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Even
though
Formula
1 has
experienced
two
Singapore
night
races,
the
spectacle
of
second
practice
going
from
natural
light to
a
floodlit
track
was
still a spectacle,
towards
the end
of the
first
day of
practice
for the
inaugural
Abu
Dhabi
Grand
Prix
yesterday.
Here to
witness
the sun
going
down to
be
replaced
by an
almost
full
moon,
were
Ferrari
President,
Luca di
Montezemolo,
Felipe
Massa
and
Michael
Schumacher,
all
present
to lend
their
support
to the
Scuderia
at the
final
round of
the 2009
World
Championship:
a
championship
where
the
Drivers’
crown
was
decided
in
Brazil a
fortnight
ago and
in which
the top
two
places
in the
Constructors’
classification
are also
settled.
So, for
Scuderia
Ferrari,
this
weekend’s
target
is to
make up
the one
point
gap and
overtake
historic
rivals,
McLaren-Mercedes
in the
fight
for the
final
step on
the
virtual
podium.
Judging by the
comments of Ferrari's
two
drivers,
it will
be a
tough
task: in
the
first
practice
Kimi
Raikkonen
and
Giancarlo
Fisichella
finished
fifteenth
and
eighteenth
respectively
and in
the
twilight
session,
the Finn
was
tenth
and the
Italian
seventeenth.
The
general
impression
is that
the Yas
Marina
track is
not too
demanding
and so
far, the
controversial
pit lane
exit,
which
twists
and
turns
and goes
through
a
tunnel,
has not
caused
any
problems.
While it
is usual
for a
race
track to
produce
more
grip and
therefore
quicker
lap
times in
the
second
Friday
session,
here the
difference
was even
more
marked
as the
cooler
night
temperatures
in FP2
saw the
fastest
time
drop by
almost
three
seconds.
The
honour
of
ending
the
first
ever day
of an
Abu
Dhabi
Grand
Prix at
the top
of the
time
sheet
went to
the
McLaren-Mercedes
duo, as
Heikki
Kovalainen
was
fastest,
followed
by Lewis
Hamilton.
Following
the
out-going
world
champion
was his
successor,
Jenson
Button,
third in
the
Brawn,
followed
by
Sebastian
Vettel
in the
Red
Bull.
Fifth
place
went to
the
Toyota
of
Kobayashi,
who is
replacing
Timo
Glock
for the
second
race in
succession.
Rounding
off the
top six
was the
Ferrari-powered
Toro
Rosso of
Sebastien
Buemi.
“We are aware of
the difficulties we will
face this weekend,” said
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.”
Kimi
Raikkonen: “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 pit lane
exit? In terms of its layout
it’s quite similar to
Interlagos, except there’s a
wall instead of a
guardrail.”
Giancarlo
Fisichella: “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.”
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.”
First Session
K. Raikkonen: 15th 1.45.704, 27 laps,
chassis 279
G. Fisichella: 18th 1.46.267, 26 laps,
chassis 280
Second Session
K. Raikkonen: 10th 1.41.987, 39 laps,
chassis 279
G. Fisichella: 17th 1.42.932, 37 laps,
chassis 280
Weather:
First session:
air 32/34 °C, track 46/49 °C; sunny
Second session: air 30 °C, track 35/32 °C; clear skies
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