McLaren made a perfect start in their bid to secure their first constructors’ title since 1998 at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
McLaren leads Ferrari by 21 points with 44 points to spare and ended Friday practice with a one-two, Lando Norris ahead of Oscar Piastri. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will not start Sunday’s race better than eleventh due to a penalty.
Leclerc suffered a grid loss of ten places as Ferrari had to fit a new battery to his car, exceeding his allowed number of two for the season.
Norris led Piastri by 0.234 seconds ahead of Nico Hulkenberg’s Haas, a surprise third-place finish.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was fourth fastest, 0.582 seconds off the pace, ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, Leclerc and Valtteri Bottas’ Sauber.
The second Haas of Kevin Magnussen was eighth, ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda.
Red Bull struggled for one-lap pace and world champion Max Verstappen, complaining of a lack of front grip, finished the session 17th, three places behind teammate Sergio Perez.
But the race simulation running on full fuel later in the session told a different story. Hamilton then appeared to be the fastest, followed by McLaren, followed by Red Bull and Ferrari.
Williams had a difficult day. Both cars receive a five-place grid penalty for exceeding the permitted number of gearboxes. Albon suffered an engine problem but got out for his fast lap at the end of the session, while Franco Colapinto damaged his floor early in the session by tripping over the curbs at the first corner.
‘Very, very special’ day for Leclercs
Earlier, during the first practice session, Leclerc’s brother Arthur, a Ferrari development driver, drove Carlos Sainz’s car.
It was an emotional day for the entire Leclerc family. Their mother Pascale was in the Ferrari pit and on Thursday Charles Leclerc told what it meant for the family, who lost father Herve to cancer in 2017.
“It’s definitely a very special moment, not just for me, not just for Arthur, but I think for the whole family,” Charles said, “because I can only see how many sacrifices my parents made when I was younger. us to continue.
“They had to put Arthur’s career on hold at one point because they couldn’t afford to pay for both of us. It’s extraordinary how much my father has given to supporting our careers. It’s a dream, for both of us.”
“I know how much it meant to my father to be able to restart Arthur’s career. When he did, he was so happy. That’s also why it’s very special, how much my father gave us to pursue our dream. So it will be a moment that I will definitely remember forever.”
