Trump hopes to make history with business deals

Trump hopes to make history with the deals he brings back to the US. On Thursday, the UAE announced $1.4 trillion investment in the fields of AI, technology and energy in exchange for access to advanced American microchips.

Just hours earlier in Qatar, Trump stopped at al-Udeid Air Base to speak to US troops a day after signing a series of agreements with Qatar’s emir. Trump also announced Qatar will invest $10b in the coming years for base upgrades. The two countries also plan to cooperate in implementing almost $40b in base upgrades.

Earlier in the week, Trump secured investments from Saudi Arabia totaling more than $600b, and in Qatar, the White House says the deals signed, generate business of $1.2 trillion, benefitting the United States.

What’s Trump expected to do today?

• Participates in a US and UAE business family photo and roundtable.
• Tours the Abrahamic Family house.
• Air Force One expected to depart Abu Dhabi International Airport around 1pm (09:00 GMT).

Welcome to our live coverage

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the final leg of Donald Trump’s tour of the Middle East.

Stay with us as we bring you all the latest from the UAE.

Here’s what happened today

We will be closing this live page soon. Here’s a look at the day’s main events:

• US President Donald Trump has hailed his country’s relationship with the United Arab Emirates during a meeting with his counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi.
• Sheikh Mohammed confirms a $1.4 trillion investment in US artificial intelligence, says the UAE hopes to work with the US “to advance peace and stability” globally.
• Earlier, Trump said his administration is nearing a nuclear deal with Iran despite continued diplomatic hurdles.
• The US president also said he wants to “take” the Gaza Strip and turn it into a “freedom zone” – one of few public comments Trump has made about the Palestinian territory, which Israel has continued to bombard during his Middle East visit.

What are the weapons Trump says Qatar will buy from the US?

As we reported yesterday, Qatar and the US signed a deal to boost defence.

“Yesterday we signed an agreement for Qatar to purchase $42bn-worth of the finest American military hardware including THAAD missile batteries, Pegasus refueling aircraft, Desert Vipers, light armored vehicles, amphibious combat vehicles, the MQ-9B and the Sky Guardian drones,” Trump said today, while speaking to US troops at Al Udeid airbase.

Here is a short overview of some of this hardware:

• The THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) system, developed in the late 1990s, is a US missile defence system designed to intercept ballistic missiles. Each battery costs approximately $800m to $1bn.
• The KC-46 Pegasus is a US aerial refuelling aircraft developed by Boeing, first flown in 2015 and entering service in 2019. Each KC-46 costs approximately $150–$160m. It refuels aircraft midair and transports cargo, troops, and medical patients.
• The Desert Viper is a heavily customised F-16 fighter jet variant developed for the UAE Air Force, introduced in 2005. It features advanced avionics and weaponry. Each unit costs approximately $80m.
• The MQ-9B is an advanced unmanned aerial vehicle developed by General Atomics, first introduced in 2017. It is used for surveillance and strike missions. Each MQ-9B costs about $30–40m, offering long endurance, precision weaponry, and advanced sensors for military operations. The Sky Guardian is a variant of the MQ-9B.

Trump hails ‘incredible culture’ as he tours Abu Dhabi’s Grand Mosque

US President Donald Trump praised the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi as “beautiful”, as he visited the site with Crown Prince Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak. 

The United Arab Emirates is Trump’s final stop on his tour of the Middle East.

Trump’s remarks on Iran deal a major development

Mohamad Elmasry, a professor of media studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, says Trump’s claim that a nuclear deal with Iran is near has been one of the most important developments of his tour of the region.

“If Trump is true to his word – if the only red line is a nuclear weapon and if the Iranians are already on board with that condition – then there’s really no reason why we shouldn’t get a deal in the near future,” Elmasry told Al Jazeera.

He noted that this is particularly true as Trump is carrying out what he dubbed “personal diplomacy” in the Gulf region.

“[Trump is] talking about how he’s friends with these leaders, whether it’s Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia or Sheikh Tamim here in Qatar, or Mohamed bin Zayed in the UAE,” Elmasry said.

“All three of those leaders have impressed upon him the need to avoid war, to avoid confrontation with Iran.”

Sheikh Mohammed bestows UAE’s highest order to Trump

Trump received the medal of the founder of the United Arab Emirates, Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who is the father of the current president.

This is the highest order in the United Arab Emirates, [given to Trump] as a sign of gratitude and recognition of the strong relationship between the United States of America and the UAE.

