2024 Abu Dhabi GP FP2: Lando Norris tops Practice Two

Lando Norris spearheaded a McLaren one-two in the second practice session at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as Ferrari’s hopes for the Constructors’ Championship suffered a significant blow following Charles Leclerc’s grid penalty. Ferrari faced the daunting task of a significant recovery at the season finale.

The day started poorly for Ferrari, who entered the weekend trailing McLaren by 21 points. During the first practice session, Leclerc received a 10-place grid penalty for installing a new battery, dealing a critical setback to their title ambitions.

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McLaren capitalised on Ferrari’s misfortune later in the evening during the key second practice session, held under conditions that closely mirror those of qualifying and the race. Norris posted the fastest lap with a time of 1:23.517, outpacing teammate Oscar Piastri by over two-tenths of a second. Both drivers also displayed impressive consistency in their race simulation runs, further underscoring McLaren’s strength.

Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg delivered a surprising performance, finishing third, a couple of tenths behind Norris. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz came in fourth, while Leclerc could only manage sixth. Lewis Hamilton, driving his final race for Mercedes before joining Ferrari in 2025, slotted into fifth.

Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the focal points of attention due to their ongoing off-track feud, both struggled. Russell made an error on his soft-tyre run and finished 13th, while Verstappen, frustrated with his car’s handling, ended the session in 17th. Verstappen, Sainz, and Piastri were among six drivers who skipped the first practice session to accommodate their teams’ young driver obligations.

Amid rumours of an impending exit from Red Bull, Sergio Perez finished 14th. Meanwhile, the contenders to replace him, Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson, delivered solid performances, securing 10th and 11th places for Red Bull’s sister team.

Abu Dhabi GP FP2 Results

2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix FP2, 6 December 2024

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Time	Gap	Laps
1	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	1:23.517		25
2	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren Mercedes	1:23.751	+0.234s	28
3	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas Ferrari	1:23.979	+0.462s	28
4	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	1:24.099	+0.582s	28
5	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:24.119	+0.602s	28
6	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:24.201	+0.684s	28
7	77	Valtteri Bottas	Kick Sauber Ferrari	1:24.230	+0.713s	24
8	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	1:24.235	+0.718s	25
9	23	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	1:24.269	+0.752s	22
10	22	Yuki Tsunoda	RB Honda RBPT	1:24.497	+0.980s	28
11	30	Liam Lawson	RB Honda RBPT	1:24.503	+0.986s	25
12	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine Renault	1:24.517	+1.000s	27
13	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:24.534	+1.017s	24
14	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	1:24.555	+1.038s	27
15	24	Zhou Guanyu	Kick Sauber Ferrari	1:24.557	+1.040s	23
16	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	1:24.574	+1.057s	25
17	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	1:24.598	+1.081s	26
18	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	1:24.686	+1.169s	29
19	61	Jack Doohan	Alpine Renault	1:24.961	+1.444s	27
20	43	Franco Colapinto	Williams Mercedes	1:25.265	+1.748s	10

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Ben is a staff writer specialising in F1 from the 1990s to the modern era. Ben has been following Formula 1 since 1986 and is an avid researcher who loves understanding the technology that makes it one of the most exciting motorsport on the planet. He listens to podcasts about F1 on a daily basis, and enjoys reading books from the inspirational Adrian Newey to former F1 drivers.