their third practice ahead of the qualifying session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
