F1 rookie feared 'biggest accident of his life' after Abu Dhabi practice incident

Pérez tijdens FP3 in Abu Dhabi — Photo: © LAT Images

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

F1 rookie feared 'biggest accident of his life' after Abu Dhabi practice incident

There was a scary start to the FP1 action in Abu Dhabi

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Friday 24 November 2023 14:00 Updated: 21:02

Formula 1 rookie Jack Doohan was almost caught out by a slow moving Logan Sargeant during the first practice session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, narrowly avoiding a huge collision.

Doohan - who was taking part in FP1 for the Alpine team - came hurtling around the penultimate corner of the track on a flying lap, where Sargeant was dawdling along on the racing line, and the rookie had to take avoiding action.

The young Australian told his team over the radio: "I nearly had the biggest accident of my life!"

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The incident was investigated after the session, with Williams being fined €5,000 for the infringement.

Jack Doohan was given the chance to impress his Alpine team during FP1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Logan Sargeant could be in trouble with the stewards after an incident during FP1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Haas' Oliver Bearman was another young driver on show during FP1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Doohan replaces Ocon at Alpine

Despite the incident, Doohan did manage to get in plenty of laps around the Yas Marina Circuit, putting in a time that was quicker than both Red Bull cars, who had also replaced both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez with rookies.

The session was pretty much dominated by a lot of young drivers being given a chance to impress, as part of F1 rules which state that all teams must allow a rookie to take part in at least two practice sessions throughout the season.

In classic F1 fashion, alot of teams had left it right until the final race of the season to fulfil this quota, meaning runouts for 10 different rookies.