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.

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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:

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
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