F1: Verstappen tops Abu Dhabi GP Practice 2

After missing opening practice while F2 driver Liam Lawson was driving his car and damaging the underbody, World Champion Max Verstappen turned a lap of 1m25.146s in his Red Bull Honda to top incident-free Practice 2 for the Abu Dhabi GP at Yas Marina.

Practice 2 took place in more representative evening conditions.

George Russell, continuing his excellent form from Brazil, was 2nd quick for Mercedes, 0.341s behind the Dutchman after encountering traffic in the final sector of his push lap on the red-marked rubber, prompting an apology from his engineer, to which he replied: “No problemo. As long as it’s not there tomorrow!”

Russell is 25 points ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton and looks to beat him in driver points in only his first year with the Mercedes team.

Charles Leclerc was 3rd quick for Ferrari, 0.453s behind, but more importantly ahead of Sergio Perez in 5th. Both are tied for 2nd in the point standings going into this final race.

Lewis Hamilton was 4th in the 2nd Mercedes, 0.615s behind, while Sergio Perez rounded out the top-5 in the 2nd Red Bull Honda, 0.706s slower than his teammate in an identical car.

Carlos Sainz Jr. was 6th quick in the #55 Ferrari.

Verstappen was also fast on his long runs compared to Perez, as the reigning champion continues to carry the Red Bull car on his back and Perez just cannot keep up.  If the Red Bull was the best car, They would always run 1-2.

Fernando Alonso and his Sebastian Vettel tribute helmet took eighth, just behind teammate Esteban Ocon, as McLaren pair Daniel Ricciardo and Norris placed ninth and 11th respectively, sandwiching Valtteri Bottas, who kept his Alfa Romeo in the top 10.

Pierre Gasly and Nicholas Latifi brought up the rear in their AlphaTauri and Williams machines, with the field covered by just over two seconds around the 5.281km circuit.

Practice 2 Results