F1
Abu Dhabi GP – FP2: Norris ahead of Verstappen again, Piastri out of the top 10
© Antonin Vincent / DPPI
Winner of the final Grand Prix of the 2024 season on this same Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi, Lando Norris seems to be reliving some good memories at the start of this weekend. The world championship leader, the Briton, set the benchmark this time with a time of 1:23.083, improving his FP1 record by almost a second and a half. Ahead Max Verstappen for a few thousandths earlier in the day, the pilot McLaren this time ahead of his counterpart at Red Bull by more than three tenths.
Si Charles Leclerc Having managed to climb to third position in the morning, the Monegasque driver this time experienced even more difficulties at the wheel of his Classic Ferrari for saleEighth place, however, is still 0,575 seconds behind the leader, while Lewis Hamilton, 14th, is more than eight tenths of a second behind. In place of the red cars, George Russell took third place, posting lap times similar to those of Max Verstappen. More surprisingly, however, Oliver Bearman, far from being out of contention since fourth place, notably commented over the radio on the joy it seemed to be driving his car.
ALSO READ > Abu Dhabi GP – FP1: Norris beats Verstappen by eight thousandths of a second
Piastri pays the price for the backlash
Quite logically, Lando Norris has found his cruising speed with two first-place finishes in as many practice sessions, Oscar piastri The strategy developed by McLaren is paying off. Eleventh after FP2, the Australian thus began his weekend while Pato O'Ward was the driver to have taken to the car in FP1. 0,680 seconds behind his teammate, Oscar Piastri will have to show resilience and learn quickly to try and defend his position. For the Australian, the objective of this perilous weekend will be, on the one hand, to climb back up the order, but above all, to try and overtake the leaders.
Finally, among the factors to consider for the rest of the weekend, Sauber managed to achieve an unexpected ranking. Fifth and sixth, Nico Hulkenberg Gabriel Bortoleto and others finished ahead of Isack Hadjar. However, Williams appears further back with its two drivers in thirteenth and fifteenth positions, while Yuki tsunoda, a potential kingmaker in this final against McLaren, is currently only ranked 17th. The two Alpine are last.
This Saturday, December 6th, FP3 will begin at 11:30 AM (French time). Qualifying, the first thrill of this final, will take place at 15 PM.
F1 – Abu Dhabi GP (Yas Marina)
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Mathieu Chambenoit
Responsible for the single-seater categories (F2, F3, FRECA, Eurocup-3, F4...), I enjoy discussing F1, Endurance, or MotoGP.
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vincent moyet
05/12/2025 at 05:14 a.m.
Yes, the much-vaunted fairness at McLaren seems to have vanished. But it's surely better this way than a collision between the two drivers handing the title to Verstappen, or team orders deciding the world championship, which would cause a lot of controversy and discredit the champion. It's a bit of a shame that McLaren has been forced into this situation because they failed to manage it earlier.
Yves-Henri RANDIER
05/12/2025 at 03:26 a.m.
McLaren has already deviated from its famous Papaya Rules by favoring Norris, who didn't give up his seat to O'Ward in FP2. It's logical that Piastri is struggling while Verstappen is poised to pounce, and Hamilton, Tsunoda, and the BATTs are still nowhere to be seen! We'll see tomorrow in FP3 and especially in qualifying.
Alain Féguenne (🇱🇺 Luxembourg)
05/12/2025 at 03:12 a.m.
Lando… in front, but Max, very clever… sacrificing… his session to prepare for the race… ‼️‼️‼️. The Mercedes… lying in wait… Oliver… very good… and the Saubers… 🧢. Oscar… is missing the first… session… (McLaren 👎)… alainkf1@pt.lu 😎👀👍… Max…