After the first practice session in Abu Dhabi, championship leader Lando Norris was just 0.008s faster than Max Verstappen – but that gap grew to 0.363s in the second session. That is concerning for Red Bull on two fronts: firstly that set-up changes between the sessions failed to have the desired effect, and also that the second session is far more representative than the first because track conditions are closer to those likely in qualifying.
Norris's McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, now third in the championship but very much in contention on points, had to skip FP1 while Mexican IndyCar star Pato O'Ward completed the team's mandatory rookie running. He then had a scrappy FP2 in which he was 11th fastest.
