McLaren locked out the front row of the grid in qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year.

Pole-winner Lando Norris was 0.35 seconds quicker than Max Verstappen, who took fourth on the grid. The Red Bull driver was almost as far behind again today, lapping 0.363s off the McLaren.

Recent form indicates Red Bull should narrow that gap in Saturday’s crucial qualifying session. But all three championship contenders will have to stay sharp as the midfield contest is close.

Teams’ 2024 performance in context

McLaren were comfortably quickest last year ahead of Ferrari, as the two teams went into the final round competing for the constructors’ championship.

Verstappen took fourth on the grid despite being surprisingly out-paced by Nico Hulkenberg in the Haas. A grid penalty cost Hulkenberg his place on the second row.

Teams’ progress vs 2024

Ferrari do not look likely to repeat their second-best performance based on their performance on Friday. No team lapped quicker than they did last year, but Ferrari were further off their 2024 pace than any team bar Alpine.

Remarkably, Ferrari were slower than both their customer teams, Haas and Sauber, on Friday. Oliver Bearman expressed genuine joy on the radio as his lap times hinted that a repeat of last year’s surprise qualifying performance is on the cards for the team.

But Hulkenberg looked scarcely any slower at the team he left Haas to join, Sauber, and was backed up by team mate Gabriel Bortoleto in the top six.

Both look likely to give regular Q3 contenders Williams and Racing Bulls a serious run. And as the championship contenders navigate Q1 and Q2, they cannot afford to be complacent about the potential threat from the midfield.

Only one week ago Verstappen was relegated to sixth on the grid for the sprint race in Losail by, among others, Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin. That’s not a scenario he or any of the other title contenders would welcome tomorrow.

Combined practice times

P. # Driver Team FP1 time FP2 time Gap Laps
1 4 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 1’24.485 1’23.083 56
2 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull-Honda RBPT 1’24.493 1’23.446 0.363 61
3 63 George Russell Mercedes 1’24.733 1’23.462 0.379 58
4 87 Oliver Bearman Haas-Ferrari 1’24.759 1’23.501 0.418 42
5 27 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1’24.629 1’23.550 0.467 56
6 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber-Ferrari 1’24.742 1’23.570 0.487 57
7 6 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT 1’24.977 1’23.657 0.574 60
8 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1’24.501 1’23.658 0.575 59
9 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin-Mercedes 1’23.708 0.625 27
10 12 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1’24.608 1’23.750 0.667 59
11 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes 1’23.763 0.680 29
12 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Mercedes 1’23.832 0.749 29
13 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Williams-Mercedes 1’24.771 1’23.872 0.789 58
14 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1’23.939 0.856 29
15 23 Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes 1’23.950 0.867 32
16 31 Esteban Ocon Haas-Ferrari 1’23.958 0.875 27
17 22 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull-Honda RBPT 1’24.303 1.220 29
18 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT 1’24.474 1.391 32
19 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine-Renault 1’24.855 1’24.771 1.688 56
20 50 Ryo Hirakawa Haas-Ferrari 1’24.934 1.851 28
21 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine-Renault 1’24.963 1.880 30
22 61 Paul Aron Alpine-Renault 1’25.204 2.121 27
23 89 Pato O’Ward McLaren-Mercedes 1’25.246 2.163 28
24 36 Arvid Lindblad Red Bull-Honda RBPT 1’25.256 2.173 26
25 39 Arthur Leclerc Ferrari 1’25.360 2.277 27
26 40 Ayumu Iwasa Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT 1’25.475 2.392 30
27 46 Luke Browning Williams-Mercedes 1’25.490 2.407 18
28 35 Jak Crawford Aston Martin-Mercedes 1’25.889 2.806 24
29 34 Cian Shields Aston Martin-Mercedes 1’26.432 3.349 22

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