Lando Norris led championship rival Max Verstappen again in second practice at the Yas Marina, by a wider margin than he did earlier in the day.

The championship leader’s pace-setting lap of 1’23.083 was over a third of a second faster than Verstappen’s best.

Their pair briefly encountered each other on the track earlier in the session when Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase gave him mixed messages over whether Norris, behind was on a flying lap. “What is this guys doing?” asked Norris after passing Verstappen at turn one. “I almost crashed.” The stewards ruled the incident did not need to be investigated.

Oscar Piastri, Norris’s team mate and the third championship contender, joined the track for the first time this weekend after missing the opening session, but did not appear in the top 10. Piastri abandoned an early run on the soft tyres to make a balance change, then locked up heavily at turn six on his final attempt.

As in the first practice session, five different cars appeared in the top five places. George Russell lapped just a hundredth of a second slower than Verstappen’s Red Bull.

Oliver Bearman was delighted by his Haas’s performance as he set the fourth-fastest time. “Mate, the car is insane,” he told race engineer Ronan O’Hare. “I don’t know how it’s so good.”

The Sauber pair came next, setting a strong pace in the final race for the team in its original identity. Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto both lapped within half a second of Norris’s time.

Ferrari were therefore slower than both of their customer teams. Isack Hadjar’s Racing Bulls demoted Charles Leclerc to eighth place. The top 10 was completed by Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin and Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the second Mercedes.

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2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix second practice result

P. # Driver Team Model Time Gap
1 4 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes MCL39 1’23.083
2 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull-Honda RBPT RB21 1’23.446 0.363
3 63 George Russell Mercedes W16 1’23.462 0.379
4 87 Oliver Bearman Haas-Ferrari VF-25 1’23.501 0.418
5 27 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari C45 1’23.550 0.467
6 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber-Ferrari C45 1’23.570 0.487
7 6 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT 02 1’23.657 0.574
8 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari SF-25 1’23.658 0.575
9 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin-Mercedes AMR25 1’23.708 0.625
10 12 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes W16 1’23.750 0.667
11 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren-Mercedes MCL39 1’23.763 0.680
12 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Mercedes AMR25 1’23.832 0.749
13 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Williams-Mercedes FW47 1’23.872 0.789
14 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari SF-25 1’23.939 0.856
15 23 Alexander Albon Williams-Mercedes FW47 1’23.950 0.867
16 31 Esteban Ocon Haas-Ferrari VF-25 1’23.958 0.875
17 22 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull-Honda RBPT RB21 1’24.303 1.220
18 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls-Honda RBPT 02 1’24.474 1.391
19 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine-Renault A525 1’24.771 1.688
20 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine-Renault A525 1’24.963 1.880

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2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

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