Norris pips Verstappen in opening practice in Abu Dhabi
Championship leader Lando Norris fractionally usurped reigning world champion Max Verstappen in the opening one-hour practice at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The final race weekend kicked off with a session in which a total of nine race drivers sat out the on-track action. It meant that nine rookie drivers were able to take part in the opening hour of running, with Oscar Piastri having also sat out of the session.
Championship leader Lando Norris set the pace in a rookie-dominated opening practice at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix while his nearest challenger Max Verstappen ended up just 0.008s behind in second place.
His team-mate Yuki Tsunoda had handed his car over to Arvid Lindblad, who finished the session in P15 while Patricio O'Ward, who piloted Oscar Piastri's McLaren ended up a spot higher up.
Hot on the heels of their disastrous weekend in Qatar, Ferrari returned to form, with Charles Leclerc having ended up third, only 0.016s behind Norris despite a late spin.
Mercedes drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell looked strong through the opneing session, having ended up fourth and sixth quickest, respectively, with Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg having slotted in between the Italian and the British driver.
Gabriel Bortoleto took an impressive seventh place to complete a strong session for Kick Sauber which is competing this weekend for the very last time under this identity.
Ollie Bearman finished eighth despite sensor issues in his Haas, while Carlos Sainz and Franco Colapinto rounded out a top-10 covered by less than four tenths of a second for Williams and Alpine respectively.
Ryo Hirakawa in the Haas claimed P11, leading Isack Hadjar, Alpine’s Paul Aron, Patricio O’Ward and Arvid Lindblad. Completing the classification were Arthur Leclerc, Ayumu Iwasa for Racing Bulls, Luke Browning for Williams, while Aston Martin's two young drivers Jak Crawford and Cian Shields brought up the rear of the field.
