Lewis Hamilton brought McLaren back on top in Abu Dhabi by setting the fastest lap during the first free practice session ahead of teammate Jenson Button.
Championship rivals Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso were right behind the McLarens in third and fourth respectively, the latter improved to his final position on the very last minute.
Vettel’s teammate Mark Webber went fifth quickest in the sister Red Bull followed by the two Mercedes’ of Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg who are hoping to bring in a good result for the German team in order to secure fifth place in the constructors’ championship from Sauber.
Pastor Maldonado lead Valtteri Bottas to ninth place, both behind the wheel of a Williams, while Kimi Raikkonen settled for tenth in the Lotus.
Pos Driver Team Time 1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m43.285 2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m43.618s + 0.333 3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m44.050s + 0.765 4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m44.366s + 1.081 5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m44.542s + 1.257 6. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m44.694s + 1.409 7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m45.194s + 1.909 8. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m45.347s + 2.062 9. Valtteri Botta Williams-Renault 1m45.347s + 2.062 10. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m45.422s + 2.137 11. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m45.567s + 2.282 12. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m45.587s + 2.302 13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m45.722s + 2.437 14. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m45.743s + 2.458 15. Jules Bianchi Force India-Mercedes 1m45.769s + 2.484 16. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m45.811s + 2.526 17. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m46.649s + 3.364 18. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m46.708s + 3.423 19. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m47.418s + 4.133 20. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m47.891s + 4.606 21. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m48.354s + 5.069 22. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m48.887s + 5.602 23. Ma Qing Hua HRT-Cosworth 1m50.487s + 7.202