Live updates: Follow the latest on the 2024 Abu Dhabi F1
McLaren made significant moves in their bid to secure the constructors' title at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as Friday's practice sessions threw up highly contrasting results.
McLaren's British driver Lando Norris led Australian team-mate Oscar Piastri in second practice at the Yas Marina Circuit after Ferrari's Charles Leclerc had earlier topped the opening practice ahead of Norris and Lewis Hamilton. However, the Monegasque driver was penalised for taking a new battery pack on his car.
Leclerc was handed a 10-place grid penalty, making victory on Sunday a far more remote possibility.
The Scuderia driver was 20 minutes late for the opening session while his crew tried to get his car in working condition.
They duly fixed this, but this required a new energy store. And in doing so, Ferrari exceeded the number of batteries they were allowed to use for the season.
It was a huge blow to the Ferrari team, who will need a win, at least, to make up what is currently a 21-point deficit on their rivals at McLaren.
"We've got to do something special and to overperform," said Leclerc.
It will no doubt also mar Leclerc’s avowed joy at being given the chance to drive alongside his brother in Abu Dhabi.
It was a memorable day to begin with for the Ferrari driver as Charles and younger brother Arthur became the first ever siblings to drive an F1 session together as teammates.
And then, it was time for action. As is often the way, a number of drivers gave up their rides in the first session to give rookies a chance, with those stepping aside including Piastri, Carlos Sainz, Max Verstappen, Lance Stroll, Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon.
The second session was supposed to be a rather more accurate indicator of how the teams will perform over the rest of the weekend.
That said, there was little worth noting from the Red Bull pairing in FP2, with Sergio Perez and Verstappen ending the session in 14th and 17th respectively.
The Williams pairing of Albon and Franco Colapinto also suffered a grid drop after gearbox changes, theirs being limited to five placings.
Between the sessions, Red Bull's chief Christian Horner had hit back at Mercedes boss Toto Wolff's description of him as a "yapping little terrier" for interfering in the ongoing Verstappen-George Russell feud.
"I love terriers," said Horner. "I think they're great dogs. I've had four. I'd rather be a terrier than a wolf."
Norris' lap time of 1:24.332 kept him on top ahead of Leclerc and Sainz with Perez fourth until Kevin Magnussen took second for Haas as conditions changed in the twilight zone.
With 27 minutes to go, Piastri took top spot briefly before Norris replied as the McLarens pursued the team's first title since 1998.
Norris trimmed his lap to 1:23.517 with Piastri two-tenths behind.
"We still have a tough fight tomorrow. It probably looks better than it is for us," said Norris.
"We've continued with the good pace we had from Qatar and it feels strong, but the others haven't turned up their engines yet.
"We're still trying to find the balance. It's nothing huge. Small things to get the balance between being quicker and saving the tyres, especially on the longer runs."
The feuding pair of Russell and Verstappen struggled to find the pace and finished 13th and 17th, respectively.
"Not good," said Verstappen. "The balance is off and there is no connection in mid-corner so it is difficult to push and we need to work it overnight.
"I'm sure we can do better, but maybe not to the McLaren level. If we can get into the top six, that would be a great recovery."
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
LOS ANGELES GALAXY 2 MANCHESTER UNITED 5
Galaxy: Dos Santos (79', 88')
United: Rashford (2', 20'), Fellaini (26'), Mkhitaryan (67'), Martial (72')
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The low down on MPS
What is myofascial pain syndrome?
Myofascial pain syndrome refers to pain and inflammation in the body’s soft tissue. MPS is a chronic condition that affects the fascia (connective tissue that covers the muscles, which develops knots, also known as trigger points).
What are trigger points?
Trigger points are irritable knots in the soft tissue that covers muscle tissue. Through injury or overuse, muscle fibres contract as a reactive and protective measure, creating tension in the form of hard and, palpable nodules. Overuse and sustained posture are the main culprits in developing trigger points.
What is myofascial or trigger-point release?
Releasing these nodules requires a hands-on technique that involves applying gentle sustained pressure to release muscular shortness and tightness. This eliminates restrictions in connective tissue in orderto restore motion and alleviate pain. Therapy balls have proven effective at causing enough commotion in the tissue, prompting the release of these hard knots.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
FIGHT%20CARD
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFeatherweight%204%20rounds%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EYousuf%20Ali%20(2-0-0)%20(win-loss-draw)%20v%20Alex%20Semugenyi%20(0-1-0)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWelterweight%206%20rounds%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EBenyamin%20Moradzadeh%20(0-0-0)%20v%20Rohit%20Chaudhary%20(4-0-2)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EHeavyweight%204%20rounds%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EYoussef%20Karrar%20(1-0-0)%20v%20Muhammad%20Muzeei%20(0-0-0)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWelterweight%206%20rounds%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMarwan%20Mohamad%20Madboly%20(2-0-0)%20v%20Sheldon%20Schultz%20(4-4-0)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESuper%20featherweight%208%20rounds%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EBishara%20Sabbar%20(6-0-0)%20v%20Mohammed%20Azahar%20(8-5-1)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECruiseweight%208%20rounds%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMohammed%20Bekdash%20(25-0-0)%20v%20Musa%20N%E2%80%99tege%20(8-4-0)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESuper%20flyweight%2010%20rounds%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ESultan%20Al%20Nuaimi%20(9-0-0)%20v%20Jemsi%20Kibazange%20(18-6-2)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELightweight%2010%20rounds%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EBader%20Samreen%20(8-0-0)%20v%20Jose%20Paez%20Gonzales%20(16-2-2-)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