I think he got exactly what he was looking forward to achieve: That announcement by Sheikh Mohammed that the UAE is going to invest $1.4 trillion over the next 10 years in artificial intelligence in the US in exchange for those microchips to be given to the UAE.

This was a national security concern for the Americans in the past, and this is why they were reluctant to strike a deal. But then they decided to change their mind under Trump, particularly when the UAE said that it was willing to invest $1.4 trillion.

Trump thanks UAE for ‘generous’ investment in AI

Here’s a roundup of some of the US president’s remarks:

• Trump tells Sheikh Mohammed that the pair have been “good friends” for a long time. “You’re a great warrior, a very strong man, a brilliant man, a man of vision like few others,” the US president says.
• In a dig at his predecessor Joe Biden, Trump says the US “was not such a hot country” six months ago but has now become the “hottest” country.
• The US president says his administration has garnered $10 trillion in planned investments, including the $ 1.4 trillion investment from the UAE for artificial intelligence.
• Trump has also pivoted to US domestic issues, saying that he’s helped lower grocery prices and created “a border again” – a reference to his hardline, anti-migrant policies.
• “I know you’ll never leave my side,” he tells Sheikh Mohammed. “I know that. And you know the special relationship that we have and our country has.”

Oil prices fall after Trump says Iran deal close

As we reported earlier, the US president said that Iran has “sort of” agreed to terms for a new nuclear deal, after Trump pulled the US out of the previous one in his first term.

In the wake of this announcement, oil prices fell sharply, dropping 3 percent to 4 percent.

Brent crude, for example, dropped as much as $3 per barrel.

The market reacted negatively due to the expectation that a deal would lead to eased sanctions on Iran, increasing Iranian oil exports and expanding global supply. Some reports also noted partial price recovery after the initial drop, but overall sentiment remained bearish on the news.

More from UAE’s president

We have more remarks from Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan:

• The Emirati leader says his country shares partnerships with the US across a range of sectors, including energy, artificial intelligence and industry.
• “A testament to this is the UAE’s plan to invest in the US in these sectors, through the UAE’s investment bodies, at a total value of $1.4 trillion over the next 10 years,” Sheikh Mohamed says.
• The president says the UAE “remains committed to working with the United States to advance peace and stability in our region and globally”.

UAE ‘keen to deepen friendship’ with US, Sheikh Mohamed tells Trump

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is making remarks at the presidential palace in Abu Dhabi alongside Trump.

“We are keen to continue deepening this friendship for the benefit of both our nations and peoples,” Sheikh Mohammed said. “Your presence here today, Mr President, affirms that this commitment is mutual.”

UAE foreign trade minister backs Trump’s business-minded approach

Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi says, at the Indo-UAE Conclave in Dubai, that he finds the US president a good-faith, business-minded negotiating partner.

“At the end of the day, President Trump is a businessman. He wants to strike a deal. He is looking at added value to the US. We have to look at the same thing from our own angle,” Al Zeyoudi said, in comments carried by Gulf News.

“The good thing about Trump and him being a businessman, is that he sits at the table and starts negotiating. Yes, he raises the bar of his demand at the beginning”, he said, of Trump’s high-stakes negotiation tactics, such as seen in his tariff policy.

“But he listens. If he sees value, which is going to be brought to the US, he will accept it. And we have to know what we want. We have to be clear, be bold, and negotiate to secure our interests.”

Photos: Trump holding talks at UAE presidential palace

Gaza not getting ‘urgency it requires’ during Trump’s trip

Sultan Barakat, a professor of public policy at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, says efforts to end Israel’s war on Gaza appear to be taking a backseat to other priorities on the US president’s visit to the region.

Barakat said he believes that Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Syria was used to cover up “the failure to have a serious decision on Gaza”.

He told Al Jazeera that Gaza hasn’t been broached “with the urgency it requires”, particularly as the UN’s top humanitarian official warned this week that Israel’s blockade was starving Palestinians.

“One would have expected [Gulf leaders] to say more. Maybe, privately, they said more to Trump. I personally would have liked them to start every meeting with a moment of silence for the victims of Gaza,” Barakat said.

Trump, UAE president to hold state dinner

The US president and his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, are taking part in a ceremony in Abu Dhabi.

We’ll bring you more soon.

UAE hoping to become artificial intelligence hub

Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra explains that the pivot to AI is part of the Gulf country’s push to diversify its economy and lessen its reliance on oil.

