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Free Practice 1 and 2 proved to be beneficial for rookie Jack Doohan as he got more experience in a F1 car ahead of the race on Sunday. Pierre Gasly also stated he was comfortable with the car, however after trying a new set up he reported difficulties with understeer over the radio.
Pierre Gasly:“We have more work to do than usual at the end of Practice today in Abu Dhabi. Free Practice 1 felt strong. We had good potential in the car and we managed to put some good laps together. Free Practice 2, however, felt very different. I struggled with understeer and front grip in general. We tried some different set-ups but we were not able to find much improvement. We will work hard to find the right changes and aim to have better performance tomorrow when it counts.”
Jack Doohan: “Firstly, a great experience in the car in Abu Dhabi in what was a very busy day. There’s a lot to understand and learn and it was good to get a lot of laps in across both sessions. I just tried to build up the laps and my first few runs in the second session were not the cleanest on my side but that is all part of Practice. I am aiming to get more comfortable with each lap and keep pushing closer to where I want to be.”
Hopes were high as Gasly was able to set an impressive time for qualifying, in the end he performed a lap fast enough for P6. “The team has worked extremely hard all weekend and we managed to improve our performance between Practice to Qualifying. I’ve not felt that comfortable in the car and we went into Qualifying not too sure on what we could achieve. We managed to qualify in front of George [Russell], who was on pole position last week, and we’re just behind Max [Verstappen], the world champion, so that shows how much we’ve progressed this season."
Jack Doohan had mixed feelings about his qualifying performance as he explained he felt disappointed with the P20 result but feels positive about his F1 race debut. “Another day of experience under my belt in a Formula 1 weekend and my first Qualifying session in the car. I am of course not satisfied with the result, but it was a session of learning which we will debrief ahead of tomorrow’s race. I am now focused on working hard to maximise the race tomorrow to help the team in retaining sixth in the standings.”
As the lights went out for the last time in 2024, Gasly got away well and avoided the first corner collision between Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri, resulting in both of them to spin and tumble down positions. Pierre Gasly managed to snatch P3 following Carlos Sainz and race leader Lando Norris. However, after an impressive start he was put under pressure from Mercedes driver George Russell and the team called him into the pits on Lap 14 for a set of new hards, bringing him out in P9 ahead of Doohan.
After his pitstop, Gasly surged through the field. He kept his pace consistent and maintained his position in P7, focusing on the constructors championship and choosing the right battles to fight.
On the other hand, Jack Doohan kept a consistent pace throughout the race but unfortunately could not overtake the cars in front. Doohan's F1 debut was impressive, finishing in P15.
Pierre Gasly: “I am so happy for the entire team as we have achieved sixth in the Constructors’ Championship. This season we have had lows which were extremely low and highs which were extremely high. We have been through some tough moments this year and I am so proud of the team’s reaction to turnaround our season. We finished it with a competitive car, which has allowed us to regularly compete for Q3 and fight for points in the races. Credit to Haas as it’s been a great battle with them at recent races. There was also a little personal battle between Nico [Hülkenberg] and I in the Drivers’ Championship for tenth place. It was a close one today with him as it always is. He was right behind me, and I knew we just had to react to what he did and we would achieve our targets. It felt good to run in third place for some of the race but we knew that was not our fight today. In the end, an important result, sixth place secured in the Championship, so congratulations to everyone at the team for this achievement."
Jack Doohan: “Firstly, thank you to Luca de Meo, Flavio Briatore and Oliver Oakes for the opportunity, it has been an incredible experience to make my Formula 1 debut and I am very grateful that they entrusted me to step into the car this weekend. Thank you to the whole team for making the transition as smooth as possible. It was fantastic to get back racing, I have learned a lot and gained a lot of experience. We finished sixth in the Constructors’ Championship, which is great. I am happy to have assisted where possible to achieve that, both this weekend and throughout the whole season behind the scenes. Congratulations to Pierre on his result in the race and also getting tenth in the Drivers’ Championship. I am looking forward to next season, kicking it off with my home race in Australia and continuing to work and progress with the team.”
Oliver Oakes, Team Principal: “It’s a great achievement to end the season in sixth place in the standings. The turnaround in the second half of the season by the team has been amazing and shows that the hard work and determination of everyone at Enstone and Viry has paid off. The team never gave up, never lost sight of the end goal, and we can take that confidence and momentum into 2025. Pierre drove a great race and did everything asked of him. He’s been at the top of his game recently and put in another top performance today to keep Nico [Hülkenberg] at bay. Jack did well today and showed promising pace, matching the cars around him on similar strategies. It’s a great learning for him to take into next year. Credit to Haas and RB who were strong this year and kept the fight exciting to the very end. Also, congratulations to McLaren on winning the Constructors’ Championship. They’ve been the benchmark this year and they thoroughly deserve it."
