“Not a bad day” for Lando Norris, but “nothing to smile about yet”

Both McLaren drivers had a decent practice day at Yas Marina, but expect to find more performance by qualifying

Formula 1 title contenders Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had a decent Friday at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but steer well clear of overconfidence ahead of the decisive sessions.

Norris topped both practice sessions at Yas Marina, outpacing runner-up Max Verstappen by 0.008s in Free Practice 1 and 0.363s in FP2, as the Red Bull driver mounts a title challenge with a 12-point deficit.

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Formula 1F1 Abu Dhabi GP: Lando Norris tops FP2 as Oscar Piastri finishes 11th

“Obviously from the times and everything, things are good at the minute, but I still want a bit more from the car,” Norris commented. “Not completely happy, not completely confident, we're a bit in the middle of trying some different things and trying to understand some things with the car.

“So hopefully some more stuff we can get out of it overnight, but it's not been a bad day for sure. It has been a positive day, but we always know it gets a lot closer going into quali, so nothing to smile about just yet.”

Team-mate Piastri, who is 16 points down on Norris in the championship, had to skip FP1 as McLaren fulfilled the rookie regulations for 2025 with Pato O'Ward in action. Asked if that gave him an edge over Piastri going into Saturday, Norris replied with a sharp “no”.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images

Piastri’s 29 laps yielded the 11th-fastest time in FP2, 0.680s slower than Norris’ benchmark, but the Australian wasn’t overly concerned about his pace.

“I think I got there pretty well on the medium, just the soft, didn't get the most out of the grip on that first timed lap,” he detailed. “Finding my feet I think, but clearly some things to try and improve for tomorrow, but I think after just one session, not too bad.”

Asked if he needed to make big changes or simply little tweaks ahead of FP3 and qualifying, Piastri said: “I think it's more just little details. The car feels like it's in a pretty decent place. Again, just didn't get the grip out of it in that first soft lap, so some small tweaks of course. It didn't feel perfect out there, but nothing major.”

As far as his pole chances are concerned, Piastri labelled them as “pretty good”.

“I think the cars looked quick,” he added. “Just need to get some more laps under my belt and find my feet a bit more, that's all. A few more laps tomorrow, a few more sets of tyres, hopefully we'll be there.”

Watch: F1 Update: Norris hits the ground running in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen “not in a comfortable situation”