Championship leader Lando Norris beat title challenger Max Verstappen for top spot during the opening practice session of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Norris set the benchmark at 1:24.485 seconds with his third flying lap on a set of soft tires after his first attempt to set a time was ruined by a spin at Turn 2. It was enough to beat Verstappen’s first attempt, but not by much, with the championship contenders separated by just 0.008 seconds.
Charles Leclerc completed the top three for Ferrari just 0.016 seconds further back, while Kimi Antonelli ensured all four frontrunners were represented in the top four by falling 0.123 seconds behind.
The session was remarkably tight, although FP1 is one of only two sessions held in daylight, meaning conditions were not representative of night qualifying and the twilight Grand Prix. Nevertheless, it raised expectations that the championship decider could be a closely contested match.
However, it wasn’t all plain sailing for the leaders, with Verstappen complaining late in the hour that “there might be something broken in the car”, but when asked to pinpoint where the problem was, he vaguely replied that the problem was “everywhere”.
Norris also curiously started the session with sporty flow-vis paint on his rear wing, despite it being a previously used part. His preserved soft tires weren’t his only excursion either; the Briton sailed wide into the first corner late in his final laps while running on plenty of fuel.
Despite his competitive flying lap, Leclerc complained of a lack of race pace, at least in the warm conditions.
“The car just feels like it has no grip,” he wrote over the radio. “It’s unbelievable, I really don’t understand it.”
Nico Hulkenberg was a competitive fifth for Sauber, on his lap he was just 0.144 seconds slower than Norris and Antonelli split ahead of George Russell in the second Mercedes behind him, the Englishman 0.1 second further back.
Gabriel Bortoleto was seventh in the second Sauber, ahead of Oliver Bearman, whose Haas had chronic problems throughout the hour. Initially the team suspected a hydraulic problem, but the Englishman returned to the track shortly afterwards and set the eighth fastest time, just 0.274 seconds slower than Norris. He was then told to take the car out of commission, with the team later explaining that it suspected a sensor problem was behind the problems.
Carlos Sainz finished ninth for Williams, ahead of Franco Colapinto, completing the top 10.
Toyota sports car star Ryo Hirakawa was 11th in the Haas of Esteban Ocon, the veteran who was the fastest of a field of 11 juniors in action in FP1.
Isack Hadjar followed for Racing Bulls, beating Alpine reserve driver Paul Aron in Pierre Gasly’s car.
McLaren IndyCar star Pato O’Ward piloted title contender Oscar Piastri’s car to 14th place.
Arvid Lindblad, announced during the week as Racing Bulls driver for 2026 and currently sixth in the F2 championship, took Yuki Tsunoda’s Racing Bulls car to 15th, ahead of Ferrari development driver Arthur Leclerc, driving Lewis Hamilton’s SF25.
Ayumu Iwasa, the 2025 Super Formula champion, took Liam Lawson’s car to 17th, ahead of Williams reserve driver Luke Browning, fourth in the F2 championship, in Alex Albon’s car.
Browning was the first driver to be more than one second behind Norris’ time in a respectable run of performances from the field.
Aston Martin’s rookie Jak Crawford – the American who finished second in this year’s F2 Championship – and Cian Shields completed the order.
RESULTS
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