Lewis Hamilton led team-mate Jenson Button as McLaren locked out Abu Dhabi’s second practice session on Friday evening. With a full moon shining over Yas Marina, the 90 minutes were characterised by two other World Champions, as both Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso crashed into the barriers at Turn 1.
Friday has delivered a selection of dramas in the Middle East, with numerous cars suffering spins and off-track excursions. However, with Button having topped the first session, McLaren’s underlying pace confirms that the Woking team is favourite for victory.
In the first 90-minute period of the day, three reserve or rookie drivers were in action as Romain Grosjean, Jean-Éric Vergne and Robert Wickens drove for Renault, Toro Rosso and Virgin respectively, although all race drivers were back in their cockpits as night fell.
A selection of names took turns atop the leaderboard, including Alonso and Mark Webber who so dramatically lost out on the title here last year, although it was eventually the McLarens which moved ahead before the heavy fuel runs began. Teams also trialled an experimental Soft tyre compound as Pirelli continued to test its products ahead of 2012.
After India, Ferrari claimed to have rectified its quality control issue, although Felipe Massa’s front wing again vibrated and hit the ground on the back straight, spectacularly throwing up several sparks in the process. There was also drama for Webber, who spun at the notorious Turn 19 before briefly rolling backwards down the section of circuit which lies adjacent to the five-star Yas Marina Hotel.
The most excitement came at Turn 1, as Vettel dramatically lost control and slid sideways, skidding across the vast run-off area before suffering a relatively harmless tag with the cushioned TechPro barriers; the German, who has already experienced Friday crashes in Turkey, Canada and Japan this year, lost half an hour of running time but was able to rejoin the session with ten minutes to go.
Barely 15 minutes after Vettel’s off, Alonso ran into trouble and crashed at the first corner, suffering a heavier and more rearward impact than Vettel; the Spaniard’s frustration was obvious as he returned to the pit lane with his helmet still on. This summed up a trying day for the Maranello cars, with both Alonso and Felipe Massa having suffered spins in the opening session.
Despite his troubles, Alonso still managed the third-quickest time after the McLarens, which were separated by two tenths of a second as Hamilton managed a 1:39.586 best effort. The team symmetry continued, with Massa fourth from the pair of Red Bulls, with Webber again in front of team-mate Vettel. Three Mercedes-powered cars were next up – as Michael Schumacher was joined by the Force India pairing – although Nico Rosberg found himself 20th after encountering problems.
Rubens Barrichello has taken a new engine, following his terminal failure in Practice 1, although the Brazilian does not face a ten-place grid penalty like Williams team-mate Pastor Maldonado; an Indian Grand Prix gearbox failure damaged his eighth engine of the season, meaning a ninth has to be used this weekend.
- Post-practice feelings from pace-setters McLaren
Abu Dhabi’s third and final practice begins at 2pm local time (GMT +4) on Saturday and can also be tracked via the GPUpdate.net live report
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  L. Hamilton | McLaren | 01:39.586 | 31 |
| 2. | J. Button | McLaren | 01:39.785 | 30 |
| 3. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 01:39.971 | 20 |
| 4. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 01:39.980 | 34 |
| 5. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 01:40.104 | 35 |
| 6. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 01:40.132 | 26 |
| 7. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | 01:40.553 | 34 |
| 8. | A. Sutil | Force India | 01:40.951 | 34 |
| 9. | P. di Resta | Force India | 01:41.021 | 37 |
| 10. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | 01:41.490 | 34 |
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