F1 Abu Dhabi GP: Norris quickest over Verstappen in FP2, Piastri 11th

Lando Norris ended the final Friday practice session of 2025 on top of the FP2 standings at the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, over three tenths clear of Max Verstappen - as Oscar Piastri was only 11th.

Both Oliver Bearman and Isack Hadjar had broken with convention in the early stages of the session and immediately set about putting laps on the soft tyre. This ensured that, after the majority of the field had completed their exploratory runs on the medium tyre, the Haas and Racing Bulls drivers were sitting atop the timing order - as Norris headlined those laps on the medium.

Amid the soft-tyre runs, Verstappen got out of the blocks early and set a 1m23.446s, a benchmark for future team-mate Hadjar to challenge - the Frenchman was about 0.2s down when he crossed the line.

Nico Hulkenberg and George Russell then put together their first efforts on the softs, each having their own brief spells occupying second in the time sheets, but Verstappen's time could not be moved by either.

Norris then ventured onto the circuit for his first go on the C5 tyre, and threw down the gauntlet with a 1m23.082s - over three tenths clear of Verstappen.

There were few challengers afterwards as the field gravitated towards its longer runs, leaving Norris' lap untouched for the rest of the session - with a significant gulf to team-mate Piastri, who was 0.68s down.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images

Piastri, who had missed FP1 as Pato O'Ward took his seat for the session, was struggling to find the right balance across the early part of the session. 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.

Russell's time remained good enough for third, as Bearman continued to find pace on a subsequent soft-tyre run and worked his way up to fourth. The Haas driver remarked that the VF-25 was "insane" and he didn't know where the pace had come from - with apparent strong performance in the lower-speed corners.

Both Saubers were in the top six, with Hulkenberg fifth from Gabriel Bortoleto; the Swiss team is in its final race bearing the Sauber name before it transitions to Audi next season.

Hadjar was seventh ahead of Charles Leclerc, while Fernando Alonso - who gave up his seat to Cian Shields in FP1 - was ninth ahead of Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

The top 16 was all situated within a second as Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson - who missed FP1 and gave up their seats to future Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad and Super Formula champion Ayumu Iwasa respectively - fell just outside of that bracket.

The two Alpines brought up the rear - Franco Colapinto two tenths ahead of Pierre Gasly.

F1 Abu Dhabi GP - FP2 results

FP2

All Stats

 

Cla	Driver	#		Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Interval	Tyres	km/h
1	L. Norris McLaren	4		McLaren	Mercedes	28	1'23.083		S	228.826
2	M. Verstappen Red Bull Racing	1		Red Bull	Red Bull	31	+0.363 1'23.446	0.363	S	227.831
3	G. Russell Mercedes	63		Mercedes	Mercedes	29	+0.379 1'23.462	0.016	S	227.787
4	O. Bearman Haas F1 Team	87		Haas	Ferrari	28	+0.418 1'23.501	0.039	S	227.681
5	N. Hulkenberg Sauber	27		Sauber	Ferrari	28	+0.467 1'23.550	0.049	S	227.547
6	G. Bortoleto Sauber	5		Sauber	Ferrari	28	+0.487 1'23.570	0.020	S	227.493
7	I. Hadjar RB	6		RB	Honda	29	+0.574 1'23.657	0.087	S	227.256
8	C. Leclerc Ferrari	16		Ferrari	Ferrari	31	+0.575 1'23.658	0.001	S	227.253
9	F. Alonso Aston Martin Racing	14		Aston Martin	Mercedes	27	+0.625 1'23.708	0.050	S	227.118
10	A. Antonelli Mercedes	12		Mercedes	Mercedes	29	+0.667 1'23.750	0.042	S	227.004
11	O. Piastri McLaren	81		McLaren	Mercedes	29	+0.680 1'23.763	0.013	S	226.968
12	L. Stroll Aston Martin Racing	18		Aston Martin	Mercedes	29	+0.749 1'23.832	0.069	S	226.782
13	C. Sainz Williams	55		Williams	Mercedes	31	+0.789 1'23.872	0.040	S	226.673
14	L. Hamilton Ferrari	44		Ferrari	Ferrari	29	+0.856 1'23.939	0.067	S	226.493
15	A. Albon Williams	23		Williams	Mercedes	32	+0.867 1'23.950	0.011	S	226.463
16	E. Ocon Haas F1 Team	31		Haas	Ferrari	27	+0.875 1'23.958	0.008	S	226.441
17	Y. Tsunoda Red Bull Racing	22		Red Bull	Red Bull	29	+1.220 1'24.303	0.345	S	225.515
18	L. Lawson RB	30		RB	Honda	32	+1.391 1'24.474	0.171	S	225.058
19	F. Colapinto Alpine	43		Alpine	Renault	28	+1.688 1'24.771	0.297	S	224.270
20	P. Gasly Alpine	10		Alpine	Renault	30	+1.880 1'24.963	0.192	S	223.763
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