The final round of the 2010 season is upon us. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is here. And the heavens have opened in a nation that averages just 0.2 days of rain in November. Perhaps a weekend of surprises awaits...
The skies eventually clear and Red Bull consultant Dr Helmut Marko (left) and team principal Christian Horner (right) stop for a morning chat with Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali
Fernando Alonso relaxes in the Ferrari garage ahead of first practice. The Spaniard knows that by winning or finishing second on Sunday, he would clinch a third Formula 1 world title and his first for the Italian team
Alonso's closest challenger is Red Bull driver Mark Webber. The 34-year-old Australian sits eight points adrift of the Spaniard in second place and is looking to land his maiden F1 drivers' championship
Seven points behind of Webber and 15 back from Alonso, Sebastian Vettel finds himself third in the standings. The 23-year-old German led a Red Bull one-two in Brazil last time out and is also hungry for his first F1 title
The only other man in with a shout is Lewis Hamilton. The McLaren driver is 24 points adrift of Alonso - with 25 for a win - so needs to triumph on Sunday with Alonso finishing out of the points to stand any chance
The 90-minute session gets off to a low-key start as the teams wait for the track to dry out - but the sun is soon beaming down, the drivers are setting quick lap times and Yas Marina is providing a stunning backdrop
It's a make-or-break weekend for Hamilton and the early indications are good for the 25-year-old Englishman. He finds plenty of pace in FP1 to go second fastest with a lap of one minute 43.369 seconds
But Vettel puts down a marker with a lap of 1:42.760 to top the timesheets from the McLarens of Hamilton and Jenson Button. Webber is fourth, 1.080 seconds off the pace, and Alonso sixth with a lap of 1:44.121
The second session begins as the sun starts to set in the United Arab Emirates and Alonso is among those out early and he improves from sixth to third with a quick lap of 1:41.314
McLaren's Button also quickens his pace but although he knocks more than one second off his first session time, his 1:42.132 is only good enough for eighth
The transfer from day to night provides a beautiful backdrop to the circuit as the drivers continue testing their cars. Australia's Webber goes two-and-a-half seconds quicker than his first session but remains fourth
His Red Bull team-mate Vettel also knocks more than a second off his best time, stopping the clock in 1:41.145 but that time is only good enough for second
British driver Hamilton clearly enjoys the Yas Marina circuit, having being on pole last year, and he continues his good form in Abu Dhabi with a blistering lap of 1:40.888 to set the pace
What are these?
E-mail this to a friend 
Bookmark with:
What are these?