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F1: Kovalainen quickest in Abu Dhabi practice race

Finnish Formula One driver Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari drives during the second practice session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Friday. PHOTO: EPA

McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen set the fastest time in Friday’s practice for today’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Kovalainen, who is widely expected to depart McLaren after the race and is seeking to impress other teams, set a time of 1 minute, 41.307 seconds around the new Yas Marina circuit, edging teammate Lewis Hamilton by 0.2 seconds.

“The whole day was pretty good,” Kovalainen said. “We’d already done some good work in Woking preparing for this circuit, so we had a good balance right from the start this morning. On the straight, KERS gives us an additional benefit. We can use it for maximum performance and it’s worth three-and-a-half to four-tenths.”

Hamilton said he believed McLaren could translate Friday’s pace into a challenge for pole position in yesterday’s qualifying as the team seeks to win the unofficial title of best team in the second half of the season.

‘BACK TO THE FRONT’

“Our car is probably driving better than it has all year — it’s just been getting better and better,” Hamilton said. “In a way, it’s been an excellent year. It’s a bit like a race when you start from the back of the field and fight back to the front.”

Brawn GP world champion Jenson Button was third fastest, ahead of Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel, who was on course to challenge for fastest time before being baulked by another driver on his final flying lap.

Vettel is second place in the championship standings, two points ahead of Brawn GP driver Rubens Barrichello, who was eighth fastest on Friday.

Toyota driver Kamui Kobayashi, preparing for only his second career race after a debut in the previous round in Brazil, was fifth best, in front of Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi and Red Bull’s Mark Webber.

Second through seventh were separated by just 0.18 of a second, indicating a close race today on a circuit that creates headaches for engineers, who must balance the need for straight-line speed on the two long straights with downforce in the twisty and technical sections.

GETTING DARK

Friday’s second practice session gave drivers their first opportunity to experience the transition from a twilight start to a finish in the darkness of early evening — mirroring the times of today’s race.

It appeared to create no problems for the drivers, with generous runoff areas meaning no collisions with tire walls and no damage to cars.

The only casualty was BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica, who blew an engine early in the second session. The strong performances by Kovalainen and Hamilton showed that McLaren was well poised to hang onto third place in the constructors’ championship ahead of rival Ferrari.

Ferrari, whose drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Giancarlo Fisichella could only manage 10th and 17th, respectively, in Friday’s practice, are one point behind McLaren.
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