Vettel tops Abu Dhabi opening practice

Unbelievably enough, the track was damp as the Formula One field geared up for the season finale.

A rainstorm hit the Yas Marina circuit before the opening practice session of the weekend but the conditions are expected to remain dry and shiny for the rest of the day.

These unusual conditions in Abu Dhabi slightly upset the teams as they couldn’t work through their traditional Friday programs. All the drivers completed installations laps at the start and then returned to the pits waiting for the track to dry.

Lotus third driver Fairuz Fauzy got caught out by the conditions and spun in his installation lap. He recovered and pitted.

The first third of the season was rather dull as the teams waited for the conditions to improve. The minutes went by with very few action on track – apart from a sighting lap now and then. Halfway through the session, none of the 24 drivers had completed a flying lap and the board remained desperately blank.

Vitaly Petrov and Nico Hulkenberg signaled the start of the action with just over forty minutes remaining. They posted the first times on the board and were soon joined on track by Toro Rosso’s Sébastien Buemi. The other drivers followed suit and only six of them were still in the pits with 34 minutes remaining.

Title contenders Alonso and Webber quickly made their way through the classification and the Spaniard took over at the front with 30 minutes remaining. It was not long before the Red Bull driver moved up two places to top the list.

Vettel soon joined them at the front. With 25 minutes to go, Webber was leading from Vettel and Kubica.

Lewis Hamilton moved up to P2 with his first run. Vettel’s second run saw him take over at the front. Hamilton subsequently improved and jumped Webber to take 2nd. Vettel looked set to improve but lost some time behind Button.

The German managed to improve minutes later and was the first to break under the 1’43 barrier. He set a 1’42’’760 to top the opening practice session by 0.609s over McLaren’s Hamilton. Button was third fastest but one full second slower than the leading Red Bull.

Webber was fourth fastest with Kubica fifth. Championship leader Alonso set the sixth fastest time. Schumacher, Kobayashi, Rosberg and Heidfeld completed the top ten.