Abu Dhabi GP FP2: Norris tops, Verstappen chases, Piastri P11
F1 NewsFriday, 05 December 2025 at 15:01
Lando Norris continued his strong form in Abu Dhabi and topped the second practice session ahead of Max Verstappen while the returning Oscar Piastri was only 11th.
Norris went around the Yas Marina Circuit in 1:23.083 which was over three tenths that Verstappen managed to end a solid day for the Formula 1 Championship leader.
However, keeping in mind that Red Bull do not run their engines on high modes in practice and the fact that Verstappen did his fastest lap earlier in the session, we can expect the Title rivals to be closer come Qualifying on Saturday. The Dutchman also did not have a clean first sector where he had to slow down for traffic.
But Piastri, in the sister McLaren did not have an encouraging late start to his weekend in Abu Dhabi after missing out on FP1 to allow Pato O'Ward to take part.
The Australian was only good for 11th at the end of the session on Friday evening on Abu Dhabi's Yas Island.
George Russell was third fastest in the Mercedes, fractionally slower than Verstappen and ahead of Ollie Bearman who was a solid fourth in the Haas.
Sauber, on their final weekend before they become Audi, enjoyed a strong start as Nico Hulkenberg was fifth as Bortoleto was sixth in the other car.
Isack Hadjar was seventh in the VCARB ahead of Charles Leclerc who was eighth in the Ferrari as Fernando Alonso - who missed FP1 - was ninth.
Kimi Antonelli completed the top ten.
Buildup towards FP2
The first practice session for the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was somehow pointless as nine drivers were missing from the session as they had to make way to nine other young ones.
In addition to that, the time of FP1 meant the conditions were not similar to what we will have in Qualifying and the Grand Prix so which is about to change in FP2.
The session was also affected by the low grip conditions of the track which is still green, but the grip should be better in the second 60 minutes of running as we don't have to worry about rain in Abu Dhabi, so whatever rubber the cars laid down in FP1 will stay there.
But from what we saw in FP1, it seems Norris and Verstappen are close which is what we want in the season finale and while Leclerc was close in terms of qualifying pace, he was far off in race simulations, but then it is soon to make any deductions.
FP2 should give us more insight on how the pecking order will be as the weekend in Abu Dhabi progresses, so let's see how that pans out.
FP2 Session Highlights
With the sun setting down, FP2 started in dry conditions as the track temperature was 31 degrees Celsius as air temperature was 26 degrees.
No time wasted, as cars started lining up in the pitlane waiting for the green light eager to do some useful running, especially those who missed out onFP1.
Most of the field opted for the Medium tyre at the start of the session. Bearman, Ocon, and Hadjar started on the Softs.
Soon Leclerc reported an issue with the left air vent of his helmet and asked the team to sort it when he pits
Norris and Verstappen were noted for an impeding incident. Replay showed Verstappen moving out of Norris' way in the final moment.
Despite Norris' claim, the stewards saw no need to investigate.
Russell, 20 minutes into the session, said his car felt more "together" but he credited that to a change in the wind direction.
Alex Albon, on the other hand, had something negative to report... So many misfires.
As we edged towards halftime, the sun started set and more Soft tyres started appearing.
Albon soon followed up with the team, saying something was definitely wrong with his engine asking them to do something about that.
Carlos Sainz then managed to hold a snap at Turn 2. He reported: "I had a weird snap at Turn 2."
Bearman was one driver happy with his car, radioing his engineer saying it was so good, but adding that he didn't know why. He was fourth at the moment.
In the final 20 minutes of the session, it was time for some high fuel long runs.
Antonelli had a moment with the Haas of Esteban Ocon, who was driving slowly as the Italian came flying.
Verstappen had a moment when his car snapped while on a long run, but kept it together while Hamilton then ran wide under the hotel section.
The session was concluded with practice starts.
Abu Dhabi GP FP2 Classification
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