Hamilton fastest in Abu Dhabi

McLaren quick at the new Yas Marina circuit

Last updated: 30th October 2009

Hamilton: Fast car

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Possible future team-mates Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button topped the timesheets after the morning practice session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The outgoing title holder and new world champion - I likely target of McLaren for 2010 -clocked the fastest times at the brand new Yas Marina circuit, defying track temperatures of 45 degrees and a dusty surface.

But it was Hamilton's McLaren that went fastest, the Briton being the only driver to break the one minute 44 second barrier as they all put in plenty of laps on their first visit to the new lay-out.

The big names delayed their appearance as the backmarkers cleared the track of dust and sand, with the lead changing hands on numerous occasions in the first half of the session.

Hamilton improved to first place with a 1:44.908, passing Sebastien Vettel, who had an extremely close encounter with a wall. Meanwhile, Button suffered the first spin of the weekend, as he lost control of his Brawn on entry to Turn 19.

He was, however, able to return to the track without any damage to his car as Kamui Kobayashi joined Button as he lost control at the exit of Turn 5, putting his Toyota into a 180' spin.

Robert Kubica improved to second place behind Hamilton while the second Red Bull of Mark Webber climbed to fourth before then going quickest of all with a 1:44.805.

Button finally made his way to the top of the timesheets with a 1:44.524 but it was short-lived as Hamilton re-took the top spot, taking 0.3secs off his fellow Brit's time.

Button fought back, taking the P1 slot only to lose it again to Hamilton. The McLaren driver lowered the benchmark to a 1:43.939 while Adrian Sutil moved up to fifth place in an impressive run from the Force India driver.

Barrichello edged up to third place, slotting in behind his Brawn team-mate Button and ahead of Vettel while Nick Heidfeld put his BMW up into fifth place.

Despite putting in a late run and Hamilton sitting in the pits, Button was not able to overhaul his fellow Brit, who finished the session on top with a 1:43.939. Button was 0.096s off the pace.

Times
01 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:43.93918 laps
02 J. Button Brawn GP 1:44.03520 laps
03 S. Vettel Red Bull 1:44.15328 laps
04 R. Barrichello Brawn GP 1:44.20723 laps
05 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:44.66723 laps
06 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:44.68732 laps
07 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:44.68814 laps
08 M. Webber Red Bull 1:44.80525 laps
09 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:44.95533 laps
10 J. Trulli Toyota 1:44.95825 laps
11 R. Kubica BMW 1:44.98822 laps
12 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:45.12320 laps
13 N. Rosberg Williams 1:45.64927 laps
14 K. Nakajima Williams 1:45.67925 laps
15 K. R�ikk�nen Ferrari 1:45.70427 laps
16 F. Alonso Renault 1:45.86523 laps
17 V. Liuzzi Force India F1 1:46.02222 laps
18 G. Fisichella Ferrari 1:46.26726 laps
19 K. Kobayashi Toyota 1:46.36428 laps
20 R. Grosjean Renault 1:46.41127 laps