2021 GB3 champion Zak O’Sullivan completed his maiden Formula 1 free practice appearance at Abu Dhabi, acquitting himself well during his first appearance in an officially timed F1 session.
The 2023 FIA F3 runner-up, a member of the Williams F1 Academy, posted the 18th quickest time, ahead of both Haas cars and just 1.3 seconds away from the fastest time of the session, posted by the Mercedes of 2014 BRDC F4 champion George Russell.
O’Sullivan was as high as third at one point, and showed excellent car control, particularly in holding on to a big slide exiting the final corner. His session began on medium Pirelli tyres, before moving on to the softer rubber for the second part of running.
The 18-year-old completed a total of 28 laps in the hour-long practice, more than any other driver, with a best time of 1m27.460s. He will be back behind the wheel of the same car next week, as he participates in the Young Driver Test at the same circuit on Tuesday.
O'Sullivan's fellow 2021 GB3 alumni Ollie Bearman was also in action, completing his second FP1 session of the year with Haas in 20th place.
“It was my first time in Abu Dhabi and my first time driving a Williams Racing F1 car" O'Sullivan said.
“I made quite good progress throughout the session, getting on top of the car and the different procedures. Thank you to Williams Racing for giving me the opportunity.
“I can’t wait for the Young Driver Test on Tuesday, to refine some of the things I’ve learnt from FP1 and make some more progress.”
Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance, added: “Zak drove very well, completed 28 valuable laps and helped us collect some very useful data. We got some of the high fuel work completed in FP1 and FP2, which has given us a good indication of how the tyre behaviour will be on Sunday."