Practice One: First blood to Vettel

Sebastian Vettel threw down the gauntlet in Friday's opening practice for the title showdown in Abu Dhabi, setting the fastest time ahead of his title rivals

All eyes were on the leading four in the Drivers' standings as proceedings got underway at the Yas Marina circuit.

However, a wet track kept everyone, not just the four, in their garages for more than half the session as they waited for the asphalt to dry out.

As to be expected, once underway the Red Bulls came to the fore with Vettel topping Practice One with a 1:42.760.

And although it initially appeared as if it would be a Red Bull 1-2, a late charge from McLaren put Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button up into second and third places. Hamilton, though, was 0.609s slower than Vettel.

Webber finished fourth quickest, ahead of Robert Kubica and Championship leader Fernando Alonso.

Report: Due to showers earlier in the morning, Practice One got underway on a damp Yas Marina track. However, with the temperature sitting at 28'C it won't be long before it dries out completely. Christian Klien was the first out of the pits, following by the pack with some having a moment or two on the damper parts of the track.

The first half of the session was spent waiting for the track to dry out with the occasional single lap run before the drivers headed back into the pits rather than risk going off on the damp patches. Nico Hulkenberg was the first of the brave souls, crossing the line with a 1:51.207 while Vitaly Petrov also made his mark on the timesheets. The duo's adventures, which saw both keep all four wheels on the circuit, prompted others to venture out.

Mark Webber was the first of the title-four to clock a time, a 1:49.320 for the Aussie, putting him sixth. Fernando Alonso was eighth on his first lap, a massive 11s off the pace. A run of purple sector times saw Petrov lower the benchmark time to a 1:46.028 with Felipe Massa, despite a "small telemetry problem" taking second before he was dropped by Alonso and Webber, who claimed second and third places.

Alonso was the next to lead the way, a 1:45.807 for the Ferrari driver. His reign was short-lived as Webber went quickest, 0.630s up. Sebastian Vettel ventured out taking fifth place while Michael Schumacher went P7. Vettel lept to the front with a 1:44.274 as Robert Kubica slotted in between the Red Bull drivers.

25 minutes remaining and there were still no sign of Lewis Hamilton. Webber went quickest, Schumacher went off, Jenson Button claimed sixth, Nick Heidfeld jumped to fourth, dropped to fifth as Adrian Sutil went fourth and then dropped even further as Button went fourth and then Schumacher went fourth. Nico Rosberg went third, Kubica went third and then Button went third.

Hamilton finally came out of the pits but could only manage a 1:50.780, almost seven seconds off the pace. However, he went second quickest two laps later, 0.022s behind Webber.

Vettel took over from his team-mate at the front with a 1:43.477. Hamilton slotted into second place, Button took third dropping Webber to fourth, Vettel extended his lead and Alonso took sixth. And that's how the session ended.

Times
01. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m42.760s 18 laps
02. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m43.369s + 0.609s 16 laps
03. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m43.785s + 1.025s 19 laps
04. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m43.840s + 1.080s 19 laps
05. Robert Kubica Renault 1m44.080s + 1.320s 19 laps
06. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m44.121s + 1.361s 17 laps
07. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m44.199s + 1.439s 19 laps
08. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m44.604s + 1.844s 18 laps
09. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m44.718s + 1.958s 19 laps
10. Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Ferrari 1m44.737s + 1.977s 19 laps
11. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m45.160s + 2.400s 18 laps
12. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m45.445s + 2.685s 21 laps
13. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m45.474s + 2.714s 15 laps
14. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m45.552s + 2.792s 20 laps
15. Tonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1m45.585s + 2.825s 14 laps
16. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m46.003s + 3.243s 20 laps
17. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1m46.644s + 3.884s 19 laps
18. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m47.105s + 4.345s 22 laps
19. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m48.450s + 5.690s 19 laps
20. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1m48.472s + 5.712s 17 laps
21. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1m49.375s + 6.615s 13 laps
22. Bruno Senna Hispania-Cosworth 1m49.590s + 6.830s 18 laps
23. Christian Klien Hispania-Cosworth 1m50.274s + 7.514s 17 laps
24. Fairuz Fauzy Lotus-Cosworth 1m51.705s + 8.945s 18 laps

Source: Planet-F1