Lando Norris pipped title rival Max Verstappen by just eight-thousandths of a second in the opening practice session for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Norris enters the final round of the campaign 12 points clear of reigning champion Verstappen as he chases a maiden world title.
Norris’ time of 1:24.485s left him only 0.008s clear of Verstappen during the opening one-hour session, held in largely overcast conditions at the Yas Marina Circuit.
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was third-best, just 0.016s behind pacesetter Norris, and was the only driver to encounter an on-track problem, having had a harmless spin at the hairpin.
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli finished the session in fourth position, as he strives to end his rookie campaign on a high, with team-mate George Russell sixth.
Sauber took fifth and seventh courtesy of Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, while Haas’ Oliver Bearman was eighth but had a compromised session.
Bearman completed the fewest laps of any driver amid a suspected hydraulics issue on his Haas VF-25.
Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto rounded out a top 10 covered by less than four-tenths of a second.
05.12.2025. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 24, Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, Practice Day.
– www.xpbimages.com, EMail: requests@xpbimages.com © Copyright: Moy / XPB Images
The opening session in Abu Dhabi is often unrepresentative owing to the different conditions compared to qualifying and the race.
As a result nine non-race drivers participated in the session as the remaining rookie runs were fulfilled by several teams.
Haas reserve Ryo Hirakawa was the quickest, coming within a tenth of a spot inside the top 10.
Paul Aron returned to Alpine duties and was 13th, ahead of McLaren regular Pato O’Ward, and Racing Bulls’ 2026 driver Arvid Lindblad, who replaced outgoing Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda in the RB21.
Arthur Leclerc returned to Ferrari to drive alongside other brother Charles, while newly-crowned Super Formula champion Ayumu Iwasa had an outing for Racing Bulls.
Williams’ Luke Browning and Aston Martin’s Jak Crawford also competed, while Formula 2 backmarker Cian Shields made his FP1 debut with Aston Martin.
Discussion about this post