What went on in second practice for F1’s Abu Dhabi finale

The 2022 Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen topped the final Friday practice session of the season in Abu Dhabi, leading Brazilian Grand Prix winner George Russell.

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Key moments:

> Verstappen three tenths clear after reclaiming RB18 from Lawson

> Usual suspects in top six

> Alpine best of the rest

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Verstappen sat out FP1 as Liam Lawson fulfilled Red Bull’s young driver practice quota, but the two-time champion wasted little time in acclimatising to the circuit where he’d won his first F1 title last year.

FP2 provided the drivers with their first chance to tackle the track in representative evening conditions compared to the daytime afternoon FP1 session.

Verstappen fired in a series of improvements and ended up with a 1m25.146s, which beat Russell by 0.341s and outpaced Verstappen’s early-2022 title rival Leclerc by just under half a second.

FP1 pacesetter Lewis Hamilton – one weekend away from losing his record of winning a race in every season he’s competed in – completed the top four in the other Mercedes, albeit over six tenths off Verstappen.

Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez fell seven tenths shy in fifth place, ahead of Carlos Sainz in his first session of the weekend after Robert Shwartzman drove his Ferrari in FP1.

The Alpines finished in seventh and eighth with Esteban Ocon 0.005s faster than Fernando Alonso while Daniel Ricciardo ended his last FP2 session with McLaren in ninth place.

Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas rounded out the top 10, just 0.077s clear of Lando Norris in the other McLaren.

Sebastian Vettel was 12th-fastest in what’s likely to be his final ever FP2, ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu and his Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll.

Practice 2 Results