Lewis Hamilton was the quickest in free practice at Yas Marina on Friday, suggesting he will be the one expected to take pole position in the qualifying session of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Saturday. However, the problem for the defending champion is that Nico Rosberg is also looking good for a place in the front row.
Hamilton needs to win the race on Sunday and hope Rosberg finishes outside the top three to retain his title, otherwise his Mercedes teammate will be crowned the Formula 1 world champion for the first time in his career.
Rosberg leads the drivers' championship standings by 12 points going into the final race of the season and unless drastic happens in qualifying or during the race, it looks like the German will be the new champion.
"A decent start to the weekend," Rosberg said, after timing 1:40.940 in FP2, just behind Hamilton's time of 1:40.861. "Straight away the car started off with a balance that was in the right area. It's always interesting going from hot conditions to cooler ones between the afternoon and evening sessions.
"Adapting to that and knowing what to expect can be a challenge but our car was working well in both conditions, on low and high fuel. Graining on the front tyres when they're cold is the main thing we need to get to grips with in preparation for the race."
Hamilton will be the favourite to take pole position on Saturday and while the Brit is vastly experienced to handle the pressure, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the weekend pans out. All Hamilton can do, really, is take pole and then go on to win the race on Sunday.
"It's been a great day," Hamilton said. "Generally very smooth with no real issues. The first run in FP2 wasn't ideal as there was so much traffic and I didn't get to do a flying lap. But after that I managed to get a decent time in."
Where to Watch Live
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying session is set to begin at 5pm local time (6.30pm IST, 1pm GMT, 8am ET). Live Streaming and TV infromation is below.
India: TV: Star Sports Select HD2. Live Streaming: Hotstar.
UK: TV: Sky Sports F1. Live Streaming: Watch Sky Sports.
Middle East: TV: Bein Sports. Live Streaming: Bein Sports Connect.
USA: TV: NBCSN. Live Streaming: NBC Sports Live.
Asia: TV: Fox Sports. Live Streaming: Fox Sports Online.
