Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Free Practice 2: McLaren unreachable, Hülkenberg imperial and Red Bull lagging
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri dominated the second free practice session, asserting McLaren's dominance over a pack where Ferrari struggles to keep up with the pace and where Red Bull is experiencing a performance crisis. A situation that could open the door wide for the constructor title for the British team.
The McLaren rocket.
The second free practice session of the weekend saw the McLaren’s dominance. Lando Norris set the fastest time in 1:23.517, closely followed by his teammate Oscar Piastri. This solid performance by the “papayas” suggests a good opportunity for the constructors’ title as the last race of the season approaches.
The Hülkenberg surprise – a notable gap between Ferrari and McLaren
Nico Hülkenberg created a surprise by climbing to third place, confirming an impressive pace for Haas in this session.
At Ferrari, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc made a promising start to the session, but the gap with McLaren remains significant. The Monegasque driver also saw his session compromised by damage to the floor of his car after a hard impact on a kerb.
These concerns, combined with a 10-place grid penalty for a battery change, make the task even more difficult for Ferrari, who seems unable to compete with the impressive pace of the McLarens.
Red Bull in great difficulty
On Red Bull’s side, difficulties are piling up. Frustrated, Max Verstappen could only manage a seventeenth-place finish, while Sergio Pérez finished in fourteenth position. These underperformances are worrying the Austrian team, as the car seems to be clearly lagging behind its rivals.
This domination of McLaren could allow them to finish the season in style and take a decisive step towards winning the constructor’s title. The tension is rising as the qualifying approaches.
The results of Free Practice 2:
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norris | McLaren F1 Team | 1:23.517 | 24 | |
| 2 | Piastri | McLaren F1 Team | 1:23.751 | +0.234 | 27 |
| 3 | Hülkenberg | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1:23.979 | +0.462 | 27 |
| 4 | Sainz | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:24.099 | +0.582 | 27 |
| 5 | Hamilton | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:24.119 | +0.602 | 27 |
| 6 | Leclerc | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:24.201 | +0.684 | 27 |
| 7 | Bottas | Stake F1 Team | 1:24.230 | +0.713 | 23 |
| 8 | Magnussen | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1:24.235 | +0.718 | 24 |
| 9 | Albon | Williams Racing | 1:24.269 | +0.752 | 21 |
| 10 | Tsunoda | Visa Cash App RB F1 Team | 1:24.497 | +0.980 | 27 |
| 11 | Lawson | Visa Cash App RB F1 Team | 1:24.503 | +0.986 | 24 |
| 12 | Gasly | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1:24.517 | +1.000 | 26 |
| 13 | Russell | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:24.534 | +1.017 | 23 |
| 14 | Perez | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1:24.555 | +1.038 | 26 |
| 15 | Guanyu | Stake F1 Team | 1:24.557 | +1.040 | 22 |
| 16 | Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team | 1:24.574 | +1.057 | 24 |
| 17 | Verstappen | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1:24.598 | +1.081 | 25 |
| 18 | Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team | 1:24.686 | +1.169 | 28 |
| 19 | Doohan | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1:24.961 | +1.444 | 25 |
| 20 | Colapinto | Williams Racing | 1:25.265 | +1.748 | 10 |