The White House said in March that the UAE had committed to a 10-year, $1.4-trillion framework that will “substantially increase the UAE’s existing investments in the US economy” in AI infrastructure, semiconductors, energy, and manufacturing.

Ahelbarra said the Emirati government is looking to become “a hub” for AI and has been pushing for Washington to agree to provide them with microchips.

“For the UAE, this is quite a significant step. They are going to finalise the agreement today, and for them, it is going to reposition them as the most important player in artificial intelligence, followed by Saudi Arabia,” he explained.

The Reuters news agency reported this week that the US has a preliminary agreement with the UAE to allow it to import 500,000 of Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips a year, starting this year.

Israel intensifies Gaza war during Trump visit

As Trump continues his tour of the Gulf region, the Israeli military has kept up its deadly assault on Palestinians in Gaza.

At least 115 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since dawn today, medical sources tell Al Jazeera.

Qatar could play role in mediating US-Iran nuclear talks

The Gulf countries are located very close to Iran and they fear any military confrontation would have severe repercussions for them.

I think this is why they’re pushing for a political way out of the crisis. This explains why the Qataris have been very instrumental. This explains why Trump said today that he is grateful to the Qatari emir for the push to negotiate a way out, which is very peaceful.

The Iranians said yesterday that they were willing to offer concessions for the sake of a deal that would be conducive to the lifting of sanctions. If that happens, that’s a major development.

But it gives us an indication that we are likely to see Qatar now playing a significant role in mediating the talks, which have so far been just indirect talks. This could be one of those moments for Qatar to further extend its mediation role.

Trump says US is close to reaching nuclear deal with Iran

Trump has claimed that the US is nearing an agreement with Iran to resolve a long-running nuclear dispute.

“We’re in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace,” Trump said in Qatar. “We’re not going to be making any nuclear dust in Iran. I think we’re getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this.”

Trump said he was basing his optimism on new statements by Iran.

“You probably read today the story about Iran. It’s sort of agreed to the terms,” he said.

Read the rest here.

Can Trump accept a plane from a foreign country under US law?

Trump’s plan to accept a potential gift from Qatar – a $400m plane – has raised questions about the scope of US laws that relate to gifts from foreign governments.

What does the US Constitution say?

One provision states that Congress must approve any gift from a “King, Prince, or foreign State” to an elected US official. The other prohibits the president from receiving a gift beyond salary for the job.

Congress has approved gifts from foreign governments in the past, including in 1877, when accepting the Statue of Liberty from France.

Who can enforce the provisions?

Legal experts say members of Congress, US states and some private businesses could try to sue the president if they believe a gift violates the foreign emoluments clause of the US Constitution. However, US courts require plaintiffs to have legal “standing” to bring claims.

What have US courts said about emoluments?

Until Trump’s first term, there had not been substantial litigation over the clauses, and even the meaning of the term “emolument” is a matter of legal dispute.

Democratic members of Congress sued Trump in 2017 after his businesses allegedly received payments from foreign governments. Attorneys general for Maryland and the District of Columbia also jointly brought emoluments cases related to Trump’s businesses during his first term. Both cases were dismissed due to a lack of standing.

Trump’s tour: A roundup of US media reactions to Middle East trip

As the US president goes into the final leg of his tour of the Middle East, much of the discussion in US media has focused on the deals he has inked with Gulf leaders and the questions they raise.

Many columnists have raised concerns about Trump’s decision to accept a luxury jetliner from Qatar as well as questioned whether the trip aims to personally enrich the Republican leader and his family.

CNN’s Stephen Collinson wrote yesterday that Trump’s stop in Saudi Arabia made “clear the president is right at home with rich authoritarian leaders who head nations where the line between politics and personal enrichment is blurred”.

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes had a similar analysis of Trump’s tour, saying the US president is not in the Gulf “for 330 million Americans … He is there for himself”.

Deals between US and Qatar expected to generate $1.2 trillion

Trump travelled to the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, where he had a security briefing and then began to address US troops, saying the strength of the military is its people.

Yesterday, he also announced an agreement with Qatar to bolster the air force base to make sure that not only its military has what it needs in the future, but also that the US military has the tools it needs as well.

Totalling an excess of $600bn, according to the White House, in defence, as well as artificial intelligence, and other high-tech sectors in Qatar, we are told that the White House says there will be at least $1.2 trillion generated from the agreements signed between the United States and Qatar.

