McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton led his three fellow title contenders in the second practice session on Friday at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Hamilton clocked 1 minute, 40.888 seconds on the Yas Marina circuit, making him 0.257 seconds quicker than Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel.
Fernando Alonso and Vettel’s Red Bull teammate Mark Webber finished the session in third and fourth place respectively as darkness fell. The four title contenders were divided by 0.427 seconds.
Alonso heads into the final race of the season as a marginal favourite for his third drivers’ title. The Spanish Ferrari driver leads Webber by eight points, Vettel by 15 and outsider Hamilton by 24.
“A good day, (the) usual suspects were at the top. Lewis had run a pretty good lap,” the Australian driver Webber said. “It feels like a normal weekend, but obviously there’s a lot more at stake.”
Hamilton was involved in a minor incident when he brushed the side of the side of Bruno Senna’s HRT as he turned into the pit lane. The incident will be investigated, but looked accidental and unlikely to cost Hamilton a penalty.
Vettel was fastest in the first practice, with Hamilton second. Hamilton’s time in the later session was nearly two seconds quicker than Vettel’s earlier mark of 1-42.760, when racers were far more cautious due to a heavy rain shower early in the day.
Webber was fourth in both sessions, while Alonso improved from sixth place in his first run. Vettel also had the fastest opening practice run at last week’s Brazilian Grand Prix. He then won the race ahead of Webber and Alonso to take the championship race down to the last day.
Vettel has had nine pole positions and won four races, while Webber has had five poles and also won four. Robert Kubica of Poland had the fifth fastest practice time in his Renault.
