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McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton set the fastest lap in first practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after getting the better of Brawn’s Jenson Button.
At one stage the two Englishmen traded fastest times for four consecutive laps of the brand new Yas Marina circuit.
But Hamilton’s effort of one minute 43.939 seconds beat Button by just 0.096secs on the dusty Abu Dhabi track.
Many drivers, including world champion Button, struggled for grip as they explored the limits of the new circuit.
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel was third quickest after his late hot lap, with Button’s Brawn team-mate Rubens Barrichello setting the fourth fastest time of the session.
Formula 1: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - First Practice Results
Vettel reported on Red Bull team radio early in the session that track conditions were “very, very dirty and dusty with very low grip off the racing line”.
Several drivers had off-track moments as they pushed hard to find ways of saving lap time, Button in particular had a big moment between Turn 18 and 19. BBC Sport
BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld was fifth overall, but 0.728secs down, followed closely by Sebastien Buemi in his Toro Rosso and Adrian Sutil for Force India.
Brazilian Grand Prix winner Mark Webber was eighth, with the top 10 completed by Alguersuari and Toyota’s Jarno Trulli. The Press Association
Heikki Kovalainen was 12th for McLaren on 1m 45.123s, then came the Williams of Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima on 1m 45.649s and 1m 45.679s respectively, Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari on 1m 45.704s, Fernando Alonsos Renault on 1m 45.865s, Vitantonio Liuzzi’s Force India on 1m 46.239s, Giancarlo Fisichella’s Ferrari on 1m 46.267s, Kamui Kobayashi’s Toyota on 1m 46.364s and Romain Grosjean’s Renault on 1m 46.411s.
Besides Button, the other transgressors were Kobayashi who spun in Turn Six, and Kovalainen who ran off the road in Turn 20. Formula 1