Now the United States president is travelling to the United Arab Emirates, where he hopes to generate more business for the US and Middle East, in the billions of dollars.

Photos: Trump tours Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi

Trump greeted by President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Trump said goodbye to the UAE president following his arrival in Abu Dhabi, his team said in a post on X

Syrian leader lauds Trump’s lifting of US sanctions

Speaking in a television address on Wednesday evening, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa welcomed US President Donald Trump’s “courageous” lifting of sanctions on his country.

Al-Sharaa said Trump’s decision to drop sanctions against Syria “was a historic and courageous decision, which alleviates the suffering of the people, contributes to their rebirth and lays the foundations for stability in the region”.

Trump met al-Sharaa in the Saudi capital Riyadh earlier on Wednesday, becoming the first US president to meet a Syrian leader in a quarter of a century.

The Syrian president also thanked Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who organised the meeting, as well as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – a key supporter of the new Damascus government – for his role in the meeting with Trump.

“Syrians, the road before us is still long. Today, we begin the real work, with which modern Syria will be reborn,” Sharaa added.

More Republicans raise concerns about Qatar jet plan

More Republicans are adding their voices to the chorus of concern about Trump’s plans to accept a Boeing 747 from Qatar to temporarily use as Air Force One.

“I think there are national security concerns, I think there are financial concerns about breaking this thing down to the studs and building it back up, and then it’s not hard to imagine why some people have some ethical concerns as well,” Dustin Johnson, a Republican who represents South Dakota in the US House of Representatives, said in an interview with NBC News’ Meet the Press on Wednesday.

Johnson’s comments follow similar expressions of concern by a number of top Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

The Gulf’s message to Trump is one of regional stability

The Al Udeid military base in Qatar “plays a very important part in the stability of the region,” Faisal al-Mudahka, chief editor of Qatari media outlet Gulf Times, told Al Jazeera.

He added that the US-Qatar relationship is an “exchange” as well, with the US providing “protection” for Qatar, while Doha gives Washington “intelligence and security”.

Qatar’s mediation role is additionally part of its belief that conflict should be resolved peacefully and through “dialogue”, with the lifting of sanctions on Syria proving the success of this approach, al-Mudahka said, adding that the Gulf’s message to Trump, ultimately, is that the region wants stability.

Trump welcomed in Abu Dhabi

Trump’s communications adviser has posted a video of the president’s arrival in Abu Dhabi.

If you’re just joining us

Here’s a recap of the latest developments:

• Trump has landed in Abu Dhabi for the final leg of his regional tour.
• He arrived to the UAE following a visit to Al Udeid military base in Qatar, where he addressed US troops stationed there.
• During a morning briefing in Doha, Trump said he would consider travelling to Istanbul on Friday “if it was appropriate”, referring to Russia-Ukraine peace talks hosted in the Turkish metropolis.
• The US president also stated today that he wants to “take” Gaza and turn it into a “freedom zone”.
• “Iran is very lucky to have Qatar’s emir,” Trump said, as well. “He doesn’t want us to do a vicious blow to Iran. He’s [Qatar’s emir] is fighting very much that we don’t [strike Iran]. Many people want us to go the other way round.”

‘Nothing decided’: India’s foreign minister reacts to Trump’s tariff claims

India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar has reacted to Trump’s comments earlier that India offered the US a trade deal with zero tariffs.

“These are complicated negotiations. Nothing is decided till everything is. Any trade deal has to be mutually beneficial. It has to work for both countries,” Jaishankar was quoted as saying by the Indian media.

Trump arrives in Abu Dhabi

The US president has landed in Abu Dhabi for the final leg of his regional tour.

Trump said India offered the US a trade deal with zero tariffs

In his briefing this morning, Trump said India offered the US a trade deal with zero tariffs.

New Delhi is seeking to clinch a trade deal with the US within the 90-day pause on tariff hikes announced by Trump on April 9 for chief trading partners, which had included a 26 percent tariff on India.

India’s media outlet Hindustan Times reported that the statement “also gains significance in view of his recent remarks about the ceasefire between India and Pakistan” where the US president tagged trade as a big reason behind the decision.

South Africa’s Ramaphosa to meet Trump soon to ‘reset ties’

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa will meet Trump at the White House next week in an attempt to “reset” ties between the two countries.

The visit comes after the US welcomed dozens of white Afrikaners as refugees this week, following widely discredited allegations made by Trump that “genocide” is being committed against white farmers in the majority-Black country.

