Formula One news

Kobayashi cracks Friday top five

Kamui Kobayashi impressed once again on Friday by completing practice in fifth position at Yas Marina. The Japanese driver, who made his Formula One debut in Brazil two weeks ago, finished the day nine places ahead of team-mate Jarno Trulli.

Kamui makes use of less horsepower in the pit lane on Thursday

Replacing Timo Glock for the last couple of races this season, Kobayashi raised eyebrows with his effort in Abu Dhabi. "Today went well and it was interesting to drive on this track for the first time," he explained. "It's a fantastic venue. This is the second time in two weeks that I have had to learn a new circuit, so it's becoming a familiar experience. I learnt a lot from the Brazil weekend, which has already helped me here in Abu Dhabi.

"It will also be helpful to have a completely dry weekend so I can really become familiar with the car and tyres on this track - that didn't happen in Brazil but I am confident it will this weekend!

"We have quite a lot of data from today and that will allow us to find areas to improve. I believe we can make another step, in terms of performance, before qualifying and then I will do my best to start as high up as possible."

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