Norris warns McLaren’s practice pace ‘looks better than it is’ as he predicts ‘tough fight’ in Abu Dhabi

Lando Norris believes that McLaren’s strong pace during the opening day of action at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix “looks better than it is”, with the Briton anticipating a “tough fight” in Saturday’s qualifying.

After ending the first practice hour in second place on the timesheets, Norris went one better in the day’s second session to lead a one-two from team mate Oscar Piastri, marking a strong start on a weekend where the squad are vying to claim their first constructors’ championship since 1998.

FP2: Norris leads team mate Piastri and Hulkenberg during second practice in Abu Dhabi

However, while he acknowledged that it had been a positive Friday, Norris also warned that McLaren’s rivals may be even closer to them during the rest of the weekend.

“It was a good day, yeah,” the 25-year-old reflected. “[The] car’s been feeling good the whole day, so [it] continued our pace out of Qatar and, yeah, it feels strong. I think we have some things to improve on in both low and high fuel, more so the high fuel.

“Totally looks probably better than it is, I don’t think the others turned up their engines yet, so it might look glorious for now but I think we’re still going to have a tough fight tomorrow.”

When pushed on which areas he feels are in need of improvement, Norris responded: “I mean it’s nothing huge, it’s small things. It’s trying to find the balance of going quicker but saving the tyres, especially in the longer run stuff.

FP1: Leclerc sets the pace during first practice in Abu Dhabi as several rookies join the action

“[It’s] how much where can you push more and where do you need to save, how can you save the tyres more with driving, the toys, things I can change on my steering wheel and the underlying balance on the car. Just trying to find the right compromise is the main thing.”

Piastri echoed his team mate’s sentiments, with the Australian pleased with his performance after handing over his car to Ryo Hirakawa in Free Practice 1.

“I think pretty positive,” Piastri answered when asked about the feeling in the car. “I think for me obviously I just did FP2, and I was pretty happy with the car straightaway, and the pace we’re very happy with.

“Hopefully we can keep that into tomorrow. I think the others will probably find a bit of a step, I would imagine, but if we can keep that kind of advantage we’d be pretty happy.”

HIGHLIGHTS: Relive the action from Abu Dhabi FP2 as McLaren’s Norris and Piastri head the field

McLaren hold a 21-point lead over Ferrari in what will be the decisive weekend for the constructors’ championship. When quizzed on whether he is feeling confident heading into qualifying and the race with this in mind, Piastri said: “Yeah, I think so.

“I think the pace today has been very strong, so that can only give you confidence, I would say. Tomorrow’s obviously a very different day and I’m sure the others will find their feet a bit more. I think considering I only did one session I’m happy with the day’s work, so yeah, hopefully we can continue that.”