“President Ramaphosa will meet with President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of interest,” South Africa’s presidency said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The president’s visit to the US provides a platform to reset the strategic relationship between the two countries,” it added, saying the trip will take place from Monday to Thursday and the two leaders will meet on Wednesday.

Read the rest here.

Trump administration is ‘incompetent and treasonous’: Bruce Springsteen

Rockstar Bruce Springsteen has blasted the Trump administration while he is on tour in the UK.

“The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock and roll, in dangerous times,” Springsteen said to his fans in Manchester on Wednesday night.

“In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about and has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration,” the singer also said, according to social media footage by one concertgoer.

“Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experience to rise with us. Raise your voices against the authoritarianism, and let freedom ring.”

United GCC-US front to solve regional issues

During the briefing earlier this morning, Trump said this is a moment of consequential danger for the region, and therefore, we have to come and act together and solve those problems.

To solve those problems, you have to have a mediator and Qatar could be best positioned today. The Qataris have been instrumental in trying to negotiate a settlement between Hamas and the Israelis, that could be ultimately conducive to the permanent ceasefire followed by another broader talk about what happens next in Gaza, and the potential to kickstart talks between the Palestinian Authority and the Israelis on the notion of a viable legitimate Palestinian state.

United GCC-US front to solve regional issues

During the briefing earlier this morning, Trump said this is a moment of consequential danger for the region, and therefore, we have to come and act together and solve those problems.

To solve those problems, you have to have a mediator and Qatar could be best positioned today. The Qataris have been instrumental in trying to negotiate a settlement between Hamas and the Israelis, that could be ultimately conducive to the permanent ceasefire followed by another broader talk about what happens next in Gaza, and the potential to kickstart talks between the Palestinian Authority and the Israelis on the notion of a viable legitimate Palestinian state.

Shahzadi Khan, who worked for an Indian couple, was executed last month, according to the Indian government.

According to Abu Dhabi court documents, Khan asphyxiated the boy, but a doctor who testified at the trial could not confirm this as he had not been allowed to perform a post-mortem.

Khan’s family maintain she was innocent and say the four-month-old died from an incorrect vaccination on the day of his death. They said Khan did not get “adequate representation” during her trial. The BBC contacted UAE authorities for comment.

The execution was carried out on 15 February, but the news was only confirmed by Indian authorities on 3 March after Khan’s parents petitioned the Delhi High Court seeking information about their daughter.

The secrecy surrounding the execution has made headlines in India, which has close ties with United Arab Emirates. Hundreds of thousands of Indians live and work in the country.

According to the petition filed by Khan’s family, she had moved to Abu Dhabi in December 2021 to work for the Indian family as a caregiver.

She was entrusted to look after the baby, who was born in August the following year.According to Khan’s father, she would often call her family back in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and show them the baby over video calls.

But the calls stopped after his death – and the family later learnt that Khan was in jail. According to Khan’s family, the baby died on 7 December 2022, just hours after he received a vaccine.

Police arrested Khan two months later. She insisted that a video recording showing her confessing to killing the baby had been forced, and that she had not received proper legal support in court.

She was sentenced to death in July 2023. Her appeal was rejected in February 2024.

Khan’s family said they last heard from her on 13 February this year when she called from prison, saying that she might be executed the next day.

“She kept crying and said she was put in a separate cell, and that she would not come out alive and that it might be her last call,” her father Shabbir Khan told the BBC.

When Khan’s family did not hear from her after that, they filed a petition with the Delhi High Court, seeking information from the Indian government on whether she had been executed.

Khan’s family said they felt she did not have “adequate representation” which resulted in her receiving the death sentence.

In an interview with the Press Trust of India, her father Shabbir Khan said: “She didn’t get justice. I have tried everywhere, running around since last year. But I didn’t have money to go there [Abu Dhabi] to hire a lawyer.”

In an earlier statement released to BBC Hindi following her conviction, Khan’s employer said: “Shahzadi brutally and intentionally killed my son which is already proven by the United Arab Emirates authorities in the light of all the evidence.

“Misleading information has been provided to media and other authorities to gain [their] sympathy and shift the focus from the actual crime which she committed.”

In February, the Indian government informed parliament that a total of 54 Indians were on death row in foreign countries, including 29 in the UAE.

The Dubai-based company’s founder told users that their funds were “safe” and that it would refund any of those affected.

