Charles Leclerc has topped a twice red-flagged second practice session ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Carlos Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg crashed out to draw delays that lasted more than half of the scheduled 60 minutes of running.

In the end, just 26 minutes of track action took place, Leclerc fastest from Lando Norris and an impatient Max Verstappen.

Having missed the opening hour of running, Verstappen and Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez were among the first on track as Free Practice 2 began.

Verstappen was immediately the fastest car on track with a 1:26.453s, though was soon bumped by Kevin Magnussen and then George Russell as they completed their first timed laps.

Track temperature had dropped almost 10 degrees from opening practice, with the circuit entirely in the shadows as the sun began to set.

Eight minutes in, the red flag was shown when Carlos Sainz found the barrier at Turn 3.

The Ferrari had gone in on drivers’ left, damaging the left-hand-side of the F1-23, along with the front and rear wings.

The Spaniard had lost control on a bump as he rounded Turn 2, the back end quickly stepping out as he spun into the outside wall.

A 27-minute delay followed as repairs were made to the barrier and the stricken Ferrari cleared.

By the time cars were back out on track, the lights had taken over as evening descended on the circuit.

Track temperature had remained largely stable, as had the air temp, despite the setting sun.

In a rush to get back out, Verstappen was left unimpressed with Williams having its drivers jumping the queue, while Daniel Ricciardo and Lewis Hamilton almost touched as the Australian exited the Scuderia AlphaTauri garage.

It was a brief resumption as the red flag was quickly thrown again after Nico Hulkenberg found the fence at Turn 1.

The German lost control exiting the left-hander, tagging the inside barrier with the rear of the Haas before stopping on track.

Only seven minutes of running were lost as the car was lifted clear of the track through a nearby opening in the fence.

Verstappen was again impatient, passing both Mercedes and an Alpine in the pit exit.

The champion-elect pushed by Russell as the pit exit dropped down under the track, before trying to barge his way beyond Hamilton.

The seven-time champion did not move, which prompted Verstappen to pass around the outside of the left-hander which takes the pit exit under the track at Turn 1.

After sitting out opening practice, the Dutchman was clearly desperate for track time.

Not only was he was short on mileage, Free Practice 2 offered the only representative running ahead of qualifying and the race given Free Practice 3 takes place in the afternoon sun.

He had not displayed blistering pace to that point, with Leclerc topping the timesheets from Valtteri Bottas and Pierre Gasly with 10 minutes remaining.

Verstappen was only 11th, 1.578s off the outright pace, while team-mate Perez was 19th, slower even than the fenced Sainz, 2.002s away from Leclerc’s time.

The Dutchman did improve, rising to third by the chequered flag, 0.173s off the outright pace – a 1:24.809s laid down by Leclerc.

Lando Norris was second best with Bottas fourth from Perez, then came Russell and Zhou Guanyu.

Piastri was 10th fastest while Daniel Ricciardo was only two places further back, the faster of the two Scuderia AlphaTauri drivers by 0.2s.