30-Oct-09: McLaren Dominate Abu Dhabi Practice

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This is F1 Minute and it is the 30th October 2009.

It was McLaren’s day to shine in Abu Dhabi, as Hamilton led Free Practice 1 and Kovalainen topped Free Practice 2, with Lewis making it a 1-2 for the team.

The sessions themselves weren’t that exciting, with just a few spins in the morning as the drivers got used to the track. The major interest of FP2 came from the fact that darkness fell and the drivers had to navigate under the floodlights – in similar conditions as we’ll see in the race. There were no major issues with that, or with the other worry – the pit lane exit. Still, it’s early days yet.

Elsewhere, Williams have confirmed that they will be using Cosworth engines next year. They split from Toyota a few weeks ago, and it seemed obvious they would return to using Cosworth engines, which they have now confirmed. The team also announced a few days ago that they will be opening a Technology Centre in Qatar, the first of its kind outside Europe.

That’s all for now, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.