It said hackers stole from its Ethereum coin digital wallet. Ethereum is the second largest cryptocurrency by value after Bitcoin.

Bybit’s founder Ben Zhou said the money could be covered by the firm or by a loan from partners. Bybit holds $20bn (£15bn) in assets.

Bybit said the hackers exploited security features, then transferred the money to an unidentified address.

After the theft, the value of Ethereum fell by around 4% on Friday, leaving it worth $2,641.41 (£2,090) per coin.

The scale of the theft would exceed a previous record, which was a $620m (£490m) heist of Ethereum and USD Coin from the Ronin Network in 2022.

Bybit was founded in 2018. US President Donald Trump and former Paypal chief Peter Thiel were reportedly among its early investors.

Bybit says it has more than 60 million users worldwide and offers access to various cryptocurrencies.

“Bybit is solvent even if this hack loss is not recovered, all of clients assets are 1 to 1 backed, we can cover the loss,” Mr Zhou added.

The company said in a post on X that it had reported the case to authorities and that it was working “quickly and extensively” to identify the hackers.

Cryptocurrencies, which have become popular with investors, have sparked division as many criticise their value for being based purely on speculation, allowing their value to be easily manipulated.

Most recently, Donald Trump has been criticised for launching his own digital coin while saying he “doesn’t know much” about the cryptocurrency.

The digital coin called TRUMP appeared on his social media accounts ahead of his inauguration and quickly became one of the most valuable crypto coins, but has since fallen significantly in value.

It highlights security concerns within the digital currency market, which was hoping for renewed trust after Mr Trump launched his coin. His adviser and and multi-billionaire owner of Tesla, Elon Musk, has also in the past talked up Bitcoin.

In 2014, crypto exchange Mt Gox filed for bankruptcy after $350m (£210m) worth of digital currency had been stolen due to a loophole in its security.

In 2019, hackers stole stolen $41m worth of Bitcoin from the Binance exchange in another major crypto-currency heist.

Leclerc was fastest in the first daylight session at the Yas Marina circuit but Ferrari then revealed they had changed the battery in his car, a breach that triggered an automatic penalty.

McLaren’s Lando Norris was fastest in the floodlit second session, 0.234 quicker than his Australian teammate Oscar Piastri.

Ferrari are 21 points behind McLaren, who were last champions in 1998, with 44 still to be won in Sunday’s 24th and last race of the season with 2023 champions Red Bull out of the running.

McLaren principal Andrea Stella, who was previously at Ferrari, said there was no sense of the pressure being off, however. “We talk about Charles Leclerc. We talk about Ferrari. It’s a very strong combination,” he said. “I think even with the penalty, I wouldn’t be surprised if we can see them very rapidly fighting for the front, for the top positions. So nothing changes.”

Leclerc lapped with a best time of one minute 24.321 seconds, with Norris 0.221 slower. Norris’s best lap in second practice was 1:23.517.

Mercedes’ seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton and teammate George Russell were third and fourth in practice one, with Haas’s Nico Hulkenberg an impressive third in the later session with Carlos Sainz fourth for Ferrari and Leclerc sixth.

Sunday’s race will be Hamilton’s last for Mercedes before joining Ferrari as Sainz’s replacement, with the Spaniard heading to Williams. Hamilton was fifth later on with Russell 13th.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was fifth-fastest in session one, with new Australian teammate Jack Doohan only 19th in preparing for his first race as replacement for Esteban Ocon.

The pair were 12th and 19th respectively later on.Williams’ Franco Colapinto and Alex Albon will both have five place drops for mechanical changes, another blow to a team reeling from a spate of costly crashes that have pushed them to the brink on spares.

Colapinto, who will hand over his seat to Sainz for next season, hit a kerb and damaged his car’s floor in the second session.

In a Formula One first, two brothers took to the track for the same team in the opening session — Leclerc being joined by younger brother Arthur (18th) who was driving Sainz’s Ferrari.

Six of the 10 teams had a young driver at the wheel of one of their cars in the afternoon session, fulfilling an obligation to give them track time.

Japan’s Ryo Hirakawa replaced Piastri, Isack Hadjar drove quadruple champion Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, and Felipe Drugovich was in Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin.

Ayumu Iwasa stood in for fellow-Japanese Yuki Tsunoda at RB and Luke Browning for Albon.

Verstappen, last year’s race winner who has been engaged in a bitter row with Russell that has been the talk of the paddock, returned for practice two and was 17th with teammate Sergio Perez 14th.