Grid penalty for Charles Leclerc deals a blow to Ferrari's hopes in F1 constructors' title race

A grid penalty for Charles Leclerc threatens to end Ferrari's hopes of beating McLaren to the Formula 1 constructors' title.

Ferrari said Friday the team had to change the battery pack on Leclerc's car in the first practice session in Abu Dhabi. Ferrari said the team expects a 10-place penalty on the grid for Sunday's race.

Leclerc was fastest in the first practice session by .221 of a second from McLaren's Lando Norris, with Lewis Hamilton third fastest for Mercedes. Leclerc's brother Arthur took over Carlos Sainz Jr.'s car and was 18th.

Norris was fastest in the second session by .234 from teammate Oscar Piastri while Nico Hulkenberg was a surprise third fastest for Haas, .462 off the pace. Sainz was the fastest Ferrari in fourth.

McLaren goes into the race with a 21-point lead over Ferrari in the constructors' standings.

Leclerc's teammate Sainz said Thursday that he expected that either he or Leclerc would have to win the race in Abu Dhabi, with the other car also finishing on the podium, to have a chance of the title “unless something very disastrous happened” to McLaren.

Either McLaren or Ferrari will end a long wait for an F1 constructors title Sunday. McLaren hasn’t won the lucrative prize for teams since 1998 and Ferrari’s last win was in 2008.

“I think even with the penalty, I wouldn't be surprised if we can see (Ferrari) very rapidly fighting for the front,” McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said. “So nothing changes. We keep remaining calm, focused and full of energy.”

Two of Formula 1's top drivers are exchanging bitter personal attacks. All-time great Hamilton is bidding an emotional farewell to Mercedes. It's all overshadowed the constructors' title fight.

Despite Max Verstappen wrapping up his fourth driver title in Las Vegas two weeks ago, the Red Bull star is still the center of attention for a feud with George Russell of Mercedes.

Russell branded Verstappen “a bully” and accused him of threatening behavior following a dispute between the two in qualifying at the Qatar Grand Prix last week. Verstappen was pushed off pole position in Qatar in favor of Russell, and has said his rival lied to get him a penalty.

"Look, Max, he’s a very straight shooter. He just tells you exactly how he sees it," Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said Friday. "And obviously he had a large amount of frustration last weekend, the way things played out in a scenario that we haven’t seen before and a subsequent grid penalty."

Verstappen was only 17th fastest in his only practice session Friday as he aims for his 10th race win of the season in Abu Dhabi.

The whole weekend will be a long goodbye for Hamilton as he leaves Mercedes, where he won six of his seven titles, and joins Ferrari for 2025.

Hamilton is driving in Abu Dhabi with the names of 150 fans on his car as part of a “Thank you, Lewis” campaign by Mercedes.

The move to Ferrari was announced before the season began and Hamilton admitted Thursday the prolonged farewell has been much more of a strain on his emotions than he expected. Hamilton is out of form and was pessimistic about finishing on a high after penalties and a puncture marred his race in Qatar.

Hamilton's move to Ferrari shocked F1 when it was announced in February, and it set off a chain reaction of driver moves elsewhere.

Next year F1 will have its largest influx of young drivers in years as established names switch teams or leave the grid.

One of the new faces is on the grid in Abu Dhabi after Alpine opted to give Jack Doohan an early taste of F1. He replaces Esteban Ocon for the last race of the season. Doohan, a 21-year-old Australian, is the son of motorcycle racing great Mick Doohan. He was 19th fastest in both practice sessions Friday.

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Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco leaves the pit during the practice ahead of the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc of Monaco prepares for the first free practice ahead of the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain attends a news conference ahead of the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain walks through paddock ahead of the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Mercedes driver George Russell of Britain is in paddock ahead of the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands attends a news conference ahead of the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote Thursday on social media, “Motor Tanker Veronica had previously passed through Venezuelan waters, and was operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”

A social media post from U.S. Southern Command on the capture said that Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to make the capture while Noem’s post noted that, like in previous raids, a U.S. Coast Guard tactical team conducted the boarding and seizure.

Noem posted a brief video that appeared to show part of the ship’s capture. The black-and-white footage showed helicopters hovering over the deck of a merchant vessel while armed troops dropped down on the deck by rope.

The Veronica is the sixth tanker that has been seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products, and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.

Noem, in her social media post, said that the raid was carried out with “close coordination with our colleagues” in the military as well as the State and Justice departments.

“Our heroic Coast Guard men and women once again ensured a flawlessly executed operation, in accordance with international law,” Noem added.

As with prior posts, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”

However, other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear they see it as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.

Last week, Trump met with executives from oil companies to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.

This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro's capture.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)