Lando Norris continued to set the pace in second practice for the championship-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix; the championship leader set a 23.083 to increase his advantage to just over three and a half tenths over title rival Max Verstappen. Like last weekend under the lights, the McLaren driver looked to be the man to beat on a weekend where he could win his first world championship.
Friday was a perfect start for the championship leader who leads Verstappen and teammate Oscar Piastri by twelve points, but throughout the afternoon Norris looked like the man to beat and increased his advantage as dusk set in. Though there was a brief moment where Verstappen appeared to impede Norris as he finished a lap and the Englishman started his. Piastri meanwhile could only manage eleventh after having to abort his soft run due to traffic.
Norris goes into the title decider as the favourite with the most options to win the title, although the easiest way is by finishing on the podium, while his rivals would be dependent on results going their way. McLaren knows that stats since 2014, suggest the winner of the previous year’s race goes on to win the championship, which was Norris.
McLaren, meanwhile, has said that if the race develops in such a way that Piastri is out of contention, but Norris needs to gain a place to win the title, they will ask the Australian to help out. It appears that McLaren has the clear advantage in qualifying pace however, Verstappen was only a few hundredths off when it came to race pace.
Verstappen went onto say after the session that Red Bull’s “single lap and long run needs to be better” heading into qualifying on a track where the driver on pole position has gone on to win the last ten races.
George Russell put his Mercedes third; he was four hundredths ahead of Ollie Bearman, who underlined Haas’s strong pace at this type of circuit. Bearman was ahead of another surprise, Nico Hulkenberg was half a tenth behind and two hundredths faster than his Sauber teammate Gabriel Bortoleto.
Bearman appeared to be revelling in the pace of his car, saying over team radio after his quickest lap that it was “insane” how the VF-25 was “so good”.
A strong start for Sauber on what is their final weekend after three decades before they are formally taken over and return to works ownership, as Audi completes it rebrand over the next month. Isack Hadjar was just under nine hundredths behind as he goes into his final race for Racing Bulls before being promoted to Red Bull for 2026.
Haas and Sauber are both Ferrari engine customers, and both outpaced the Scuderia’s works team, whose difficult end to a disappointing season looks in danger of continuing on the evidence of the opening day in Abu Dhabi.
Charles Leclerc was eighth; he was half a tenth ahead of Fernando Alonso, with Kimi Antonelli completing the top ten. Ferrari appears to be losing time in the twisty final sector around the Marina. Lewis Hamilton looked on course to improve but lost all the time in Sector Three, which left him fourteenth.
Piastri was left just over a hundredth outside the top ten, following the mistake on his second flying lap on softs at the chicane, trails Norris by sixteen points. The Australian, who sat out FP1, looked to struggle to find the right balance across the early part of the session.
Piastri showed more competitive pace over the longer runs later in the session and did not appear too perturbed. Saying, “I got there pretty well on the medium tyres, just the softs, I didn’t get the most out of the grip on the first timed lap. Finding my feet, but some things to try and improve for tomorrow. But not too bad.”
This prompted McLaren to tinker with his set-up to ensure the Australian could find the handling qualities he desired. The work will likely continue overnight, as Piastri hopes to reprise his form from Qatar.
Piastri, meanwhile, was seven hundredths ahead of the Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll. Lewis Hamilton split the two Williams, the seven-time champion just seven hundredths behind Carlos Sainz and a hundredth ahead of Alex Albon. Sainz surviving a snap of oversteer through Turns Two-Three.
Esteban Ocon put his Haas sixteenth; he went just under three and a half tenths ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, with Liam Lawson nearly a tenth and three quarters behind. The two Alpines completed the field, Franco Colapinto nearly eight hundredths ahead of teammate Pierre Gasly.
