Welcome to ESPNF1's coverage of the final free practice session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. A final hour to fine tune set-ups ahead of qualifying this evening |
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After yesterday's running included a soft development compound tyre, today we will be able to see comparable pace on the same rubber, with some low fuel runs likely to point to a potential qualifying order |
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Don't go thinking that whoever is quickest in this session will be on pole, though, as the track temperature will drop considerably between the end of this session and qualifying as the sun goes down. That can have a large impact on pace |
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I mention whoever is quickest in this session, it was McLaren smiling at the end of Friday's running after Lewis Hamilton headed a one-two for the team in FP2 |
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And there were also a few problems for the latest two double world champions, with Sebastian Vettel watching on as his Red Bull was craned away after spinning out at turn one:
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And while he was there, Fernando Alonso joined him in the turn one barriers:
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Expect to see both of those drivers giving the kerb at turn one a wide berth; Felipe Massa was also guilty of taking too much kerb on entry and spinning during FP1, but fortunately for him he stopped before the barriers and the only damage was a set of heavily flat-spotted tyres |
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Now, if you want to get in touch with us during this hour-long session then you can do so in one of two ways. Either drop us an email using the link above or tweet us @ESPNF1_live. We will try to publish as many of your comments as possible, and answer your questions either on here or on Twitter |
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Just coming up to 2pm local time, and the air temperature is up at 27C. Track temperature is 41C, but as I said earlier that will drop during qualifying later |
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Bruno Senna leads out a number of cars as soon as the lights go green |
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Hamilton sporting some rather strange looking blue and yellow overalls today as part of McLaren's competition to design them for Saturdays. Can't say they quite match the car... |
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So far nobody has gone on to complete a lap, one installation lap all round with only Hamilton yet to leave the pit lane |
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Sophisticated car monitoring going on down at Toro Rosso: Buemi's car has the engine cover off and a mechanic is looking in using a torch |
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Hamilton returns to the pit lane after his installation lap and the track falls quiet again |
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Mark Webber watches from the entrance to the Red Bull garage as mechanics make changes to his car. He looks very relaxed so I don't think there's a major problem there |
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D'Ambrosio takes to the track and has the circuit to himself for now. He's trying to make up for lost time after Robert Wickens ran his car in FP1. He carries out an aero test along the main straight between turns 7 and 8 |
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Medium tyres on the Virgin as he starts a flying lap |
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D'Ambrosio's first lap is a 1:49.573, but that won't be top of the timesheets for very long... |
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Di Resta starts a lap, also on medium tyres, as Perez goes quickest with a 1:44.566 |
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We're already 15 minutes in to the session, and di Resta has gone quickest with a 1:44.231 |
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Hamilton and Button join the track as Perez improves to a 1:43.905 |
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Renault (OfficialLRGO) on Twitter: "Hot hot hot out there today...no doubt qualifying will be a different kettle of fish" |
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Looks like trouble for Trulli, as there are a lot of mechanics gathered around the rear of his car in the garage |
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Massa goes quickest with a 1:43.132, also on medium tyres. We are unlikely to see the soft compound until the final half an hour or 20 minutes of this session |
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Button now fastest, going almost a second quicker than Massa with a 1:42.163 |
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Bit of an odd moment as Hamilton tries to pass Schumacher up the inside in to turn 11 but Schumacher refuses to give up the corner and cuts the chicane to stay clear ahead |
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Trulli, Vettel, Alonso and Webber yet to rejoin the track after their installation laps. I mentioned work going on for Webber and Trulli, and Alonso has also been talking to a mechanic about an issue in the cockpit |
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Vettel is in his car and looks to be preparing to go out on track. Webber is also back in his car too |
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Bad news for Lotus, as Mike Gascoyne tweets: "Gearbox problem for Jarno, he will not get back out this session" If that needs changing he will take a five-place grid penalty |
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Button has improved to a 1:40.993, just 0.193s ahead of Hamilton |
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Carl emails in to ask: "Rumors about Kimi Raikkonen making a comeback are getting increasingly stronger. He left F1, seemingly bored, when he had a lucrative Ferrari-contract in his pocket all other drivers dreamt about. NASCAR-experimenting, a no-show during a WRC-weekend… How do you rate Raikkonen's motivation and how will this absence affect his performance in this new F1 age, where the competition is stronger than ever?" I think it could be a case of the grass isn't always greener, and Raikkonen will be motivated to establish himself once again. With his last two teams having been McLaren and Ferrari then if he were to return with Williams you'd think he would be looking to prove himself to then get a potentially championship-winning drive |
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Vettel goes third, 0.423s slower than Button. Webber is just under a second off the McLaren pace |
