McLaren’s F1 title hopes rise as Ferrari’s take a hit in Abu Dhabi finale

Ferrari’s hopes of winning a first Formula One constructors’ title since 2008 took a huge hit as Charles Leclerc collected a 10-place grid drop and rivals McLaren were one-two in Friday practice for the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi.
Leclerc was fastest in the first daylight session at the Yas Marina circuit but Ferrari then revealed they had changed the battery in his car, a breach that triggered an automatic penalty.
McLaren’s Lando Norris was fastest in the floodlit second session, 0.234 quicker than his Australian teammate Oscar Piastri.
Ferrari are 21 points behind McLaren, who were last champions in 1998, with 44 still to be won in Sunday’s 24th and last race of the season with 2023 champions Red Bull out of the running.
McLaren principal Andrea Stella, who was previously at Ferrari, said there was no sense of the pressure being off, however. “We talk about Charles Leclerc. We talk about Ferrari. It’s a very strong combination,” he said. “I think even with the penalty, I wouldn’t be surprised if we can see them very rapidly fighting for the front, for the top positions. So nothing changes.”
Leclerc lapped with a best time of one minute 24.321 seconds, with Norris 0.221 slower. Norris’s best lap in second practice was 1:23.517.
Mercedes’ seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton and teammate George Russell were third and fourth in practice one, with Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg an impressive third in the later session with Carlos Sainz fourth for Ferrari and Leclerc sixth.
Sunday’s race will be Hamilton’s last for Mercedes before joining Ferrari as Sainz’s replacement, with the Spaniard heading to Williams. Hamilton was fifth later on with Russell 13th.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was fifth-fastest in session one, with new Australian teammate Jack Doohan only 19th in preparing for his first race as replacement for Esteban Ocon.
The pair were 12th and 19th respectively later on.
Williams’ Franco Colapinto and Alex Albon will both have five place drops for mechanical changes, another blow to a team reeling from a spate of costly crashes that have pushed them to the brink on spares.
Colapinto, who will hand over his seat to Sainz for next season, hit a kerb and damaged his car’s floor in the second session.
In a Formula One first, two brothers took to the track for the same team in the opening session — Leclerc being joined by younger brother Arthur (18th) who was driving Sainz’s Ferrari.
Six of the 10 teams had a young driver at the wheel of one of their cars in the afternoon session, fulfilling an obligation to give them track time.
Japan’s Ryo Hirakawa replaced Piastri, Isack Hadjar drove quadruple champion Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, and Felipe Drugovich was in Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin.
Ayumu Iwasa stood in for fellow-Japanese Yuki Tsunoda at RB and Luke Browning for Albon.
Verstappen, last year’s race winner who has been engaged in a bitter row with Russell that has been the talk of the paddock, returned for practice two and was 17th with teammate Sergio Perez 14th.