Formula 1 championship leader Lando Norris delivered a perfect F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix practice double for McLaren, beating championship rival Max Verstappen throughout Friday’s sessions.
The British driver topped the timesheets in FP1 with a blistering 1:24.485 and then extended his dominance in FP2 by posting the day’s quickest lap of 1:23.083, underscoring McLaren’s strong pace heading into the season finale where championship implications loom large.
Norris’ closest challenger turned out to be Verstappen who trailed by just 0.008 seconds in the morning and 0.363 seconds in the evening session.
The 60-minute FP2 session unfolded with intense competition, setup tweaks, and minor incidents that set the tone for the weekend as the floodlights illuminated the 5.281-kilometer track under cooler evening conditions mirroring those expected for qualifying and the race
The session kicked off promptly at 6:00 PM local time with Liam Lawson in the Racing Bulls car venturing out first, quickly followed by others as teams transitioned from the FP1 rookie runs where nine drivers, including McLaren’s Oscar Piastri substitute Pato O’Ward, had logged time.
Track temperatures had dropped significantly from the daytime heat, dipping to around 25 degrees Celsius with cooler air aiding tire performance, while a gentle wind picked up, influencing car balance through the circuit’s high-speed sweeps and tight technical sectors.
Initial laps saw most drivers on medium Pirelli tires, with Isack Hadjar in the second Racing Bulls entry grabbing early headlines by setting the pace on softs, half a second ahead of Haas’ Oliver Bearman who also bolted on the red-banded C5 compound ahead of the pack.
Charles Leclerc radioed about discomfort from wind blasting through his helmet vent, a minor distraction as Ferrari fine-tuned their SF-25 package post-FP1.
Tension simmered early when Norris who was building his rhythm, encountered Verstappen on track, leading to a near-miss impeding incident at Turn 9 that drew steward attention but resulted in no further action after review.
Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase warned the Red Bull star of the approaching McLaren, as Norris vented frustration over radio with “What’s this guy doing? We almost crashed.”
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Verstappen and Williams’ Carlos Sainz proceeded to deliver the quickest laps on mediums, posting times around eight-tenths off the soft benchmarks, with Norris initially in P14 and Piastri struggling in 11th after setup changes to his MCL39 from FP1.
George Russell began finding grip in his Mercedes W16, climbing to third temporarily ahead of Norris by 0.016 seconds as the Brit reported improved confidence in the car’s low-speed corners.
Midway through, the frontrunners switched to soft tires, igniting the timing screens’ fireworks; Verstappen was first among them, dipping to a 1:23.446 purple sector-strewn lap to lead Nico Hulkenberg briefly.
Sainz noted a “weird snap” at Turn 2 in his Williams FW47, while Bearman protested an unsafe release from a Sauber garage, adding to the session’s bustling pit lane activity.
Lando Norris ultimately unleashed his benchmark 1:23.083 on the C5s, shattering Verstappen’s time by three-tenths through a flawless sector two and precise braking into the chicane at Turns 7-8.
Norris’s lap stood unchallenged for the remaining portion of second F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix practice as teams pivoted to race simulations .
Meanwhile, his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, fresh from sitting out FP1, pushed hard but suffered a massive lock-up into Turn 6 on his second flying soft lap, compromising his hot lap and relegating him to 11th at +0.680 seconds.
George Russell clocked the third fastest lap followed by Oliver Bearman who praised his Haas VF-25 as “insane” while holding fourth overall at +0.418 seconds.
Nico Hulkenberg impressed in Kick Sauber colors with fifth at +0.467, edging teammate Gabriel Bortoleto in sixth (+0.487), signaling the Swiss squad’s upward trajectory.
Isack Hadjar held seventh (+0.574), Charles Leclerc eighth (+0.575) after steady Ferrari progress, as Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli rounded out the top ten.
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