Times
01 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:43.939 18 laps
02 J. Button Brawn GP 1:44.035 20 laps
03 S. Vettel Red Bull 1:44.153 28 laps
04 R. Barrichello Brawn GP 1:44.207 23 laps
05 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:44.667 23 laps
06 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:44.687 32 laps
07 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:44.688 14 laps
08 M. Webber Red Bull 1:44.805 25 laps
09 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:44.955 33 laps
10 J. Trulli Toyota 1:44.958 25 laps
11 R. Kubica BMW 1:44.988 22 laps
12 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:45.123 20 laps
13 N. Rosberg Williams 1:45.649 27 laps
14 K. Nakajima Williams 1:45.679 25 laps
15 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:45.704 27 laps
16 F. Alonso Renault 1:45.865 23 laps
17 V. Liuzzi Force India F1 1:46.022 22 laps
18 G. Fisichella Ferrari 1:46.267 26 laps
19 K. Kobayashi Toyota 1:46.364 28 laps
20 R. Grosjean Renault 1:46.411 27 laps

Times
01 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:41.307 35 laps
02 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:41.501 34 laps
03 J. Button Brawn GP 1:41.541 39 laps
04 S. Vettel Red Bull 1:41.591 37 laps
05 K. Kobayashi Toyota 1:41.636 34 laps
06 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:41.683 37 laps
07 M. Webber Red Bull 1:41.684 34 laps
08 R. Barrichello Brawn GP 1:41.831 38 laps
09 N. Rosberg Williams 1:41.931 39 laps
10 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:41.987 39 laps
11 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:42.180 28 laps
12 K. Nakajima Williams 1:42.245 36 laps
13 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:42.278 36 laps
14 J. Trulli Toyota 1:42.409 30 laps
15 V. Liuzzi Force India F1 1:42.530 33 laps
16 F. Alonso Renault 1:42.782 29 laps
17 G. Fisichella Ferrari 1:42.932 37 laps
18 R. Grosjean Renault 1:43.021 37 laps
19 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:43.022 39 laps
20 R. Kubica BMW 1:43.708 13 laps

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Kimi Raikkonen - 10th: “The car is not bad to drive, but it is simply slow and lacks grip, as in fact has been the case very often this year. It’s not as though there is a specific reason why it’s not going well, but most of all, its down to our choice to stop development of the F60, so our performance level compared to the others is going down race by race, given that so many teams are still working on this year’s cars.

“There are only a few corners where you can make a difference, near the start of the lap. Then there are so many heavy braking points and slow speed corners, where stability on entry and acceleration on exit are the important factors. Going from daylight to artificial light? After two races in Singapore, it doesn’t cause a problem. The pitlane exit? In terms of its layout it’s quite similar to Interlagos, except there’s a wall instead of a guardrail.”

Giancarlo Fisichella - 17th: “This will become a sort of second home Grand Prix for Ferrari, as rising above the back of the circuit, will be the first ever theme park dedicated to the Maranello company. As for the track, I can say the nicest part is the first section with the quick corners. I think there is some chance of overtaking on the long straights, while the pit lane exit is a bit dangerous, but there is nothing that can be done to change it.

“In the second session, when the temperature dropped, the track became less slippery. In the first session, I was struggling a bit to stay on track and I had a lot of graining. We have nothing new on the car and we must try and do our best, working on its set-up.”

Stefano Domenicali: “Our main rivals in the fight for third place in the constructors’ classification are going through a very positive phase, while we are having to make a virtue of necessity, trying to get the most out what we have got to work with. However, this does not mean we will not be fighting right down to the last lap, as we are not the sort to give up that easily. As for the technical aspect of this first day of free practice, on behalf of the entire team I wish to congratulate the organizers of the Grand Prix for the work they have done: Yas Marina will become, partly thanks to the Ferrari World Park Abu Dhabi, the place to be for all racing fans.”

Chris Dyer: “It was a Friday like so many others we have experienced this season. We were able to complete our entire programme with both drivers and picked up a lot of data to analyse this evening and tomorrow, in preparation for qualifying and the race. Our race pace seems pretty good, while we are struggling to get a good time out of the car on the first timed lap, which could go against us in qualifying. As for the tyre performance, it is not yet clear, at least from what we have seen today, which will be the quickest compound to use for qualifying, so we might see some different choices to usual.”

