LANDO NORRIS TOPS OPENING PRACTICE IN ABU DHABI
Lando Norris started the title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend in the best way possible by going fastest in first practice. The McLaren driver finished ahead of his championship rival Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
The first practice session at Yas Marina was full of new faces, with nine rookie drivers taking part. Only Mercedes and Kick Sauber used their usual drivers. Because of the rookie rule, Oscar Piastri had to give up his car, and McLaren reserve driver Pato O’Ward drove instead. At Red Bull, Yuki Tsunoda stepped aside so Arvid Lindblad, an F2 driver who will race for Racing Bulls in 2026, could take part.
Isack Hadjar, who Lindblad will replace at Racing Bulls next year when Hadjar moves to Red Bull, was the first to go out on track when practice began at 13:30 local time. All cars were on track within minutes, making the start very busy.
Hadjar soon showed signs of frustration when he got stuck behind Luke Browning’s Williams. Browning also had problems and told his team that his radio was not working.
About 15 minutes into the session, Carlos Sainz in the Williams set the fastest lap with a 1:25.712. Norris was very close behind, only 0.052s slower.
Times kept improving, and the top spot changed hands often. At Haas, Ollie Bearman reported he was losing power. His engineer told him there was a leak in the car. Bearman managed to return to the pits, while Browning came back out after his radio was fixed.
Halfway through the session, Hadjar briefly went fastest, but Verstappen then took P1 with a 1:24.493 on soft tyres. George Russell also switched to the soft tyres and moved into second place, 0.240s behind Verstappen. Kimi Antonelli soon went third for Mercedes.
Norris had a small moment at Turn 2 during his first quick lap on soft tyres, but the lap was still good enough to put him second behind Verstappen.
Aston Martin almost had a crash when Jak Crawford came up behind Cian Shields while on a fast lap. At Haas, Bearman’s earlier problem came back and got worse, so the team retired his car for the rest of the session. They later said it was caused by a sensor issue.
With 15 minutes left, Norris was fastest with a 1:24.485, just 0.008s ahead of Verstappen. Charles Leclerc was third, while his younger brother Arthur was down in 18th.
Verstappen told his team that something felt “broken” on his RB21, saying the problem was “everywhere,” but he stayed out on track. Charles Leclerc spun at Turn 5.
In the final minutes, no one beat Norris’s earlier time. Verstappen stayed second and Charles Leclerc third. Antonelli finished fourth and Russell sixth, with Nico Hulkenberg between them in fifth for Kick Sauber.
Hulkenberg’s teammate Gabriel Bortoleto took seventh. Behind them came Bearman, Sainz, and Franco Colapinto in the Alpine completing the top 10. Ryo Hirakawa was 11th, followed by Hadjar, Alpine’s Paul Aron, O’Ward, and Lindblad. Then came Arthur Leclerc, Ayumu Iwasa, Browning, Crawford, and Shields.
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