McLaren may have dominated the first practice session on Friday in Abu Dhabi, but it was Sebastian Vettel who finished the day quickest as he took charge in second practice.
The Red Bull driver and winner of the previous four races posted a 1:41.751 to topple Lewis Hamilton’s quickest time in second by 0.168s.
The second McLaren of Jenson Button was a further six tenths back, just ahead of the second Red Bull of Mark Webber with the foursome looking in charge around the Yas Marina circuit.
Lotus were in good form with Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen occupying fifth and sixth ahead of the Ferrari duo led by Fernando Alonso.
![Aston Martin managed its first race finish of 2026 with Fernando Alonso [behind] completing the distance](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Aston-Martin-Honda-Japanese-GP-120x86.webp)
Several drivers span during their laps, including Vitaly Petrov and Narain Karthikeyan, though all managed to recover to the track with Jean-Eric Vergne completing the fewest laps at 26.
FP2 Results for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix:
| # | No. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 1 | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:41.751 | 34 | |
| 02 | 4 | L. Hamilton | McLaren | 1:41.919 | 0.168 | 34 |
| 03 | 3 | J. Button | McLaren | 1:42.412 | 0.661 | 36 |
| 04 | 2 | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:42.466 | 0.715 | 21 |
| 05 | 10 | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 1:42.500 | 0.749 | 34 |
| 06 | 9 | K. Raikkonen | Lotus | 1:42.532 | 0.781 | 28 |
| 07 | 5 | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:42.587 | 0.836 | 31 |
| 08 | 6 | F. Massa | Ferrari | 1:42.823 | 1.072 | 33 |
| 09 | 18 | P. Maldonado | Williams | 1:42.998 | 1.247 | 37 |
| 10 | 15 | S. Perez | Sauber | 1:43.106 | 1.355 | 36 |
| 11 | 19 | B. Senna | Williams | 1:43.191 | 1.440 | 34 |
| 12 | 8 | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:43.200 | 1.449 | 32 |
| 13 | 12 | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:43.255 | 1.504 | 34 |
| 14 | 7 | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:43.267 | 1.516 | 32 |
| 15 | 11 | P. di Resta | Force India | 1:43.578 | 1.827 | 34 |
| 16 | 14 | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | 1:43.689 | 1.938 | 32 |
| 17 | 16 | D. Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1:44.260 | 2.509 | 27 |
| 18 | 17 | J. Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1:45.073 | 3.254 | 19 |
| 19 | 21 | V. Petrov | Caterham | 1:45.245 | 3.494 | 36 |
| 20 | 20 | H. Kovalainen | Caterham | 1:45.782 | 4.031 | 33 |
| 21 | 24 | T. Glock | Marussia | 1:46.589 | 4.838 | 36 |
| 22 | 25 | C. Pic | Marussia | 1:46.671 | 4.920 | 32 |
| 23 | 22 | P. de la Rosa | HRT | 1:46.707 | 4.956 | 26 |
| 24 | 23 | N. Karthikeyan | HRT | 1:47.406 | 5.655 | 35 |
![Aston Martin managed its first race finish of 2026 with Fernando Alonso [behind] completing the distance](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Aston-Martin-Honda-Japanese-GP-350x250.webp)
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