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Free Practice 1 Times
01 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:40.356 24 laps
02 K. Nakajima Williams 1:40.648 18 laps
03 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:40.806 14 laps
04 G. Fisichella Ferrari 1:40.985 27 laps
05 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:41.421 26 laps
06 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:41.443 15 laps
07 F. Alonso Renault 1:41.532 22 laps
08 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:41.577 25 laps
09 R. Barrichello Brawn GP 1:41.821 19 laps
10 N. Rosberg Williams 1:42.188 20 laps
11 M. Webber Red Bull 1:42.332 10 laps
12 V. Liuzzi Force India F1 1:42.475 15 laps
13 J. Trulli Toyota 1:42.657 13 laps
14 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:42.667 27 laps
15 R. Kubica BMW 1:42.833 17 laps
16 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:42.977 14 laps
17 S. Vettel Red Bull 1:43.218 11 laps
18 J. Button Brawn GP 1:43.318 17 laps
19 K. Kobayashi Toyota 1:43.407 16 laps
20 R. Grosjean Renault 1:43.572 22 laps

Free Practice 2 Times
01 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:47.261 5 laps
02 S. Vettel Red Bull 1:47.923 6 laps
03 V. Liuzzi Force India F1 1:47.931 5 laps
04 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:47.983 5 laps
05 K. Nakajima Williams 1:48.058 8 laps
06 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:48.691 9 laps
07 F. Alonso Renault 1:48.693 5 laps
08 J. Trulli Toyota 1:48.737 7 laps
09 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:48.802 11 laps
10 R. Kubica BMW 1:48.861 6 laps
11 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:48.886 5 laps
12 K. Kobayashi Toyota 1:49.054 7 laps
13 M. Webber Red Bull 1:49.382 7 laps
14 R. Grosjean Renault 1:49.405 6 laps
15 G. Fisichella Ferrari 1:49.553 5 laps
16 N. Rosberg Williams 1:49.872 8 laps
17 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:50.179 10 laps
18 H. Kovalainen McLaren no time
19 J. Button Brawn GP no time
20 R. Barrichello Brawn GP no time

All Timing Unofficial

Image (c) Bridgestone Corporation

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Kimi Raikkonen - 11th: “The conditions were very difficult today: let’s hope the situation changes for tomorrow and that we will be able to run in the dry. This morning, the track was changing continually, so it was difficult to understand where we were compared to the others.

“I concentrated mainly on the car, trying to understand its handling and I think the situation is reasonably good. We will have to try everything to defend our third place in the constructors’ classification: it will be difficult because the McLarens are very strong and in Singapore they got a great result, although they have not yet got ahead of us. How was the track after three years away? It’s impossible to compare: the tyres and cars are too different to those from 2006.”

Giancarlo Fisichella - 15th: “The day was all about the rain that however should not be a factor on Sunday, which makes everything more complicated. I am pleased with the way the session went this morning, because I quickly had quite a good feeling for the car in the wet and managed to improve with every passing lap, running at the same pace as the best. We hope to improve compared to Singapore, but we know that will be difficult.”

Chris Dyer: “This morning we managed to do a good job in the wet, first on the extremes and then on the intermediates. Both drivers were reasonably happy with the handling of the car in these conditions: if it was to rain for the race, we have a good basis from which to work. In the afternoon the rain was very heavy for almost the whole session and the track conditions were very difficult, to such an extent that it wasn’t really worth going out and risking damaging the car.

“Giancarlo felt particularly comfortable in these conditions, which confirms his skill level. Now, we have to take into account that the number of sets of rain tyres available to us for the whole weekend is very limited and we have to manage them carefully, to avoid finding ourselves in trouble at the crucial moment. We only did a handful of laps at the end on used tyres and we took the opportunity to do a practice start on the grid.”

