Button tops first practice at Abu Dhabi

F1 Grand Prix, GP Abu Dhabi, Yas Marina Circuit

Jenson Button topped the first practice session in preparation of Sunday's Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi. The Brit went faster than Mark Webber while his teammate Lewis Hamilton set the third fastest time. World Champion Sebastian Vettel is 4th fastest, ahead of both Ferrari drivers.

Early on, Felipe Massa struggled with his front wing again and saw the right hand side scrape on the ground. Rubens Barrichello meanwhile lost power on the back straight and saw his session end prematurely.

By the halfway mark, many drivers had spun off the track without car damage. Felipe Massa was a notable one as he lost control of his car and slid sideways along a large part of the run-off area, thereby badly flat-spotting a new set of Pirelli's experimental option tyres. Since Felipe's earlier medium set was damaged by stones, the Brazilian then awaited until the final minutes to have another go.

5 minutes after his teammate, Fernando has a little off in turn 5 as he braked too late and the rear end stepped out. He could however easily return to the track after using the reverse gear.

Several drivers also intentionally ran off-track, going wide through turns 8 and 9 during their in-laps. It allows them to prevent some heavy braking, thereby reducing tyre and brake wear.

Two minutes from the end of the session, Vitaly Petrov's car is pulled into the garage with a smoking left sidepod. Hopefully for him that is not an engine failure.