Practice 2 Report - Edged Out

Lewis Hamilton won round two of the lead-up the championship showdown as he edged out Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg by 0.083 of second in Free Practice 2 for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The ambient temperature at the start of the 90-minute session was 79 degrees Fahrenheit (26 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Centigrade.) The humidity was 66 percent.

The 20 driver line-up was as follows: Red Bull Renault Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo; Mercedes Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg; Ferrari Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen; Lotus Renault Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado; McLaren Mercedes Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen; Force India Mercedes Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez; Sauber Ferrari Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez; Toro Rosso Renault Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniil Kvyat; Williams Mercedes Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas; Caterham Kamui Kobayashi and Will Stevens.

After getting in just 14 laps in FP1, Will Stevens was one of the first out on the track for FP2.

Sutil set a time of 1:47.412 but that didn't last long as Vergne posted a 1:45.697, which Massa beat with a 1:45.055.

The drivers were on Pirelli's soft compound with the yellow sidewalls at this stage of FP2 as the sun began to set.

8 minutes into the session, Kvyat took top honors with a 1:44.949, and Magnussen slid in a 1:44.895.

It didn't take long, however, for the mighty Mercedes cars to show their stuff. Rosberg clocked a 1:43.024 and Hamilton a 1:43.677. Vettel was in a distant third with a 1:44.478.

16 minutes into the session, Alonso parked his Ferrari on the track at Turn 17. Raikkonen trudged back towards the paddock still wearing his helmet. Thus ended his final ever FP2 session in a Ferrari.

25 minutes into the session, Bottas grabbed third place with a 1:43.366. Vettel was fourth and Kvyat fifth.

One third of the way into FP2 the top six were: Rosberg, who had posted a 1:42.972, Hamilton, Bottas, Magnussen, Vettel and Kvyat. Ricciardo, Perez, Raikkonen and Massa rounded out the top 10. Button had yet to set a time, and Alonso's day was done after just two laps.

34 minutes into the session, Gutierrez popped up to fifth and Maldonado to third.

Drivers were starting to use the super softs with the red sidewalls. Kvyat grabbed second with a 1:43.546, and Ricciardo snatched that away with a 1:42.422.

36 minutes into the session, Vettel took over first with a 1:42.959.

40 minutes into the session, Magnussen, on super softs, clocked a 1:42.895, and Rosberg topped that with a 1:42.303. Then Hamilton beat both of them with a 1:42.159. Rosberg improved to a 1:42.196 and Hamilton to a 1:42.113,

Button was out there lapping, and complaining of rear-end rotation.

50 minutes into the session, the top six were: Hamilton, Rosberg, Magnussen, Vettel, Bottas and Ricciardo. Raikkonen, Kvyat, Massa and Perez rounded out the top 10.

With 33 minutes remaining in the session, Vettel started a run on the super softs. He failed to improve his time after he nearly lost control of the car.

Button's run on the super softs moved him up to eighth.

Most of the drivers were now doing long runs on the super softs.

With 25 minutes remaining in the session, the top 10 were: Hamilton, Rosberg, Magnussen, Vettel, Bottas, Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Button, Kvyat and Massa.

The Mercedes drivers had a 1.7 advantage in FP1, but that was down to a mere seven or eight tenths of a second now.

With 21 minutes remaining in the session, the long runs continued, and the times got slower as the tires wore out.

Will Stevens completed 33 laps and was just 4.9 seconds slower than Hamilton but 1.5 seconds slower than teammate Kobayashi.

With 16 minutes remaining in the session, 19 drivers were on track. Only Alonso was not running.

With 9 minutes remaining in the session, Vettel was the sole driver not turning laps aside from Alonso. Vettel quickly rectified that by going back out.

The top 10 at the end of FP2 were: Hamilton, Rosberg, Magnussen, Vettel, Bottas, Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Button, Kvyat and Massa.

After FP2 ended, the FIA tried out its virtual safety car procedure with the drivers having to keep to certain speeds in certain parts of the track.