Vettel sets early pace

Championship contender Sebastian Vettel left his rivals standing in opening practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Friday.

Hamilton second in first practice; Webber fourth with Alonso sixth

World championship contender Sebastian Vettel left his rivals standing in opening practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Friday. The Red Bull driver, one of four who can take the title this weekend, was over sixth tenths of a second clear of fellow protagonist Lewis Hamilton. Vettel, 23, who has to finish in the top two to stand any chance of usurping Hamilton as F1's youngest ever drivers' champion, proved the clear pacesetter at the Yas Marina circuit, albeit in a session that was slow to get going after rain had surprisingly hit the venue. A 20-minute downpour soaked the 5.554-km circuit around 90 minutes before the cars hit the track and although the temperature stood at 29 degrees centigrade, it was still declared wet. Drivers therefore completed their customary installation laps before venturing back to their garages until the track was completely dry. Vettel, who also won the inaugural twilight race in the Emirate 12 months ago, then emerged as the one to beat as he set a time of one minute 42.760seconds.

Daunting

Hamilton, who was on pole for McLaren 12 months ago, was 0.609secs adrift as he embarked upon a weekend that sees him trying to overcome a daunting 24-point deficit to overall leader Fernando Alonso. His team-mate, outgoing world champion Jenson Button, was third fastest, one second off Vettel's pace, followed by the final contender, Red Bull's Mark Webber. Renault's Robert Kubica was fifth on the timesheets, followed by Alonso, who respectively leads Webber and Vettel by eight and 15 points and needs a top-two finish this weekend to guarantee himself a third title. The Spaniard was 1.361secs slower than Vettel, although Ferrari rarely show their true pace on a Friday. They must also manage engine life on the unit Alonso is using - the last of the eight he is permitted to run during the season. Mercedes and Sauber drivers filled slots six through to 10, with Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg seventh and ninth for the former and Kamui Kobayashi and Nick Heidfeld eighth and 10th for the latter. Alonso's team-mate Felipe Massa was 11th, 2.4secs off Vettel. Standing in for Heikki Kovalainen, Lotus reserve driver Fairuz Fauzy propped up the field some nine seconds off the pace and also burning a hole in his car's exhaust.

Times

1. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) RedBull-Renault 1min 42.760secs
2. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren 1:43.369
3. Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 1:43.785
4. Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull - Renault 1:43.840
5. Robert Kubica (Poland) Renault 1:44.080
6. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 1:44.121
7. Michael Schumacher (Germany) Mercedes 1:44.199
8. Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) BMW Sauber - Ferrari 1:44.604
9. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 1:44.718
10. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber - Ferrari 1:44.737
11. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 1:45.160
12. Vitaly Petrov (Russia) Renault 1:45.445
13. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Williams - Cosworth 1:45.474
14. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India-Mercedes 1:45.552
15. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) Force India-Mercedes 1:45.585
16. Jaime Alguersuari (Spain) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:46.003
17. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Williams - Cosworth 1:46.644
18. Sebastien Buemi (Switzerland) Toro Rosso - Ferrari 1:47.105
19. Timo Glock (Germany) Virgin - Cosworth 1:48.450
20. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Lotus - Cosworth 1:48.472
21. Lucas Di Grassi (Brazil) Virgin - Cosworth 1:49.375
22. Bruno Senna (Brazil) HRT - Cosworth 1:49.590
23. Christian Klien (Austria) HRT - Cosworth 1:50.274
24. Fairuz Fauzy (Malaysia) Lotus - Cosworth 1:51.705