Abu Dhabi F1: Leclerc emerges on top after crashes cause havoc in second practice

Live updates: Abu Dhabi F1

A pair of red flag incidents caused havoc in the second practice session of the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix on Friday.

Early on, Carlos Sainz spun off and hit the barriers in a spectacular and dizzying fashion in his Ferrari, both car and driver ending up in a shower of debris.

The Spaniard had prompted some sharp intakes of breath from the spectators when he had a wiggle in the earlier session, feathering another barrier on that occasion but in a rather less catastrophic fashion.

A further stoppage occurred following the Ferrari smash after the drivers had been allowed to race again for mere minutes.

Nico Hulkenberg in the Haas rotated, out of control, in a similar manner to Sainz and shot across the track to hit the cladding with a wallop.

In total, the crashes caused the entire session to be shorted to just 20 minutes.

Disruption aside, the driver who managed to take the top slot following the stoppages was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with Lando Norris in the McLaren coming in second.

After Max Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez gave up their seats in the first practice session, the Red Bull pair could only manage third and fifth, respectively.

A scary moment for Carlos Sainz who finds the barriers at Turn 3