ABU DHABI: Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc topped the first practice session at Yas Marina Circuit ahead of Sunday’s Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but later received a 10-place grid penalty for the race.
The Monegasque driver recorded a time of 1:24.321 with McLaren’s Lando Norris 0.221 seconds adrift. Lewis Hamilton, in his last F1 weekend with Mercedes before his move to Ferrari next season, was third fastest.
The penalty decision came minutes after the session ended and put a dent in Ferrari’s hopes of taking this year’s Constructors’ Championship. They currently lie second in the standings, 21 points behind McLaren, with 44 points up for grabs.
Six teams put rookies in one of their cars for the weekend’s first practice session. They were Ryo Hirakawa (McLaren), Arthur Leclerc (Ferrari), Isack Hadjar (Red Bull), Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin), Ayumu Iwasa (RB) and Luke Browning (Williams).
In the second practice session, Norris led his teammate Oscar Piastri to finish 1-2, with a time of 1:23:517. Nico Hulkenberg came third for Haas.
Leclerc handed 10-place penalty for Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
https://arab.news/j3phz
Leclerc handed 10-place penalty for Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
- The Monegasque topped first practice but was penalized after Ferrari fitted a new battery pack to his car
- The penalty decision came minutes after the session ended
Mid East Falcons win inaugural United Series championship in Dubai
- The 8-1 win over Mumbai Cobras gives the Abu Dhabi franchise a 2-1 series victory and first Baseball United title
DUBAI: Shotaro Kasahara allowed only two hits in six scoreless innings with six strikeouts to lead the Mid East Falcons to an 8-1 win over the Mumbai Cobras and the first United Series championship in league history.
Munenori Kawasaki — named United Series MVP — went 2-for-5 with one run scored and two RBIs as the Falcons claimed a 2-1 series win over the India franchise. Kawasaki batted .417 for the series.
Kasahara had a total of 72 pitches, 57 of which were strikes. Also, Shingo Hirata (2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 SO after a Fire Ball scored) and Severino Gonzalez (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1BB) completed the pitching line for the Falcons.
Shuhei Fukuda went 2-for-3 with one RBI, Hiroyuki Makajima batted 2-for-3 with one RBI, and Gregori Cano had a 1-for-3 night, with two runs scored and one RBI, to highlight the Mid East offense.
After losing Game 1, the Falcons turned the United Series around with two straight victories. They scored a total of 16 runs on 26 hits, and allowed only five runs.
Other highlights:
Nyan Hernandez took the loss after a 1.0 inning, in which he allowed three hits, four earned runs, three walks and struck out two.
Lou Helmig went 1-for-3 with one RBI, as the standout man in the Cobras offense.
After winning Game 1 of the United Series, Mumbai only had eight hits and two runs scored.
