Lewis Hamilton continued his fine form in the second free practice session here at the Yas marina Circuit on Friday, edging out his teammate, Nico Rosberg, by a mere seven hundredths of a second to claim top honours overall for the day.
It wasn’t all plain sailing for Hamilton however after the Brit suffered gearbox issues early on in the ninety minute session, however it was only a Friday gearbox and wont impose a penalty for Sunday’s race.
"It's been a great day. Generally very smooth with no real issues. The first run in FP2 wasn't ideal as there was so much traffic and I didn't get to do a flying lap. But after that I managed to get a decent time in," Hamilton said. "Not perfect, as I was still feeling where the car was, but good enough."
"We got a lot of work done both on the short and long runs. I'm really happy with the car and we're in a good position for tomorrow. Pole is the goal for tomorrow. I haven't managed it at this track for a long time but I know I'm quick here, the car feels great and there's still some time in it, so that's my absolute focus right now. "
Rosberg meanwhile lost a tenth on his fastest lap after a mishap at turn 14, the German trying all he can to set his Mercedes up to perfection for race day so he can lay claim to his first ever world crown.
Sebastian Vettel was best of the rest with a third placed finish, two tenths of a second down the order, the Ferrari driver also suffereing gearbox issues, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen a further three tenths back in fourth.
Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo rounded out the top five.
Free practice three and qualifying will take place here in Abu Dhabi later tonight.
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:40.861
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, +0.079
3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, +0.269
4. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, +0.528
5. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, +0.529
6. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, +0.603
7. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, +1.098
8. Sergio Perez, Force India, +1.180
9. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, +1.403
10. Felipe Massa, Williams, +1.407
11. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, +1.505
12. Jenson Button, McLaren, +1.962
13. Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, +2.151
14. Romain Grosjean, Haas, +2.247
15. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, +2.411
16. Esteban Ocon, Manor, +2.739
17. Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, +2.893
18. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, +3.042
19. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, +3.184
20. Kevin Magnussen, Renault, +3.256
21. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, +3.617
22. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, +5.087
(Times courtesy of Sky Sports)
