» Abu Dhabi GP: Hamilton quickest in second practice

While the track temperatures may have cooled in the Abu Dhabi evening, Lewis Hamilton has set things alight by going quickest in Friday’s second practice session at Yas Marina, heading a McLaren 1-2 a session where Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso both crashed out at Turn 1.

With the opening session earlier today delivering plenty in the way of spins and wild off-track moments, the evening’s running under a full moon proved little different as drivers explored the limits of adhesion on the slippery track surface.

The 90-minute session saw a host of names take turns at the top of the timing sheets, although eventually it would be the McLaren pair of Hamilton and Jenson Button who would lock out the top-two spots before the field switched to heavier fuel-load running.

Despite claims that it had resolved its build quality issues with Felipe Massa’s front wing after the Indian Grand Prix, Ferrari’s newer-spec front wing again flailed alarmingly with the Brazilian behind the wheel, throwing up plenty of sparks along the track’s two longest straights.

The front-running Red Bull drivers also had their own dramas: Mark Webber spun at Turn 19, before Vettel lost control at Turn 1 and slid gently into the barriers. Marshals recovered his car back to the pit lane, and he was impressively able to rejoin the field with ten minutes to go.

Just fifteen minutes after Vettel’s accident, Fernando Alonso went off at the same corner, although his accident was more damaging to his Ferrari, ruling him out of action for the rest of the day.

Despite this, he’d still managed the third-fastest time of the session, while team-mate Massa was fourth-fastest.

Continuing the Noah’s Ark treatment – signifying how clearly car-dependent this weekend will be – the Red Bulls were next up, followed by Michael Schumacher’s Mercedes GP and and both Force India runners. Nico Rosberg’s sister Mercedes was 20th-fastest, with the German running a different programme.

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2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Free Practice 2 Session Times:

	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1.	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes MP4-26	1:39.586	31
2.	Jenson Button	McLaren Mercedes MP4-26	+ 0.199	30
3.	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari F150° Italia	+ 0.385	20
4.	Felipe Massa	Ferrari F150° Italia	+ 0.394	34
5.	Mark Webber	Red Bull Renault RB7	+ 0.518	35
6.	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Renault RB7	+ 0.546	26
7.	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes GP W02	+ 0.967	34
8.	Adrian Sutil	Force India Mercedes VJM04	+ 1.365	34
9.	Paul di Resta	Force India Mercedes VJM04	+ 1.435	37
10.	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber Ferrari C30	+ 1.904	34
11.	Sergio Pérez	Sauber Ferrari C30	+ 1.979	34
12.	Sébastien Buemi	Toro Rosso Ferrari STR6	+ 2.094	33
13.	Vitaly Petrov	Renault R31	+ 2.361	31
14.	Jaime Alguersuari	Toro Rosso Ferrari STR6	+ 2.397	34
15.	Bruno Senna	Renault R31	+ 2.783	36
16.	Rubens Barrichello	Williams Cosworth FW33	+ 3.212	35
17.	Pastor Maldonado	Williams Cosworth FW33	+ 3.324	34
18.	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Renault T128	+ 3.976	36
19.	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Renault T128	+ 4.464	38
20.	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes GP W02	+ 4.679	41
21.	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing Cosworth MVR-02	+ 5.900	34
22.	Jérôme d’Ambrosio	Virgin Racing Cosworth MVR-02	+ 6.556	32
23.	Vitantonio Liuzzi	HRT F1 Cosworth F111	+ 6.663	21
24.	Daniel Ricciardo	HRT F1 Cosworth F111	+ 6.742	34