Lando Norris led Friday in F1 Abu Dhabi GP in both FP1 and FP2 sessions, with Max Verstappen slotting in second in the chase.
FP1 –
Lando Norris kicked off the title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend by going fastest during first practice, the McLaren driver heading championship rival Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. There were a host of new names on the timesheets for the opening practice hour at the Yas Marina Circuit as no less than nine rookies joined the action, with Mercedes and Kick Sauber the only outfits to stick with their usual line-up.
Amongst those sitting out FP1 as a result was championship contender Oscar Piastri, whose seat would be filled by McLaren reserve driver Pato O’Ward. Over at Red Bull, meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda had handed his car over to Arvid Lindblad, the F2 racer who is set to join Racing Bulls on the grid in 2026. Isack Hadjar – the man Lindblad will replace, with the Frenchman making the step up to Red Bull next season – led the pack out when first practice got underway at 1330 local time. It quickly proved to be a busy start, as all 20 cars hit the track within the opening minutes.
That traffic soon appeared to cause some frustration for Hadjar, the Racing Bulls driver waving his hand after approaching the Williams of Luke Browning ahead. As for Browning – who was making his fourth FP1 appearance – the British driver reported issues with his radio. The other FW47 of Carlos Sainz had gone quickest a quarter of the way into the session, the Spaniard setting a lap of 1m 25.712s off the back of his second podium for the Grove-based outfit last time out in Qatar. Championship leader Norris, meanwhile, was just 0.052s behind.
That P1 did not last long for Sainz, with the times rapidly tumbling and the name at the top of the timesheets changing as FP1 progressed. Elsewhere there was a problem for Ollie Bearman, the Haas man reporting a loss of power before being informed by his race engineer of a “leak” in the car. The Briton managed to limp back to the pits – just as Browning was able to return to action, having spent time in the garage while the team addressed his radio issues.
As the hour reached its halfway point, Hadjar looked to have set the fastest time before it was bettered by his future team mate Verstappen, the Dutchman pumping in a 1m 24.493s after bolting on the soft tyres. George Russell had also swapped to the C5 rubber and slotted into P2 behind Verstappen, the Mercedes driver’s effort putting him 0.240s behind the Red Bull. Kimi Antonelli then followed by going third quickest on a weekend where the Silver Arrows are hoping to seal second place in the Teams’ Championship.
There was a bit of a moment for Norris through Turn 2, the Briton experiencing a snap during his first flying run on the soft tyres – though the lap still proved to be enough to put him into second place behind Verstappen. Elsewhere there was a close call for Aston Martin between their two rookie drivers, with Jak Crawford approaching Cian Shields whilst the former was on a hot lap. Over at Haas, Bearman’s earlier issue initially looked to have been fixed as he returned to action – but the youngster then reported that the problem seemed to be getting worse, resulting in the decision to retire for the car for the remainder of the session amid what the team later said was a sensor-related issue.
Ahead of the final 15 minutes, Norris sat at the top of the timesheets on a 1m 24.485s – a mere 0.008s clear of Verstappen – before the last laps started to go on the board. Charles Leclerc had slotted into third, while his younger brother Arthur – in the other Ferrari – was in 18th place. Verstappen reported that there “might be something broken” on his RB21, an issue that he suggested was “everywhere” on the car, though the World Champion was still running on track.
Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, suffered a spin at Turn 5, prompting his sibling to joke that the elder Leclerc was “doing some burnouts” for the watching fans. As the clock ticked down, Norris held onto the P1 slot thanks to his earlier effort, with Verstappen and Charles Leclerc remaining in second and third respectively. Antonelli and Russell were fourth and sixth, while Kick Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg separated the Mercedes pair in fifth.
Hulkenberg’s team mate Gabriel Bortoleto followed in P7, with Bearman, Sainz and the Alpine of Franco Colapinto rounding out the top 10. Ryo Hirakawa in the Haas claimed P11, leading Hadjar, Alpine’s Paul Aron, O’Ward and Lindblad. Completing the classification were Arthur Leclerc, Ayumu Iwasa for Racing Bulls, Browning, Crawford and Shields.
FP2 –
McLaren driver Lando Norris set the pace during Friday’s second practice session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, leading the way from Red Bull rival Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ George Russell, with team mate Oscar Piastri back in 11th. Norris got down to a time of 1m 23.083s with Pirelli’s soft tyres across the one hour of running, putting him 0.363s ahead of reigning four-time World Champion Verstappen, and a further 0.016s clear of Russell.
After nine ‘rookie’ drivers appeared in FP1, a stream of regular racers returned to the cockpit for the much more representative twilight FP2, including Piastri, who was the only championship contender to sit on the sidelines at the start of the day. Despite mechanics making a host of adjustments to his McLaren just a few minutes before the session’s green light at 1700 local time, the Australian hit the track early on and got his practice programme under way without any dramas.
There was some early drama elsewhere, though, with Verstappen having to hurriedly get out of Norris’ way exiting Turn 1 via some confusion over the radio with his engineer Gianpiero Lambiase – the Red Bull driver ending a lap and the McLaren man starting one. However, while the stewards noted the incident and took a closer look at it, they ultimately decided against any further action, meaning no risk of a penalty being applied.
As the session reached its one-quarter mark, it was Racing Bulls rookie – and 2026 Red Bull racer – Isack Hadjar who led the way thanks to a 1m 24.167s on softs, marginally quicker than Haas’ Ollie Bearman (also softs) and Norris, Verstappen and Piastri (mediums). Not long after, Verstappen made the switch to the soft rubber and lowered the benchmark to a 1m 23.446s, only for Norris to produce a 1m 23.083s and move comfortably clear when he bolted on the red-marked compound. Attention then turned to what Piastri could do on his first Qualifying-style simulation, but a low-key lap left him down in 10th, behind both Mercedes cars, both Kick Saubers, Bearman’s Haas, Hadjar’s Racing Bulls and Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari.
Meanwhile, there were problems for Williams to contend with in the form of a dramatic snap for Carlos Sainz through the high-speed Turn 2/3 sweeps, which the Spaniard did well to save and move on from, and apparent engine woes for Alex Albon. Once those Qualifying laps were out of the way, drivers moved their focus to longer runs to gather some valuable data for Sunday evening’s race, meaning Norris’ aforementioned 1m 23s effort remained the P1 time over Verstappen (who reported more bouncing late on) and Russell at the chequered flag.
Bearman ended up a high-flying fourth for Haas, edging out the similarly impressive Saubers of Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto. Hadjar was another youngster to enjoy a strong start to the weekend in seventh, ahead of Leclerc, Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso and the other Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, leaving Piastri just outside the top-10 positions. Lance Stroll followed team mate Alonso in 12th, from Williams pair Sainz and Albon, who sandwiched Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari, the Haas of Esteban Ocon, outgoing Red Bull racer Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls and the Alpines.
[The story is as per press release]