Lando Norris tops Abu Dhabi FP1 at the start of the title deciding weekend, finishing just 0.008s ahead of Max Verstappen and 0.016s clear of Charles Leclerc. It was a tiny margin on the timesheets, but a useful early marker from the championship leader as Yas Marina’s final Friday of the season got underway.
Nine rookies joined the session, with only Mercedes and Kick Sauber running their full race line ups. The hour was unrepresentative in terms of conditions, but it still offered the first hints of form before the real homework begins in FP2 under the lights.
Norris tops Abu Dhabi FP1
Norris spent most of the session working through medium and soft compound runs before finally putting together a lap good enough to edge Verstappen at the top of the table with a 1:24.485. The lap was not completely clean, with a snap through Turn 2 on his first soft attempt, but the underlying pace looked strong.
Importantly, Norris enjoyed a full hour in his own car while Oscar Piastri watched from the garage. The Australian sat out FP1 so that McLaren reserve Pato O’Ward could take over, which means one of Norris’s title rivals begins the weekend with fewer laps and less live data than the others.
For a driver who only needs a podium on Sunday to seal the title, opening practice as the benchmark is exactly the kind of calm foundation McLaren will have wanted.
Verstappen right there despite concerns
Verstappen’s Red Bull looked competitive from the start, with the Dutchman moving to the top of the times on the soft tyres midway through the session. He ultimately finished second, just 0.008s shy of Norris, even while complaining over the radio that something might be “broken” on the car and that the problem was “everywhere”.
On board, the RB21 looked busy over the bumps with visible bottoming and sparks, but the lap times remained strong. Verstappen logged a healthy number of laps, edging towards half race distance, which will give Red Bull valuable data on tyre behaviour in the hotter daytime conditions.
On pure performance, there was nothing in it between the two title protagonists in FP1. The real question will be how much the team can tidy up the car before the crucial FP2 long runs.
Leclerc fast on paper, frustrated in reality
Ferrari’s headline result looked encouraging. Charles Leclerc finished third only 0.016s off Norris and within a whisker of Verstappen. Underneath the stopwatch, though, the mood was less positive.
Leclerc reported “zero grip” and complained that the car felt slow during his race sim runs. It fits the trend of recent races where Ferrari’s one lap flashes have not always translated into comfortable race pace. Even so, a top three FP1 is a better starting point than they have had at several rounds this year.
On the other side of the garage, Arthur Leclerc made his FP1 appearance for Ferrari and finished down the order after a spin at Turn 5 on his soft run, prompting a joking radio comment from his older brother about “burnouts” for the crowd.
Mercedes, Sauber and the midfield stories
Behind the top three, Kimi Antonelli continued his strong end to the season. The Mercedes rookie finished fourth, just over a tenth off Norris, while George Russell ended the session in sixth after his own soft tyre run. With Mercedes targeting second in the Constructors’ standings, both cars looked in the mix on single lap pace.
Nico Hulkenberg split the Mercedes pair in fifth for Kick Sauber, with team mate Gabriel Bortoleto in seventh to give the team a quietly impressive start to the weekend. Franco Colapinto rounded out the top ten for Alpine, behind Ollie Bearman and Carlos Sainz.
Bearman’s session was more complicated than the timing sheet suggests. The Haas driver reported a loss of power early on, limped back to the pits, and was eventually told to retire the car with what the team later described as a sensor related issue. Ryo Hirakawa, in the other Haas, had a cleaner run on hards and mediums and finished just outside the top ten.
Nine rookies, one busy FP1
Abu Dhabi FP1 looked like a junior showcase at times. The nine rookies in action were:
- Pato O’Ward in for Piastri at McLaren
- Arvid Lindblad in for Tsunoda at Red Bull, days after being confirmed as a Racing Bulls driver for 2026
- Luke Browning at Williams, dealing with early radio issues
- Ayumu Iwasa at Racing Bulls
- Arthur Leclerc at Ferrari
- Ryo Hirakawa at Haas
- Paul Aron at Alpine
- Jack Crawford and Cian Shields at Aston Martin
There were a few nervy moments, including a close call between Crawford and Shields and a big snap for Aron, but crucially all of the rookies kept the cars out of the walls. Teams got their required rookie mileage, and the race drivers will get their machinery back intact for FP2.
What FP1 really tells us
With track temperatures in the low 30s and the session held in full daylight, FP1 in Abu Dhabi is always a little misleading. Qualifying and the race will be run at dusk, on a much cooler and grippier track.
Even so, a few themes stand out:
- Norris is comfortable straight away and looks sharp on both mediums and softs
- Verstappen is right in the fight despite still not being fully happy with the car
- Ferrari have speed, but Leclerc’s comments suggest the balance is still fragile
- Mercedes, Sauber and Williams all look close enough to play a role in strategy and traffic on Sunday
FP2 will give the clearest picture of genuine race pace once the sun sets and the long runs begin. For now, though, Norris tops Abu Dhabi FP1 and sends the first clear message of the final weekend.
The title decider has started with the smallest of margins.
