2025 Abu Dhabi GP FP1: Norris edges Verstappen as rookies flood the field

The final chapter of the 2025 F1 World Championship got underway in the Abu Dhabi sun as Lando Norris set the benchmark in Free Practice 1, the McLaren driver narrowly outpacing chief title rival Max Verstappen by just 0.008s, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completing the top three on the first leaderboard of the weekend.

The hour-long opener at the Yas Marina Circuit had an unmistakable end-of-season flavour, with nine rookies taking part — the most we have seen all year — as teams completed their mandatory young-driver sessions. Only Mercedes and Kick Sauber ran their established line-ups, while everywhere else the next generation took the spotlight.

Formula One History Recommends

• 

  2025 Abu Dhabi GP FP2: Norris stays on top under the lights

• 

  2025 Abu Dhabi GP FP3: Russell snatches P1 as Hamilton crashes

• 

  2025 Abu Dhabi GP Qualifying: Verstappen delivers pole Ahead of Norris and Piastri

• 

  2025 Abu Dhabi Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

For title protagonist Oscar Piastri, however, the timing couldn’t be worse. The Australian was forced to surrender his cockpit for FP1, meaning he starts this title-deciding weekend already one hour down on Norris and Verstappen in track time. His seat went to McLaren reserve Pato O’Ward, while over at Red Bull, regular driver Yuki Tsunoda sat out so rising F2 star Arvid Lindblad — already signed for Racing Bulls in 2026 — could make his first official Grand Prix weekend appearance.

Isack Hadjar, the man Lindblad will replace at the Red Bull-aligned squad next season, led the field out of the pit lane when the clock hit 13:30 local time. With all 20 cars circulating within minutes, visibility and space were at a premium. Hadjar was soon seen waving impatience at Luke Browning’s Williams, as Browning — making his fourth FP1 outing — reported early radio issues.

As the first proper laps came in, Carlos Sainz — fresh from his Qatar podium — struck early with a 1m 25.712s, putting his Williams briefly on top before Norris slotted just 0.052s behind.

The early Sainz benchmark didn’t stand long. Lap times fell sharply as the session found rhythm and the traffic cleared. Trouble then struck Ollie Bearman, who radioed a loss of power before Haas confirmed a “leak” on the car. The Brit crawled back to the pits while Williams worked to restore Browning’s comms so he could rejoin.

Halfway in, Hadjar appeared ready to claim bragging rights — until Verstappen bolted on the C5 Soft compound and delivered a 1m 24.493s to seize P1. George Russell responded on the same tyre, climbing to second, 0.240s shy of Verstappen, before Kimi Antonelli put his Mercedes into third as the Silver Arrows begin a crucial weekend in their fight to secure P2 in the Constructors’ Championship.

Norris’ first flyers on soft tyres were lively — a sharp snap through Turn 2 — but even with the moment, the lap was good enough to shuffle himself into P2.

There were rookie tensions at Aston Martin too — Jak Crawford arriving fast on Cian Shields as the pair crossed lines on very different laps. Bearman briefly returned but quickly reported a worsening condition, forcing Haas to retire the car due to what they later confirmed was a sensor-related issue.

As the final 15 minutes began, Norris resumed command with a 1m 24.485s — just 0.008s clear of Verstappen. Charles Leclerc dropped into third, while younger brother Arthur sat down in P18.

Then a flash of uncertainty from the reigning champion — Verstappen reported that “something might be broken… everywhere” on his RB21, though he continued circulating at pace. Moments later, Charles Leclerc looped his Ferrari at Turn 5, prompting Arthur to joke that his brother was “doing some burnouts” for the fans.

Hulkenberg split the Mercedes drivers in fifth, with Gabriel Bortoleto a strong seventh for Kick Sauber. Behind them, Bearman’s early pace was enough to keep him in the top 10 — the Haas rookie ending ninth despite his curtailed running — with Sainz and Franco Colapinto rounding out the top half of the field.

The remainder of the order featured Ryo Hirakawa (Haas), Hadjar, Aron, O’Ward, Lindblad, then Arthur Leclerc, Ayumu Iwasa, Browning, Crawford and Shields completing the classification.

2025 Abu Dhabi GP FP1 Results

2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix FP1, 5 December 2025