Formula One news
Champion Button fastest in final practice
31 October 2009 / Results / PhotosJenson Button led a British 1-2 as the final practice session of the season took place in Abu Dhabi. The Brawn driver finished just two thousandths of a second quicker than his compatriot in an hour-long session which saw several car/driver combinations enjoy a time at the top of the timesheets.
Although a final practice session in the heart of the afternoon will produce slower lap times than one in the evening, the field had no problems in reducing the fastest time from Friday as Button - who traded the top spot several times - set a best effort of 1:40.625. Behind Hamilton, the second Brawn of Rubens Barrichello made the top three as consistent Sébastien Buemi finished fourth for Toro Rosso.
Whilst slowed by tyre issues and confused at the earlier top three pace of team-mate Robert Kubica, Nick Heidfeld appeared to have solved his worries to jump up to the top five. With air temperatures at 33°C (91°F) and the track at 42°C (108°F), Kovalainen, Trulli, Kubica, Sutil and Räikkönen's positions mean that seven different teams finished in the top ten.
Renault appear to be struggling once again; despite Fernando Alonso setting a fastest sector sector time on an out-lap, the former World Champion finished only 16th with French team-mate Romain Grosjean, who spun at Turn 1, rounding out the session 18th. Vitantonio Liuzzi was also in the wars, becoming the first made to make light contact with the Abu Dhabi barriers due to a spin at Turn 19.
Giancarlo Fisichella was the penultimate man on the timesheets, revealing that Ferrari is in fact testing a number of components ahead of next year. Rounding out the field was Jaime Alguersuari, who was dogged by hydraulics problems and unable to leave the pits.
The last qualifying session of the 2009 season will kick off at 5pm local time at Yas Marina (GMT +4).
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