Max Verstappen et Daniel Ricciardo ont été les plus rapide de la 1re séance d’essais libres à Abou Dhabi. On retrouve ensuite les Mercedes et Estaban Ocon est 5e devant Kevin Magnussen. Kimi Räikkönen et Sebastian Vettel sont 7e et 8e.
| Pos | No | Pilote | Équipe | Temps | Écart | Tours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer | 1:38.491 | 27 | |
| 2 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer | 1:38.945 | +0.454s | 19 |
| 3 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:39.452 | +0.961s | 29 |
| 4 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:39.543 | +1.052s | 26 |
| 5 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Force India Mercedes | 1:40.102 | +1.611s | 26 |
| 6 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 1:40.235 | +1.744s | 21 |
| 7 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:40.417 | +1.926s | 24 |
| 8 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:40.453 | +1.962s | 21 |
| 9 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Renault | 1:40.588 | +2.097s | 21 |
| 10 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas Ferrari | 1:40.663 | +2.172s | 24 |
| 11 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 1:40.671 | +2.180s | 17 |
| 12 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1:41.023 | +2.532s | 24 |
| 13 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India Mercedes | 1:41.075 | +2.584s | 23 |
| 14 | 28 | Brendon Hartley | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 1:41.137 | +2.646s | 26 |
| 15 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Williams Mercedes | 1:41.493 | +3.002s | 22 |
| 16 | 36 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Sauber Ferrari | 1:41.662 | +3.171s | 24 |
| 17 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber Ferrari | 1:41.928 | +3.437s | 22 |
| 18 | 2 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren Renault | 1:42.114 | +3.623s | 22 |
| 19 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren Renault | 1:42.313 | +3.822s | 16 |
| 20 | 40 | Robert Kubica | Williams Mercedes | 1:42.992 | +4.501s | 26 |