Lando Norris fastest in practice as Leclerc penalty hits Ferrari’s title hopes
Monegasque slapped with 10-place grid penalty in Abu Dhabi after change of battery pack
Abu Dhabi: British driver Lando Norris led Australian teammate Oscar Piastri in second practice on Friday as McLaren turned up the heat in their bid to secure the constructors’ title at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc had topped the opening practice session at the Yas Marina Circuit ahead of Norris and Lewis Hamilton, but the Monegasque driver was then penalised for taking a new battery pack on his car.
Leclerc’s 10-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race compromises the Italian team’s bid to capture a first constructors’ title since 2008.
Cooling conditions
Ferrari are seeking to overturn a 21-point deficit on leaders McLaren, who last won the constructors’ title in 1998, this weekend.
Norris clocked one minute and 23.517 seconds to beat Piastri by two-tenths of a second, ahead of third-placed Nico Hulkenberg of Haas.
Carlos Sainz was fourth fastest in the second Ferrari followed by seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, the British driver in his last race weekend with Mercedes.
Leclerc was sixth in the second Ferrari ahead of Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen in the second Haas, Williams’ Alex Albon and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda.
The feuding George Russell of Mercedes and newly crowned four-time world champion Max Verstappen struggled to find the pace and wound up 13th and 17th, respectively, in a largely uneventful twilight session.
It began in cooling conditions after a hot day as the sun set in Abu Dhabi, RB’s Liam Lawson setting the early pace in 1:25.537, before Leclerc took over and then Norris. Hamilton slotted into second to repeat the top three from opening practice.
Verstappen baby news
Verstappen, complaining about his front axle performance, had sat out the earlier run as news that he is to become a father for the first time with Kelly Piquet, daughter of Brazil’s triple world champion Nelson Piquet, was confirmed in a social media post.
Piquet has a daughter, born in 2019, with former Red Bull driver Russian Daniil Kvyat.
“The understeer is ridiculous,” reported the Dutchman on team radio, while Russell, with whom he has fallen out in spectacular, acrimonious fashion, said his “cockpit is still reasonably toasty”, referring to the temperature of 27 degrees Celsius (80.6 Fahrenheit).
Between the sessions, Red Bull’s chief Christian Horner had hit back at Mercedes boss Toto Wolff’s description of him as a “yapping little terrier” for interfering in the Verstappen-Russell feud by describing the Mercedes driver as “hysterical”.
“I love terriers,” said Horner. “I think they’re great dogs. I’ve had four. I’d rather be a terrier than a wolf.”
Ferrari's riposte
Norris’ lap in 1:24.332 kept him on top ahead of Leclerc and Sainz with Perez fourth until Magnussen took second for Haas to revise the order, followed by Piastri as conditions changed in the twilight zone and soft tyre runs began.
With 27 minutes to go, Piastri took top spot briefly before Norris replied, the McLarens showing how keen they are to clinch the team’s first title since 1998 as Leclerc led Ferrari’s riposte, taking sixth, six-tenths off the pace.
“Half of the grid is sleeping,” complained Leclerc. “They’re in the way.”
Norris trimmed his lap to 1:23.517 with Piastri two-tenths behind ahead of Hulkenberg, Sainz and Hamilton with 11 minutes remaining. Russell was 13th and Verstappen 17th ahead of the final runs under the lights.