McLaren in a “league of their own” in Abu Dhabi after Friday F1 practice, say rivals

McLaren is in a “league of their own” at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix according to George Russell, in a view shared by the Woking-based team’s immediate Formula 1 rivals.

Although Charles Leclerc headlined FP1 despite missing the opening 30 minutes of the session with a battery issue, McLaren finished 1-2 in the second – and more representative – practice session at the Yas Marina Circuit.

Lando Norris headlined FP2 with a 1m23.517s, two tenths up on Oscar Piastri and almost half a second clear of third-placed Nico Hulkenberg in the lead Haas. Carlos Sainz, the nearest Ferrari, was 0.582s off Norris’ benchmark.

Russell, who was trialling a series of different set-ups in preparation for 2025, stated that Mercedes was tracking at about four-tenths a lap down on the McLarens by the end of Friday’s running, but anticipated that the team would at least close the gap overnight.

“I think Lewis [Hamilton] did some great laps out there, and I think still, as a team, we’re a long way off McLaren and Ferrari,” Russell said.

“McLaren especially seem to be in a league of their own at the moment. As I said, Lewis did a great job, but we’re still four tenths behind the McLarens. So that’s bigger than we usually expect.

“I expect Ferrari to probably get back in the mix, Max [Verstappen], probably to get back in the mix, but I hope we can make some improvements for tomorrow.”

Russell’s recent verbal sparring partner Verstappen had rued his own balance, stating that the corner entries were difficult onboard the Red Bull RB20 as the front axle struggled to bite.

He hoped that the team could mount a recovery, as it had in Qatar with its surge in performance from the sprint sessions to the grand prix.

“I’m sure that we can do better. I’m not saying that will be like McLaren level, because they seem very quick so far this weekend,” the Dutchman reflected.

“But at least if we can fight in that top six, I think that will be a good recovery, because so far it’s been quite tricky.”

Carlos Sainz put Ferrari’s current disadvantage to McLaren at just “two or three tenths” and hoped the Prancing Horse could get closer to its constructors’ championship rival, but noted that Abu Dhabi was “a track for McLaren” relative to Ferrari.

“I think we’re still not extracting all of the performance. As always when the track drops in temperature and when we put the soft tyres on, our car seems to struggle a bit more,” Sainz explained.

“We will probably not have a second off the McLaren, but we are two or three tenths off, which is something that we need to try and recover going into tomorrow.

“It’s a deficit that we carried also into long runs so we need to make sure we we find a couple of tenths tonight to put us in the battle with them for the weekend.

“McLaren has always been quick here in the past. It’s always been a track for McLaren but also, Lando has been very quick in Abu Dhabi before.

“I think they’re always going to be a difficult team to beat at the moment, they look the strongest this weekend. So it’s going to be a tough ask to beat them.”

McLaren’s path to the constructors’ title has been eased by Sainz’s team-mate Charles Leclerc being handed a 10-place grid drop for a new battery pack in Abu Dhabi.