Norris tops FP2 in Abu Dhabi ahead of Verstappen, Piastri plays catch-up

It was a clean-sweep on Friday for championship leader Lando Norris, who was the driver to beat in both practice sessions. Max Verstappen and George Russell followed in second and third for FP2, while Oscar Piastri found himself on the back foot in 11th after missing FP1.

Credit: Formula One

Formula One returns for one last time in 2025, making its final stop at the Yas Marina Circuit for what is set to be the biggest weekend in the sport since the last time we had multiple drivers in contention for the Drivers’ title at the season finale, back in 2010.

With the rookie-filled FP1 checked off, teams regrouped for the final FP2 session of 2025 under the setting sun of Abu Dhabi, ready to go out again under conditions more representative of qualifying.

As it Happened

The usual one hour of practice began with most of the field bolting on the medium tyres, while Ollie Bearman took on the soft compounds setting a 1:24.744.

10 minutes into the session, title contender Max Verstappen was noted for impeding championship leader Lando Norris, while Verstappen’s future teammate Isack Hadjar set the fastest time on the soft tyre with a 1:24.167.

While the case of impeding turned out to be a non-issue, Verstappen darting out of Norris’ way after a late call from his race engineer, Norris was clearly unimpressed with his key title rival. 

The fastest driver on the medium compound was Verstappen, three tenths adrift of Hadjar.

It was a melee of teams running both low-fuel and high-fuel runnings, with this session’s timings set one hour before qualifying and right during Sunday’s race timings.

The McLaren pair were both on the medium tyres, Norris now the quickest on the C4 compound. Bearman was the fastest car on track, after an FP1 session riddled with mechanical issues, with a 1:23.968, followed by Hadjar, Norris, Leclerc and Verstappen.

Piastri, who sat out FP1 and was now playing catch-up to his title rivals, lingered in seventh still on the medium tyres.

At this stage, Verstappen switched over to the softs, going fastest of the session with a 1:23.446, despite not maximising his first sector.

Meanwhile, a dicey moment in the pits between Bearman and the Sauber garage releasing Gabriel Bortoleto was reported by the Haas driver over the radio.

As the session hit the 30-minute mark, most of the field had switched over to the softs, Norris going quickest with a 1:23.083. Piastri was the next to set his first push lap on the C5 compound, but was nowhere near Norris and Verstappen sitting in first and second, the Australian managing only 10th after an error in Turn 1.

It was a bumpy evening for the Williams pair of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, the Thai driver reporting engine misfires and Qatar’s podium-finisher Sainz experiencing bottoming as well as weird snaps through Turn 2.

As for the rest of the mid-field teams, Bearman remained comfortably within the top five, genuinely praising his team for an “insane” car, while Sauber were doing well to hold onto fifth and sixth on the board.

With under 20 minutes to go, all 20 drivers were running the soft tyres, now fully running qualifying simulations on track under the most representative conditions of the session.

Credit: Formula One

Albon’s PU troubles continued throughout the session, the Williams driver sitting in 15th, while up the road, George Russell slotted into third, three tenths behind Verstappen.

With under ten minutes to go, Piastri and Verstappen took back to the mediums, as traffic on track became busier.

Antonelli and Esteban Ocon were reviewed for impeding, while Bortoleto found “the big Leclerc” hindering his run, the radio message making a cheeky callback to FP1 when Charles Leclerc’s brother Arthur Leclerc, stepping in as a rookie, was referred to as “Leclerc junior” over the Red Bull airwaves.

As the final minutes of practice ticked down and traffic once again ramped up, Norris remained the one to beat followed by Verstappen, Russell, Bearman and Nico Hülkenberg.

Bortoleto, Hadjar, Leclerc, Alonso and Antonelli rounded out the top 10, with Piastri in 11th still warming up over the session after missing out on FP1.

Looking Ahead

The final practice session will get underway at 10:30 GMT on Saturday, ahead of the all-important qualifying session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Norris looks to be the most complete driver thus far, topping both Friday sessions, three tenths ahead of Verstappen in FP2.

Piastri meanwhile will hope to join his rivals at the top tomorrow to put up a fight in this title battle, while the other teams of Mercedes, Ferrari and even Sauber and Haas all look poised to shakeup this championship with potentially more qualifying surprises or unexpected podiums.