Friday: Red Bull and Vettel are on the lookout

Besides the battle between Ferrari and McLaren for third place in the constructors’ championship, the remaining issue for this last race of the season is the honorary title of vice-champion among drivers, which is contested between the veteran Rubens Barrichello and the young Sebastian Vettel. The battle began on this first day of free practice on Friday, with timed sessions.

Sebastian Vettel had a good Friday, outpacing his weekend rival in every session. The German driver recorded 3rd and 4th place finishes and can be confident in the potential of his Red Bull-Renault car on this new track. Vettel holds a two-point lead in the championship over Barrichello, whose Brawn GP car is also performing well.

Mark Webber had to change his engine between the two sessions of the day. Despite this, his track time did not suffer, and he posted the 8th and 7th fastest times, respectively. Sebastian Vettel praises Renault’s efforts to allow both drivers to finish the season without using an additional engine, which would result in a penalty.

Sebastian Vettel – 3rd and 4th:

« So it was the last Friday of free practice for the year. I’d like to thank Renault, as many people doubted we would succeed without having to change the engine, but we covered a lot of kilometers here for a Friday without encountering any problems. Abu Dhabi is a new circuit, so new conditions, including starting to drive in daylight and finishing the session at night, which is quite exciting. Obviously, the track was very green and slippery at first, but overall it’s quite nice to drive here, with some good corners. It’s also very special to pass under a hotel! Regarding performance, we seem to look pretty good. We didn’t know what to expect coming here, but it actually seems that we are quite competitive, even though we have to wait and see how competitive we really are. Even if it’s a new track, it was a normal Friday, and we evaluated which tire works best.

Mark Webber – 8th and 7th:

« A productive first day on a new track. We changed the engine between the first and second practice sessions, the guys did a brilliant job getting the car back in working order on time. Apart from that, we conducted the usual tire comparisons and other tests we do on Fridays. So although it’s a new circuit, it was a normal Friday. The circuit is pretty good: it’s not Spa, but it’s not Bahrain either! It’s not bad. There’s a difference in visibility between driving in the afternoon for the first session and early evening for the second. The atmosphere is different when the floodlights are on, but we’re used to that since Singapore. »