Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

McLaren made a perfect start in their bid to secure their first constructors' title since 1998 at the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

McLaren head Ferrari by 21 points with 44 remaining and ended Friday practice with a one-two, Lando Norris ahead of Oscar Piastri. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc will start Sunday's race no better than 11th because of a penalty.

Leclerc was given a 10-place grid drop because Ferrari needed to fit a new battery to his car, and that exceeded his allowance of two for the season.

Norris headed Piastri by 0.234 seconds ahead of the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg, a surprise in third place.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz was fourth fastest, 0.582secs off the pace, ahead of Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, Leclerc and the Sauber of Valtteri Bottas.

Read the full report here

The overtime hours are stacking up over at Williams. Will Franco Colapinto and Alex Albon be in good shape for tomorrow's qualifying session? Whatever happens, the pair will need to pack up their belongings and move down the grid five places on Sunday, along with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who shifts 10 places down because of his grid penalty.

Thanks for joining us, folks. The fight for pole should be an interesting one with the constructors' trophy still on the line, so come back and join us on Saturday from 10:00 GMT for build-up to third practice, followed by qualifying at 14:00 GMT.

See you tomorrow!

A lot has happened this week, so before we leave you today, here are the top stories making the F1 headlines:

Russell v Verstappen - what's going on?

Leclerc given 10-place grid penalty for Abu Dhabi

Lowdon to be Cadillac team boss for 2026 debut

I'm not going to take Verstappen attacks - Russell

Hamilton has struggled to 'handle emotions' in 2024

Vote for your favourite Hamilton-Mercedes moment

Dutch GP to exit F1 calendar after 2026

11. Liam Lawson (RB)

12. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

13. George Russell (Mercedes)

14. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

15. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber)

16. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

17. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

18. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

19. Jack Doohan (Alpine)

20. Franco Colapinto (Williams)

1. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 1:23.517

2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.234

3. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) +0.462

4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +0.582

5. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +0.602

6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.684

7. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber) +0.713

8. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) +0.718

9. Alex Albon (Williams) +0.752

10. Yuki Tsunoda (RB) +0.980

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

I would wager there has not been a bigger damage bill over a season than Williams this year.

Ferrari have some important information for Charles Leclerc about the race pace of the McLaren. "Piastri is 29.2," his engineer says. "They are so fast," comes the surprised reply from the Monegasque driver.

George Russell will be glad to see the chequered flag. The Mercedes man is down in 13th place and tells his pit wall: "The rear is just moving everywhere."

Jennie Gow
F1 pit-lane reporter in Abu Dhabi

As I look in on the Williams garage, it's very sad times. Alex Albon has been pushed back in the garage and Franco Colapinto has damage to the floor. Jokingly their drivers gave out certificates between FP1 and FP2 to everyone for all their engineering and mechanical expertise they have had to deploy in this garage in the last few weeks

Next year, we'll be seeing Max Verstappen aiming for a fifth consecutive title with a little baby board, following the news he's about to become a dad with his partner Kelly Piquet. Can he win the final race in Abu Dhabi? His Red Bull needs to shake off its gremlins first. The Dutchman helpfully tells his engineer he's just a hit a kerb quite hard on the plank.

His new arch nemesis George Russell, meanwhile, is told he is managing Turn 15 more than others. "What does that mean?" says the Briton. "I've only done one lap?!"

Andrew Benson and Scott Mitchell-Malm join Jennie Gow to look ahead to this weekend's final grand prix.

The team discuss the ongoing spat between Max Verstappen and George Russell and hear from both drivers.

Toto Wolff pays tribute to Lewis Hamilton ahead of his last race with Mercedes. And Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc talk about the constructor’s title and what it would mean to both teams.

Listen here on BBC Sounds

Both Franco Colapinto and Alex Albon have been handed five-place grid penalties for Sunday's race due to the use of additional components, and now the pair are experiencing further struggles in this final practice session of the day.

Colapinto has been in the garage for a while now, but now Albon is limping on track after only a few laps on the mediums. He manages to make it back to the safety of his Williams crew, but the noises his car was making did not sound healthy.

Image source, Getty Images

Two bits of news to bring you courtesy of Andrew Benson while the circuit has gone quiet once again.

Former Manor Formula 1 boss Graeme Lowdon will be the team principal of the new Cadillac team for its expected debut in 2026.

The 59-year-old has been instrumental in setting up the project, which has an agreement in principal to enter F1 as a works team of US car giant General Motors.

Lowdon ran the Manor team in F1 through various guides from its entry as Virgin in 2010 until 2015. He and partner John Booth left before the team's final season in 2016.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Grand Prix has been given a new contract that will keep it on the F1 schedule until 2030.

The race at the Shanghai International Circuit returned to the calendar this year for the first time since 2019. It fell off the calendar during the the Covid-19 pandemic and stayed off longer than most events because of China's singular handling of the disease.

The McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are one-two on the leaderboard as we dip below 20 minutes left of second practice. If they can pull off the same result on Sunday, then it would seal the team's first constructors' championship since 1998 in spectacular style.

Seeing a Haas running in the top 10 is not an unusual sight any more thanks to Nico Hulkenberg's performances this season. The German is mixing it with the McLarens and Ferraris again, placing his car third on the timesheets with a marker in the 1:23s.

Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, reckons most of the grid are sleeping during these latest soft-tyre attempts.

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Hamilton, at some point you get slower. Is he at that stage, 39, 40 next year? I look back to 12 months ago when he was at the top of his game. Something has happened with Lewis. Maybe it's simply career fatigue and he needs a reboot and a reinjection of vigour. I don't think he is losing it just yet.

Where will we see Lewis Hamilton on the timesheets when he's driving a Ferrari next season? In his last second practice for Mercedes, the seven-time world champion slots into fourth place after his first soft run, behind departing Scuderia driver Carlos Sainz but ahead of old Silver Arrows pal Valtteri Bottas.

Lando Norris is purple in the first sector as he battles team-mate Oscar Piastri on these opening runs on the soft tyre. Australian Piastri is quicker than the Briton, but now Norris improves to go top with a 1:23.517.

Carlos Sainz is third in the Ferrari and Valtteri Bottas, on his final weekend in Formula 1, is fourth fastest.

Max Verstappen is still battling with his front axle on this first flying lap on the softs.

As we wait for the drivers to head back out, this is the race helmet George Russell is wearing to celebrate his partnership with Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.

"From waiting for your autograph as a 10 year old to being teammates for 3 years. It’s been an honour mate!!" Russell wrote.

Image source, George Russell X

Max Verstappen, like most of the grid, is back in the garage after only a handful of laps on the medium tyres. The latest update from the Dutchman is the front axle is "not working".

Over with Ferrari, Charles Leclerc also has an urgent update for the Italian team. "I destroyed the plank," says the Monegasque driver as sparks fly up from the floor.