Jenson Button has topped the timesheets in first practice for this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The 2009 World Champion led the way from the Red Bull of Mark Webber as both Ferrari drivers struggled with handling issues. Also in action were up and coming Jean-Éric Vergne, Romain Grosjean and Robert Wickens.
Having achieved a double podium finish last year after leading the inaugural race a season earlier, McLaren now aim to win at Yas Marina and in the process eat into Sebastian Vettel’s 100 percent victory rate at the ultra-modern facility. For this opening period, the entire field was presented with the challenge of a dusty surface.
As Sam Michael began to digest the atmosphere as McLaren’s new Sporting Director, his former team Williams continued to struggle; a sudden and terminal engine failure for Rubens Barrichello left the Brazilian, not only at the bottom of the classification, but returning to the pits by alternative means with barely three laps to his name. He will have to undergo an engine change but will not incur a ten-place grid drop like team-mate Pastor Maldonado, who is having to use his ninth unit of 2011.
The teams spent much of the session trialling Pirelli’s experimental Soft tyre which will, in a modified form, by raced next year; the changed yellow-marked compound is aimed to be more durable than this season’s product. Incidentally, the yellow-mark Soft and white-marked Medium compounds are being used this weekend.
GP2 Champion Grosjean was first to set a time, notching up more laps than anybody as he adapted to the LRGP car; however, he was pipped to the post by Formula Renault 3.5 runner-up Vergne – in the Toro Rosso - as the French duo occupied spots 11 and 12. Canadian Wickens, the Formula Renault 3.5 Champion, was 23rd quickest for Virgin and half a second in arrears of Timo Glock.
There were dramas for Kamui Kobayashi, who suffered a minor gearbox problem, and Pastor Maldonado, who cracked a front wing as he clouted a marker post. Also hitting a bollard was Fernando Alonso as he endured a spin at Turn 5; this came just moments after a similar off-track moment for team-mate Felipe Massa at Turn 1 and both Ferrari drivers struggled for grip and confidence throughout the session.
In the closing stages, the Renault of Vitaly Petrov was smoking heavily and quickly received fire extinguisher treatment as it was pushed back into its garage; this followed dramatic fires for ex team-mate Nick Heidfeld in Barcelona and Budapest.
At the top of the order, Button led the way with a best effort of 1:40.263, edging out Webber by a tenth of a second as respective team-mates Hamilton and Vettel completed the top four. Despite their issues, Alonso and Massa both ended the session in the top six as the Force India of Adrian Sutil moved up to seventh on its final run. Nico Rosberg, re-signed at Mercedes for at least another two campaigns, was eighth from Paul di Resta and Jaime Alguersuari – the pair battling for rookie honours this season.
Second practice starts at 5pm local time (GMT +4) and can also be followed through the GPUpdate.net live report
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  J. Button | McLaren | 01:40.263 | 20 |
| 2. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 01:40.389 | 25 |
| 3. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | 01:40.403 | 26 |
| 4. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 01:40.755 | 26 |
| 5. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 01:40.801 | 24 |
| 6. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 01:41.260 | 16 |
| 7. | A. Sutil | Force India | 01:41.340 | 22 |
| 8. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 01:42.130 | 25 |
| 9. | P. di Resta | Force India | 01:42.151 | 27 |
| 10. | J. Alguersuari | Toro Rosso | 01:42.377 | 26 |
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