As is tradition with the season opener the pilots get extra training sessions in the track before Free Practice. Normally it's to shake the cobwebs loose, make sure the plane is running correctly and get G-ready for the race ahead.

"It's a good start to the weekend but there's no point getting too excited yet because there's an awfully long way still to go on race day," said Bonhomme, who has won the Abu Dhabi race three times in the past (2008, 2010, 2014 ). "Let's not count our chickens before they've hatched. The wind conditions are changing here all the time. We've had an entire week of southeasterly winds and then today they shifted to northerly winds. Whoever can adapt best to the changing set of conditions will win tomorrow."