Jenson Button set the pace in first practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Friday as Sebastian Vettel made a quiet return to the circuit where he became Formula One’s youngest champion last year.
Now a double title holder, Red Bull’s 24-year-old German Vettel lapped fourth fastest and nearly half a second slower than McLaren’s Button.
Vettel’s Australian teammate Mark Webber was second on the Yas Marina timing screens, 0.126 slower than Button’s best of 1:40.263, denying McLaren a one-two with fellow Briton Lewis Hamilton third.
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Formula 1: Jenson Button Fastest in First Practice at Yas Marina
The Ferraris of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, who both spun off, were fifth and sixth respectively on a bright afternoon with the track temperature hovering around 40 degrees. Times of India
Adrian Sutil maintained his strong form from the Indian Grand Prix by setting the seventh fastest time and getting within a tenth of Massa’s best. Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg was a further 0.790s slower than the Force India in eighth, just ahead of Sutil’s team-mate Paul di Resta who rounded off a solid first session for the Indian team. Jaime Alguersuari was tenth overall in the Toro Rosso, 2.114s off Button’s pace.
It was also a good morning for new boys Jean-Eric Vergne and Romain Grosjean, who lined up 11th and 12th in the Toro Rosso and Renault respectively. Both were subbing in for the morning and had very productive sessions, with Vergne completing 26 laps and Grosjean 29. Grosjean also outperformed his team-mate Vitaly Petrov, although it should be noted that the Russian completed just 13 laps before what looked like an engine problem at the end of the session.
Rubens Barrichello was also troubled by reliability problems as his Williams suffered an oil pressure issue after just three laps. The car was recovered to the pits, but the team didn’t have enough time to get him back out. ESPN F1
Pos No Driver Team Time/Retired 1 4 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 01:40.3 2 2 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 01:40.4 3 3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 01:40.4 4 1 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 01:40.8 5 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 01:40.8 6 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 01:41.3 7 14 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 01:41.3 8 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 01:42.1 9 15 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 01:42.2 10 19 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 01:42.4 11 18 Jean-Eric Vergne STR-Ferrari 01:42.6 12 9 Romain Grosjean Renault 01:42.7 13 10 Vitaly Petrov Renault 01:43.1 14 12 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 01:43.3 15 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 01:43.4 16 17 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 01:44.4 17 16 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 01:44.5 18 20 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 01:44.6 19 21 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 01:44.9 20 23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 01:46.4 21 22 Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 01:46.5 22 24 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 01:48.0 23 25 Robert Wickens Virgin-Cosworth 01:48.6 24 11 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth No time
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