Lando Norris leads the way in the final FP2 of 2024 in Abu Dhabi
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Lando Norris has set the pace as the sun set in FP2 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Behind the British driver was teammate Oscar Piastri and Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg. McLaren's championship charge looks in good stead heading into the final qualifying session of the season tomorrow. Ferrari finished further down the field, with Carlos Sainz in 4th and Charles Leclerc in 6th respectively. Championship winner Max Verstappen finished the session down in 17th place.
How FP2 unfolded:
It was back to normality in FP2 as the six rookies were replaced by their respective teams' full-time drivers. Australian Jack Doohan participated in his first FP2 session in Formula 1 for Alpine as he embarks on his first race in the sport. An early lockup at the end of the main straight didn't dampen his spirit. Doohan, who replaced Esteban Ocon after he opted to participate in the post-season test with Haas, finished in 19th place. With the later start time, conditions were more like those which we'll see on Sunday's race, with teams mixing both short and longer runs in the session.
Both Ferrari and McLaren started the sessions strongly. After 20 minutes of running, Lando Norris was at the top of the timesheets, with FP1 pacesetter Charles Leclerc behind him. The Monegasque will have to take a 10-place grid penalty in the final race of the season after his team had to replace his energy store. Max Verstappen, who has one for the last four years in a row here, sat out the first practice session to allow F2 championship challenger and Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar to run. It wasn't smooth sailing for Verstappen in FP2, who complained about the ride of his RB20.
Poor luck continues for Williams:
As the sun set at the Yas Marina Circuit, the majority of drivers began to switch their medium compound tyres for soft tyres. Norris' pace continued to shine through as he went faster with a 1.23.517. His only blemish was a snap of oversteer over the curbs at turn one. The Brit was luckier than Williams' Franco Colapinto, who caused terminal damage to his floor after he ran over the outside curb heavily. The Argentine returned to the pits and sat out the remainder of what looks like his final practice session in F1 for the moment after Red Bull's interest in the youngster waned. Williams' torrid luck continued when Alex Albon suffered from a suspected driveline issue, meaning that he was stuck in third gear before he limped home.
McLaren managed to stay at the top for the remainder of the session. Behind the papaya pairing was Haas' Nico Hulkenberg in what was a positive result for the American team in the German's final race for them. After having a relatively messy session amid understeer struggles, Max Verstappen finished down in 17th place. Teammate Sergio Perez didn't manage to do much better. The Mexican finished in 14th.
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