Free Practice 1

Pos  Driver       Team                       Time              Laps

1.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:50.179            19

2.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:50.356  + 0.177   22

3.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:50.416  + 0.237   21

4.  Alonso       Renault               (B)  1:50.567  + 0.388   16

5.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:50.614  + 0.435   16

6.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:50.699  + 0.520   21

7.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:50.715  + 0.536   17

8.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:50.815  + 0.636   15

9.  Raikkonen    Ferrari               (B)  1:50.865  + 0.686   ù.

10.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:51.089  + 0.910   25

11.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:51.427  + 1.248   23

12.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:51.544  + 1.365   14

13.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:51.643  + 1.464   28

14.  Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:51.656  + 1.477   15

15.  Glock        Toyota                (B)  1:52.083  + 1.904   20

16.  Trulli       Toyota                (B)  1:52.135  + 1.956   20

17.  Fisichella   Ferrari               (B)  1:52.390  + 2.211   24

18.  Liuzzi       Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:52.905  + 2.726   23

19.  Alguersuari  Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:53.232  + 3.053   25

20.  Grosjean     Renault               (B)  1:53.458  + 3.279    9

Free Practice 2

Pos  Driver       Team                       Time              Laps

1.  Vettel       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:48.650            31

2.  Alonso       Renault               (B)  1:48.924  + 0.274   27

3.  Kovalainen   McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:48.952  + 0.302   30

4.  Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:49.098  + 0.448   31

5.  Button       Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:49.311  + 0.661   34

6.  Webber       Red Bull-Renault      (B)  1:49.317  + 0.667   14

7.  Rosberg      Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:49.333  + 0.683   33

8.  Glock        Toyota                (B)  1:49.342  + 0.692   30

9.  Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1:49.358  + 0.708   28

10.  Kubica       BMW-Sauber            (B)  1:49.609  + 0.959   24

11.  Barrichello  Brawn-Mercedes        (B)  1:49.616  + 0.966   30

12.  Sutil        Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:49.710  + 1.060   31

13.  Trulli       Toyota                (B)  1:49.795  + 1.145   29

14.  Raikkonen    Ferrari               (B)  1:49.941  + 1.291   29

15.  Nakajima     Williams-Toyota       (B)  1:50.023  + 1.373   34

16.  Fisichella   Ferrari               (B)  1:50.253  + 1.603   31

17.  Buemi        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:50.527  + 1.877   29

18.  Liuzzi       Force India-Mercedes  (B)  1:50.605  + 1.955   28

19.  Grosjean     Renault               (B)  1:50.972  + 2.322   17

20.  Alguersuari  Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  1:51.423  + 2.773   31

All Timing Unofficial

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Kimi Raikkonen - 14th: “It was a Friday like any other. We had a number of little problems with the car, but overall, we were able to get through the programme we had set ourselves. As for the times, there is always a question mark over the various fuel loads: we will see tomorrow what we can do in qualifying. Today is too soon to say if we can be in a position to fight for a podium finish as we have done in recent races. The softer tyres degrade more quickly, at least from what we could see today. It’s hardly surprising and usually, bit by bit, as the track rubbers in, the situation improves.”

Giancarlo Fisichella - 16th: “It was a rather difficult day. The car is very nervous and I have yet to find the ideal set-up. Now, I must sit down with the team to try and prepare as well as possible for qualifying and the race. My aim is to improve on my result from Monza, but I know that won’t be easy. The track was very slippery and sometimes I had a bit of graining on the tyres. Unfortunately, I never managed to do a long run with the soft tyres, because of the red flags following Webber’s accident: this compound is definitely quicker by three to four tenths, but there is a question mark over the consistency of its performance.”

Chris Dyer: “Today’s performance was definitely nothing to get excited about. The interruption to the session complicated the running of our planned programme, but overall we have gathered sufficient data to be as well prepared as possible for qualifying and the race. Tomorrow, our aim is to get both cars through to Q3: it won’t be easy, but we will do our best. Both types of tyre showed some signs of degradation today, which makes the choice for the race even harder. From what we have seen, I also expect to see different tyre strategies employed in qualifying.”

Stefano Domenicali: “Clearly, when evaluating today’s free practice times, one has to consider the various unknown factors, but it is equally clear that our situation looks pretty difficult. Besides, if so many other teams continue to bring significant technical updates to the track, while for the past two months we have frozen the development of the F60, then we can expect to find ourselves in this situation. All the same, we must now concentrate on ourselves and try and make the most of the package we have, as indeed we have done in the past few races: if we do a good job, we have seen that the results can follow.”

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