#F1 #AbuDhabiGP #FP2: @LandoNorris quickest ahead of title rival @Max33Verstappen by 0.363s.
Lando Norris, #4, McLaren Formula 1 Team-Mercedes, MCL39, Free Practice 2, Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2025, Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Image credit to Mark Thompson/Getty Images. Norris Abu Dhabi FP2, 2025 Abu Dhabi GP FP2, F1 Abu Dhabi GP FP2 Results, Formula 1 Abu Dhabi GP FP2 Results.
Norris Abu Dhabi FP2 – Championship leader Lando Norris ended the day as he started it, at the head of the times in second practice at the Abu Dhabi GP in-front of championship rival Max Verstappen who was second and the third title contender Oscar Piastri was down in 11th place in the other MCL39 entry. Mercedes’ George Russell completed the top three.
Norris posted the session-topping benchmark with the C5 red side-walled softer tyres and was 0.363 seconds clear of Verstappen whilst Russell was a further 0.379 seconds adrift of his fellow-British compatriot.
RB’s Liam Lawson lead the pack out on track with the C4 yellow-branded medium compounds.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was the first to register the benchmark of a 1:27.381, which was ousted by Williams’ Alexander Albon’s 1:26.149 as Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda slotted into second with his 1:26.218.
Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli went quickest on a 1:25.278 as Williams’ Carlos Sainz moved to second setting a 1:25.282.
Haas’s Oliver Bearman went fastest on the softer tyre posting a 1:24.744 whilst Verstappen jumped to second with a 1:24.798 after a purple middle sector and two personal bests.
The other Silver Arrow of George Russell with three personal bests split Sainz and Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg in fifth but only briefly as Championship leader Norris moved up into fourth to be 0.463 off Bearman’s benchmark.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc moved to fourth in the order posting a 1:25.209 flyer on the C4 mediums.
Isack Hadjar was next and with three purples put his VCARB02 entry top of the time-sheets posting a 1:24.167 to be 0.577 seconds clear of Bearman at the top.
Verstappen with three personal bests moved up to second to end up 0.386 seconds off Hadjar’s best time at the top.
Hulkenberg on his fourth tour on the harder tyres went up into fourth and was 0.986 seconds off Hadjar’s benchmark.
Sainz and Antonelli then both slotted into fourth and fifth respectively with their 1:24.888 and 1:25.002 efforts at the 11th minute mark of proceedings.
Esteban Ocon in the other VF-25 entry split Bearman and Sainz only momentarily as Bearman then moved up into second place with a 1:24.201 to end up only 0.034 seconds adrift of Hadjar.
Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto with two personal bests jumped to eighth overall behind Leclerc and was a further 0.808 seconds off Hadjar at the 14th minute mark of the sessions.
Ferrari’s Sir Lewis Hamilton’s next tour saw the Briton slot into 12th in the order behind championship contender Oscar Piastri after the former posted a 1:25.120 hot-lap.
Championship leader Norris moved up to third in the classification ahead of title rival Verstappen setting a 1:24.292 flyer whilst Piastri (also championship contender) put his MCL39 racer in fifth with his 1:24.434 effort.
Mercedes’ Russell then moved up into sixth best posting a 1:24.708 to end up 0.740 off Bearman who shot to the top of the pile on a 1:23.968.
Ocon then pushed his VF-25 up into fifth with his 1:24.428 hot-lap and three personal best sectors as the Frenchman completed his second lap on the C5 softer rubber.
Alonso with three personal bests moved to tenth overall to wound up 0.842 adrift of Bearman’s benchmark.
Leclerc with two personal bests moved up to fourth in the order posting a 1:24.308 at the 23rd minute mark of the session.
Hamilton was next after his Ferrari team-mate and setting three personal best efforts slotted into ninth overall to be 0.771 seconds adrift of Bearman as Ocon on his softer tyre stint moved into fourth to be 0.214 seconds off Bearman.
Verstappen was on his flyer on the softs with a personal best opening sector and two purples to go quickest with a 1 :23.446 to be 0.522 seconds in-front of Bearman.
Hadjar with a purple sector one and two personal bests jumped to second behind his soon-to-be team-mate at Red Bull with his 1:23.657 effort but only momentarily as Hulkenberg pushed his C45 entry to second with a purple sector three and a 1:23.550 to end up 0.104 off Verstappen’s best time.
Sainz with three personal bests on the softs went to fourth as Russell jumped to second to be 0.016 seconds off Verstappen’s best time whilst Antonelli moved into fifth.
Norris then snatched P1 from his championship rival Verstappen with two purple sectors to set a 1:23.083 to end up 0.363 seconds clear of the Dutchman as Bearman moved up into fourth to be 0.418 seconds off the former’s time.
Leclerc pushed his Ferrari up into eighth as the first half of the hour-long second practice session ended up 0.575 seconds adrift of Norris’s best time with his 1:23.658 on the softs.
The other Championship contender Piastri was next with three personal bests on the softs could only manage tenth in the order posting a 1:23.762 flyer on his softer tyre stint – Replays showed the Australian made an error into turn one.
Replays showed Piastri suffer a massive front-left lock-up into turn six and seven chicane on his next flying lap with the Australian continuing to struggle with the balance of his MCL39 racer.
The majority of the field were returning back to their respective garages to tweak their setups and put in a heavier amount of fuel to begin their traditional longer race data gathering runs.
Alonso with three personal bests jumped to ninth overall with his 1:23.708 to end up 0.625 seconds adrift of Norris’s best time with 17 minutes remaining.
Most of the field in the final third of proceedings switched to the longer runs, some moving back to the C4 yellow-branded mediums whilst others remained on the softs in case the C5 is an okay race tyre if two-stopping.
Norris re-emerged on his mediums, which were already nine laps old as his focus moved to a race simulation run, and McLaren team-mate Piastri had just done the same – so he was not going to improve his time here in this session.
The session ended with Championship leader Norris on top once more with fellow title-challenger Verstappen second and Russell rounding out the top three.
Bearman was fourth and ahead of Sauber pairing Hulkenberg and Bortoleto who ended FP2 fifth and sixth respectively.
Hadjar followed in seventh and in-front of Leclerc who placed eighth whilst Alonso and Antonelli completed the top ten.
Championship contender Piastri was outside the top ten in 11th.
You can see the full Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2025 Free Practice 2 Results Classification at the link: FORMULA 1 ETIHAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX 2025 – PRACTICE 2
#F1 #AbuDhabiGP #FP1: @LandoNorris pips championship rival @Max33Verstappen by 0.008s.
