Formula 1

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

by Josh Suttill
2 min read

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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.


Key moments:

> Verstappen three tenths clear after reclaiming RB18 from Lawson

> Usual suspects in top six

> Alpine best of the rest


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

Pos Name Car Best Time Gap Leader
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1m25.146s
2 George Russell Mercedes 1m25.487s +0.341s
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1m25.599s +0.453s
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m25.761s +0.615s
5 Sergio Pérez Red Bull 1m25.852s +0.706s
6 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1m25.932s +0.786s
7 Esteban Ocon Alpine-Renault 1m26.038s +0.892s
8 Fernando Alonso Alpine-Renault 1m26.043s +0.897s
9 Daniel Ricciardo McLaren-Mercedes 1m26.124s +0.978s
10 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 1m26.3s +1.154s
11 Lando Norris McLaren-Mercedes 1m26.377s +1.231s
12 Sebastian Vettel Aston Martin-Mercedes 1m26.395s +1.249s
13 Guanyu Zhou Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 1m26.479s +1.333s
14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin-Mercedes 1m26.547s +1.401s
15 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri-Red Bull 1m26.68s +1.534s
16 Alex Albon Williams-Mercedes 1m26.75s +1.604s
17 Mick Schumacher Haas-Ferrari 1m26.839s +1.693s
18 Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 1m26.915s +1.769s
19 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri-Red Bull 1m27.036s +1.89s
20 Nicholas Latifi Williams-Mercedes 1m27.262s +2.116s
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