Pierre Gasly set the pace in this season’s final Free Practice session around the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi. The Red Bull Junior driver topped the timing sheets in the Friday session with a 1:49.349s ahead of the GP2 Series Champion, Stoffel Vandoorne and the Belgian’s ART Grand Prix teammate, Nobuharu Matsushita.
The time set by Gasly, a third of the way into the morning session, was in fact a second quicker the best time set in last year’s Free Practice.
Alexander Rossi was fourth, just outside of the Top Three after setting a total of 19 laps ahead of qualifying. Alex Lynn and Mitch Evans were fifth and sixth respectively, with Rossi’s Racing Engineering teammate Jordan King just behind them in seventh.
In eighth position was Trident’s Raffaele Marciello, who had Norman Nato behind him with a 1:50.521s. Campos Racing driver Arthur Pic completed the Top Ten.
The GP2 Series field will be out on track Friday afternoon, under the lights of the Yas Marina Circuit, for qualifying.