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Webber improves to be just 0.002s slower than Button |
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Still yet to see a soft tyre run today |
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Ahmed says: "Alonso says Lewis is the only one who could win a race with a less performing car...Impressive! Considering the amount of love lost over the years." It's a nice comment Ahmed, and Alonso didn't just say a race, he said Hamilton was the only man who could win a whole championship without having the quickest car. Hamilton said he was "blown away" by those comments |
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Speaking of Alonso, he has a moment at turn five after getting too much kerb. He has to catch the rear end but runs wide on the outside of six and gets close to the wall |
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Vettel goes quickest with a 1:40.938, so just 0.057 covers the top three cars right now |
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Perez is on the soft tyre now, as is Maldonado |
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Perez goes fifth on softs |
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Hamilton improves to go quickest with a 1:40.661. He looks very strong on this track |
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Engine cover off on Petrov's car at Renault, so he's losing time |
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Massa has reverted to the Singapore-spec front wing after his 'fluttering' problems. With soft tyres he goes quickest bu just 0.030s |
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Rosberg on softs and he goes third, 0.009s behind Hamilton and 0.039s behind Massa. Hamilton's time set on medium tyres, though |
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Kobayashi goes 12th on soft tyres; he's been quite quiet so far this weekend after he had a few issues in FP1 which meant he could only complete 18 laps |
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Not being quiet, however, is Adrian Sutil. He's still unsure of his future at Force India, but he's shown the pace in the car on soft tyres to go quickest with a 1:40.561 |
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Massa quickly ends Sutil's time in the limelight though with a 1:40.183 to go fastest again |
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Schumacher matches Vettel's lap time to go seventh on the soft tyre |
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His team-mate Rosberg, however, goes quickest with a 1:40.135 |
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Petrov has managed to get back on track and he goes 13th quickest |
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Sutil improves once again despite a scruffy final sector. He stays third but less than 0.3s off the pace |
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Klaas asks: "The future for Jérôme D'Ambrosio isn't looking very bright, I'm afraid. Although he delivered a very decent season so far (given the fact that he has been driving a horrible car) other youngsters with more money are allready waiting to take his place. Will the young Belgian find himself a place in F1 after this season? Are there speculations about his future?" There certainly is speculation about his future, as Timo Glock is contracted to the team to push it forward, so Virgin (to become Marussia next season) appears to be looking to maximise the money generated from its second seat. Rumours in the paddock suggest Chales Pic could be in the car next season, and while d'Ambrosio has done a good job it must be remembered that he too gained the seat on more than driving skill alone |
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Rosberg still quickest, but he's back in the garage with the front wing off the car. Webber is now out on track, as is Vettel, but no movement from McLaren yet with seven minutes to go |
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Webber on his first soft tyre lap, and he's just under 0.2s down through the first two sectors |
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Hamilton and Button now out on soft tyres too, as is Alonso |
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Webber improves with the fastest final sector to go quickest with a 1:39.668 |
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Alonso goes second, 0.250s slower than Webber |
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Vettel now close to Webber's pace, but only goes second. 0.063s slowe than his team-mate |
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Hamilton a quarter of a second up through the first two sectors |
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Hamilton goes fastest by almost half a second with a 1:39.177. Button is nearly 0.6s slower in fourth place |
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Looks like everyone could improve on a second run. Webber still second but within 0.280s of Hamilton now. He came across Vettel in the final sector but didn't lose any time |
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One lap to cool the tyres and then another lap seems to be the best strategy as Vettel goes second, still 0.226s slower than Hamilton |
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Hamilton improving on this lap too... |
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Hamilton does improve again with a 1:38.976, over 0.4s quicker than anyone else |
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Button goes third, 0.453s slower than Hamilton |
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Vettel can't improve on his final lap, but Webber does to go third fastest, 0.451s off Hamilton |
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Hamilton returning to the grid for a practice start, and he tops the timesheets for the second consecutive session. Maybe a touch surprisingly though, he takes up the second grid slot on the grid rather than pole |
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Just a mention for Barrichello, who only completed five laps in that session. He had an oil leak |
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Scott emails in: "Hamilton has the bit between his teeth again! Hopefully he can carry this through to the race this time..." |
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Very closely matched behind Hamilton, with Vettel, Webber and Button split by just 0.026s and Alonso a further 0.2s back, but it's Hamilton who looks mightily impressive around the Yas Marina Circuit. Can he replicate that performance in qualifying? Join us in two hours to find out. |