McLaren
Piastri sat out for O’Ward in the opening session, but observed proceedings closely from the Pit Wall. He watched his deputy have a decent session, keeping things tidy on both the medium and soft tyres. But more important was watching Norris go fast – the McLaren clearly has speed to burn here, as the Championship leader topped the session. Norris was even quicker in the second session, topping the standings by a healthy margin to get his weekend off to the dream start. But Piastri struggled, making a mistake on both his flying laps on the soft tyre. As such, he was left without a representative time on the C5 rubber, which is far from ideal on such a crucial weekend.
Lando Norris – FP1: 1:24.485, P1; FP2: 1:23.083, P1
“A decent first day in Abu Dhabi, although there’s still a little bit more to find in the car. I’m not completely happy with it just yet, but overall, it’s been a positive day. Nothing to smile about just yet, as we know it gets closer as the weekend goes on, but a good starting point.”
Oscar Piastri – FP2: 1:23.763, P11
“A shorter day for me today, but lots of learning in FP2. The car was in a good window, we just need to make a few tweaks overnight. I was finding my feet towards the end, so we’ll review overnight and head into Quali day in a strong position.”
Pato O’Ward – FP1: 1:25.246, P14
“It was exciting to be back in the car and help the team put our best foot forward, going into what is probably the most important Sunday of the year for the team with Lando and Oscar competing for the Championship. We completed the run plan well, helping Oscar set up the car. Thanks to the team for the opportunity this afternoon, I’m excited to get back in the car on Tuesday for the test.”
Andrea Stella, Team Principal
“A reasonable start to the final weekend of the season, completing the plan across both Free Practice sessions as we intended.
“Oscar was back at the wheel for FP2 and was able to find his references in terms of single lap performance, high fuel running and the tyre behaviour. I’m sure he will be completely ready going into tomorrow when the sessions become competitive.
“Lando was a bit more comfortable in the second session, but as always, Abu Dhabi, the last race of the year, shows that the field is extremely tight. Therefore, we appreciate the competition and need to make sure that we continue to work hard to execute a perfect weekend.
“Well done to Pato for his second session in the MCL39, completing our fourth mandatory young driver appearance of the season. He drove very well, delivering all the information that we required to get the initial readings of the car.”
