Rival’s brutal title blow is big win for Piastri’s McLaren as feud between F1 giants escalates

British driver Lando Norris led Australian team-mate Oscar Piastri in second practice as McLaren turned up the heat in their bid to secure the constructors’ title at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

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Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc had topped the opening practice session at the Yas Marina Circuit ahead of Norris and Lewis Hamilton, but the Monegasque driver was then penalised for taking a new battery pack on his car.

Leclerc’s 10-place grid penalty for Monday morning’s (AEDT) race compromises the Italian team’s bid to capture a first constructors’ title since 2008.

“We’ve got to do something special and to overperform,” said Leclerc, having conceded that McLaren’s pace was exceptional.

Ferrari need to overturn a 21-point deficit on leaders McLaren, who last won the constructors’ title in 1998, this weekend.

Norris clocked one minute and 23.517 seconds to beat Piastri by two-tenths of a second, ahead of third-placed Nico Hulkenberg of Haas.

“We still have a tough fight tomorrow. It probably looks better than it is for us,” said Norris.

“We’ve continued with the good pace we had from Qatar and it feels strong, but the others haven’t turned up their engines yet.”

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Norris added: “We’re still trying to find the balance. It’s nothing huge. Small things to get the balance between being quicker and saving the tyres, especially on the longer runs.”

Carlos Sainz was fourth fastest in the second Ferrari followed by seven-time champion Hamilton, the British driver in his last race weekend with Mercedes.

Leclerc was sixth in the second Ferrari ahead of Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen in the second Haas, Williams’ Alex Albon and RB’s Yuki Tsunoda.

Leclerc, who was accompanied by his brother Arthur, an F1 rookie, in opening practice, was forced to take a new battery pack, his third of the season for which only two units are allocated in the regulations.

Williams duo Albon and Franco Colapinto face five-place penalties for exceeding gearbox components usage.

The feuding pair George Russell of Mercedes and Red Bull’s newly-crowned four-time world champion Max Verstappen struggled to find the pace and wound up 13th and 17th, respectively, in a largely uneventful twilight session.

“Not good,” said Verstappen, who had announced earlier that he is to become a father for the first time with his partner Kelly Piquet, daughter of Brazil’s triple world champion Nelson Piquet.

“The balance is off and there is no connection in mid-corner so it is difficult to push and we need to work it overnight,” said the Dutch driver.

“I’m sure we can do better, but maybe not to the McLaren level. If we can get into the top six, that would be a great recovery.”

His teammate Sergio Perez, under pressure to save his seat, agreed. “It’s tricky,” he said. “Especially on one lap. We have some work to do on the long runs. It isn’t coming together.”

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The second session began in cooling conditions after a hot day as the sun set in Abu Dhabi, RB’s Liam Lawson setting the early pace in 1:25.537, before Leclerc took over and then Norris.

Hamilton slotted into second to repeat the top three from opening practice. Verstappen, complaining about his front axle performance, had sat out the earlier run as his baby news was confirmed in a social media post.

“The understeer is ridiculous,” reported the Dutchman on team radio, while Russell, with whom he has fallen out in spectacular, acrimonious fashion, said his “cockpit is still reasonably toasty”, referring to the temperature of 27 degrees Celsius (80.6 Fahrenheit).

Between the sessions, Red Bull’s chief Christian Horner had hit back at Mercedes boss Toto Wolff’s description of him as a “yapping little terrier” for interfering in the Verstappen-Russell feud by describing the Mercedes driver as “hysterical”.

“I love terriers,” said Horner.

“I think they’re great dogs. I’ve had four. I’d rather be a terrier than a wolf.”

Full FP2 results

1. Lando Norris McLaren 1:23.517

2. Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.234

3. Nico Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team +0.462

4. Carlos Sainz Ferrari +0.582

5. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +0.602

6. Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.684

7. Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber +0.713

8. Kevin Magnussen Haas F1 Team +0.718

9. Alexander Albon Williams +0.752