Lando Norris demonstrated strong pace in the F1 Abu Dhabi GP practice sessions. He led championship rival Max Verstappen by 0.008s in the first session. This gap widened to 0.363s in the second session. Red Bull finds this concerning. Their setup changes between sessions did not achieve the desired effect. The second session’s track conditions better represent qualifying.
According to Jadeh Makhsoos News Agency, Oscar Piastri, Norris’s McLaren teammate, skipped FP1. Mexican IndyCar star Pato O’Ward completed the team’s mandatory rookie running. Piastri, now third in the championship, then had a challenging FP2. He finished 11th fastest.
Last year, Norris won from pole position. Verstappen, starting fifth, clipped Piastri on the opening lap. Norris currently holds a 12-point lead over Verstappen in the championship. If Norris qualifies on pole and takes the lead, Red Bull needs McLaren to fumble at the F1 Abu Dhabi GP.
This remains a possibility. McLaren experienced a double disqualification in Las Vegas. They also had a bizarre strategy misfire in Qatar. However, Red Bull does not want to rely on McLaren making another mistake.
Jadeh Makhsoos reports, Red Bull driver advisor Helmut Marko stated, “We would be lucky, but we cannot rely three times on mistakes.” He added, “We must fight from our own strengths.” This appears a tenuous proposition. Red Bull has a history of improving its car overnight.
Red Bull habitually runs lower engine modes on Fridays. Verstappen lost significant time compared with Norris in sector three. Slow 90-degree corners in this sector amplify the RB21’s tendency to understeer. This factor became more prominent.
Marko attributed the larger FP2 gap to “set-up changes that did not deliver the effect we hoped for.” He noted Verstappen has previously lagged further behind after practice. “We are losing more time in sector three now,” Marko said. “Several factors are at play, but it is Friday – we have had worse Fridays.”
Verstappen immediately reported the car was understeering. It also experienced some bouncing. Marko expressed hope for improvement in the next session. He considered the three-tenths gap “not alarming, but not a very comfortable situation.”
Mercedes and Ferrari being closer could aid Verstappen’s cause. This might disrupt McLaren’s strategic choices or cost them points. Charles Leclerc did this in the US GP. George Russell also did it in Bahrain. However, Marko dismissed this possibility. He stated, “I do not see any of them as quick enough.”
Tyre strategy remains Red Bull’s main lever. Red Bull saved an extra set of medium-compound Pirellis on Friday. McLaren saved a set of hards by not running them in FP2. Marko believed Verstappen experienced more degradation on the medium-compound tyres than Norris. On this track, graining on the more heavily stressed tires triggers degradation, a crucial factor for the F1 Abu Dhabi GP.