2025 F1 Abu Dhabi race pace breakdown: what the numbers say about Ferrari’s season finale. Detailed look at Abu Dhabi pace: Leclerc’s near-benchmark laps and Hamilton’s solid form.

New world champion Lando Norris delivered a masterclass in the Yas Marina finale in terms of speed, posting the outright fastest average lap time regardless of strategy – but Ferrari left the 2025 season with plenty of encouragement.

The big picture: two-stop clearly faster

The data from the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix confirms what most suspected on Sunday night: sticking to a two-stop strategy was the way to maximise pace in 2025’s final race. Every driver inside the top eight on corrected race pace used two pit stops, and the gap to the best one-stopper was significant.

Lando Norris, fresh from clinching his maiden world title, set the benchmark with a stunning average lap that no one could touch. Behind him, however, both Ferrari drivers produced eye-catching numbers that suggest the SF-25 had excellent race rhythm when everything clicked.

Corrected race pace table – top 10 drivers

Ferrari ends the year on a high note

Charles Leclerc delivered exactly what Ferrari needed in the final race: the Monegasque driver was comfortably the second-fastest man on track across a full race distance, losing only 0.11 seconds per lap to Norris. That performance underlines just how competitive the Ferrari package could be when tyre management and strategy align perfectly.

Even more encouraging for Maranello was Lewis Hamilton’s late-season resurgence. The seven-time world champion, who has endured a roller-coaster first year in red, put together one of his cleanest and strongest weekends of 2025. His average pace deficit of 0.95 seconds to Norris (and just 0.84 seconds behind his teammate Leclerc) is among Hamilton’s best relative performances of the season and offers genuine optimism heading into winter testing.

Verstappen’s one-stop gamble almost paid off

The most remarkable number belongs to Max Verstappen. Despite committing to an aggressive one-stop strategy that forced him to nurse tyres for long stints in the Abu Dhabi heat, the Dutchman’s corrected pace was only 0.16 seconds per lap slower than Lando Norris and a mere 0.05 seconds off Charles Leclerc’s two-stop benchmark. Regardless of Red Bull’s execution, Max Verstappen could easily have challenged for victory on pure pace alone.

Looking ahead

As the curtain falls on 2025, Ferrari can head into the off-season knowing their car has genuine race-winning speed in the right conditions. With Charles Leclerc consistently extracting the maximum and Lewis Hamilton clearly finding his rhythm in the closing races, the Scuderia appears well-placed to mount a serious championship challenge when the new regulations arrive in 2026.