ABU DHABI: Briton Lewis Hamilton topped the times for McLaren in Friday’s second free practice session for Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The 2008 world champion outpaced his three rivals in this weekend’s championship showdown by more than two-tenths of a second.
Hamilton, 25, who claimed pole position and then led last year’s race for 19 laps until forced to retire with a braking problem, clocked a day’s best of one minute and 40.888 seconds. It was a bold statement of intent from the clear outsider among the four men in contention for the drivers’ title, but his McLaren team-mate 2009 champion Jenson Button, who is hoping to help his partner take the crown, was unable to match him and was only eighth fastest.
Hamilton’s time lifted him clear of German Sebastian Vettel who was second fastest for Red Bull ahead of current leader Fernando Alonso of Ferrari and Australian Mark Webber, who was fourth in the second constructors’ championship winning Red Bull car.
Pole Robert Kubica was fifth quickest for Renault, Brazilian Felipe Massa sixth for Ferrari, after stopping out on track due to suspected fuel problems, and Russian rookie Vitaly Petrov seventh in the second Renault.
Hamilton’s progress was not without incident either.
In the early stages, he flat-spotted his tyres when pushing hard and later he narrowly missed a collision with Brazilian Bruno Senna’s Hispania car when he cut back across the circuit to go down the pit lane.
For that, he was called to the stewards’ office for an investigation after the session.
In addition to Massa’s stoppage, Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari of Toro Rosso abandoned his car at Turn 19 after an hour’s action and just as the ‘twilight’ session’s action intensified. Before dusk descended, when German rookie Nico Hulkenberg signalled the start of competition in earnest by switching to the ‘super soft’ tyres for his Williams, Alonso had been the quickest man on track, ahead of a variety of rivals.
The two-times champion Spaniard clocked a lap of one minute and 41.164 seconds after 16 minutes of the 90 and remained top until Hamilton, also on softer tyres, went top again after an hour.
Red Bull bosses want ‘free for all’ finale
ABU DHABI: Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has made clear that his team’s warring world title contenders will not only be free from team orders in Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but will be encouraged to treat it as a “free for all” as they battle for the championship.
Horner, the team principal and manager, who is strictly controlled by instructions from the team’s owner Dietrich Mateschitz, said on Friday that both Australian Mark Webber and German Sebastian Vettel will be “free to race as aggressively as they want” in Sunday’s season finale.
The pair are in a fight for the title with current leader, Spaniard Fernando Alonso, of Ferrari and Briton Lewis Hamilton of McLaren, who has only a slim and distant hope of success.
Alonso leads Webber by eight points and Vettel by 15. Hamilton is 24 points adrift. When asked more directly if he would stand by this outlook if Alonso retired during the race and it became a straight scrap between his two men, he was adamant that he and the team had no intention of interfering in any way.
Horner added: “In the situation, they are both racing for the championship, I don’t think it would make one iota of difference if we told them not to race each other — which we wouldn’t do.
Vettel finished over a second ahead of Webber when the German dominated the opening free practice session at the Yas Marina track Friday, the Australian finishing fourth. Hamilton was second and Alonso sixth. Hamilton’s McLaren team-mate 2009 champion and fellow-Briton Jenson Button was third with Pole Robert Kubica fifth for Renault.
Horner said the Red Bull cars had run without any problems during the session which was affected by earlier rain as the track dried out. Vettel clocked a best lap of 1min 42.760secs to wind up six-tenths of a second ahead of Hamilton.
Button was a second further back with Webber also just one second behind. Vettel has not confirmed clearly in public that he will definitely pull over for Webber if required, but Horner told reporters here on Thursday evening that he has no doubt that the young German will do what is required to ensure a Red Bull driver wins the title. AFP
