Lando Norris tops FP2 in Abu Dhabi, followed by Oscar Piastri and Nico Hulkenberg. Ferrari left chasing
FP2 in Abu Dhabi comes to an end, and after Charles Leclerc led the first session (despite a penalty awaiting him for Sunday), McLaren dominates with a 1-2 finish courtesy of Norris and Piastri, sending a strong message to their rivals.
The MVP of the session, however, is Nico Hulkenberg with a stunning third-fastest time (462 milliseconds behind Norris) and the best race pace of all drivers, clocked on soft tires—6 tenths faster than Piastri (28.4 versus the Australian’s 29.0).
Ferrari finished fourth and sixth with Sainz and Leclerc, with Hamilton in between. They were 6-7 tenths off the pace in both qualifying and race simulations. Their race pace in particular looked worryingly poor, likely due to different engine mapping settings.
Rounding out the top 10 are a strong Bottas, Magnussen, Albon (despite gearbox issues), and Yuki Tsunoda, completing the first half of the grid.
Photo: Oracle Red Bull Racing, McLaren
