Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix 2015: Results, Times for Practice and Qualifying

The 2015 Formula One world championship was wrapped up by Lewis Hamilton more than a month ago, but there is still plenty riding on the final grand prix of the season in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Sunday.

Hamilton will be eager to reassert his dominance having lost out to Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in the last two races—the German turned pole position into victory in both Brazil and Mexico.

Rosberg will be similarly driven to pick up another race win to prove he can run Hamilton much closer when the 2016 season rolls around.

Indeed, had Rosberg shown his current form throughout 2015, Sunday's race at the Yas Marina Circuit could have represented a title shootout between the two Mercedes drivers.

That was the case in Abu Dhabi last year when Hamilton claimed the title with a race victory, his second career triumph at the circuit.

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel has a terrific record in Abu Dhabi, having won three of the six races in the UAE, and he will be confident of taking another victory in 2015.

Qualification will, as ever, be vital in determining the outcome of the race, and Rosberg's form in that department has been impeccable of late—he has claimed five pole positions in a row.

Read on for the latest updates from Abu Dhabi and the full results from the preliminary sessions before Sunday's race.

Last-Gasp Rosberg Flies Past Hamilton to Claim Pole

Paul Gilham/Getty Images

Nico Rosberg took his sixth pole position in a row after a dramatic qualifying session in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

The German went quickest by three-tenths on his last lap after world champion Lewis Hamilton had attained provisional pole in the final minute of qualifying.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen took third spot after a rapid final dash to the line, but team-mate Sebastian Vettel provided the biggest surprise of the day after a very poor effort.

Vettel failed to make the cut in Q1 after a scrappy performance and will start 16th on the grid. A strong flying lap by McLaren's Jenson Button pushed the former world champion out of Q2.

Hamilton had been suffering with continual understeer as he struggled with his car, but he managed to set the fastest times in Q1 and Q2 and appeared to have beaten Rosberg with his final effort.

However, the German was in scintillating form, as he was in practice, and destroyed the champion's best effort.

Sergio Perez put in arguably the performance of the day as he took fourth place on the grid for Force India.

The driver looked very impressive in practice and continued his magnificent form into Q3.

Here are the full results from qualifying, per Formula1.com:

POS.	NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	Q1	Q2	Q3	LAPS
1	6	NICO ROSBERG	MERCEDES	1:41.111	1:40.979	1:40.237	12
2	44	LEWIS HAMILTON	MERCEDES	1:40.974	1:40.758	1:40.614	12
3	7	KIMI RAIKKONEN	FERRARI	1:42.500	1:41.612	1:41.051	14
4	11	SERGIO PEREZ	FORCE INDIA	1:41.983	1:41.560	1:41.184	18
5	3	DANIEL RICCIARDO	RED BULL RACING	1:42.275	1:41.830	1:41.444	17
6	77	VALTTERI BOTTAS	WILLIAMS	1:42.608	1:41.868	1:41.656	19
7	27	NICO HULKENBERG	FORCE INDIA	1:41.996	1:41.925	1:41.686	15
8	19	FELIPE MASSA	WILLIAMS	1:42.303	1:42.349	1:41.759	20
9	26	DANIIL KVYAT	RED BULL RACING	1:42.540	1:42.328	1:41.933	22
10	55	CARLOS SAINZ	TORO ROSSO	1:42.911	1:42.482	1:42.708	17
11	33	MAX VERSTAPPEN	TORO ROSSO	1:42.889	1:42.521		14
12	22	JENSON BUTTON	MCLAREN	1:42.570	1:42.668		12
13	13	PASTOR MALDONADO	LOTUS	1:42.929	1:42.807		13
14	12	FELIPE NASR	SAUBER	1:42.896	1:43.614		14
15	8	ROMAIN GROSJEAN	LOTUS	1:42.585			11
16	5	SEBASTIAN VETTEL	FERRARI	1:42.941			7
17	14	FERNANDO ALONSO	MCLAREN	1:43.187			5
18	9	MARCUS ERICSSON	SAUBER	1:43.838			7
19	28	WILL STEVENS	MARUSSIA	1:46.297			7
20	98	ROBERTO MERHI	MARUSSIA	1:47.434			8

FP3: Rosberg in Charge During Final Practice

Luca Bruno/Associated Press

Nico Rosberg was the most impressive in final practice after posting the fastest lap, as he continues to finish the season in admirable form. 

World champion Lewis Hamilton lagged almost three-tenths of a second behind his Mercedes team-mate, as Rosberg looks motivated to grab pole. 

Hamilton continued to make mistakes as he made his way around the Abu Dhabi circuit and spun off as he tested his tyres. 

The Brit looked sloppy as he was forced to brake hard on several occasions, and he will need to do better to usurp Rosberg in qualifying.

Hamilton struggled as the Mercedes' cars switched to supersoft, and he couldn't achieve clean laps as a result. 

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was third fastest behind the German constructor pair but was still more than three-tenths down on Hamilton's mediocre effort.

It was a good session for Force India, as Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg both impressed. Perez was fourth fastest in FP3 and will threaten the front of the grid in qualifying. 

Here are the full results from the third practice session, per Formula1.com:

POS.	NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME	GAP	LAPS
1	6	NICO ROSBERG	MERCEDES	1:41.856		20
2	44	LEWIS HAMILTON	MERCEDES	1:42.137	+0.281s	20
3	5	SEBASTIAN VETTEL	FERRARI	1:42.185	+0.329s	20
4	11	SERGIO PEREZ	FORCE INDIA	1:42.448	+0.592s	18
5	7	KIMI RAIKKONEN	FERRARI	1:42.627	+0.771s	18
6	3	DANIEL RICCIARDO	RED BULL RACING	1:42.726	+0.870s	15
7	27	NICO HULKENBERG	FORCE INDIA	1:42.859	+1.003s	18
8	19	FELIPE MASSA	WILLIAMS	1:43.173	+1.317s	24
9	77	VALTTERI BOTTAS	WILLIAMS	1:43.239	+1.383s	19
10	55	CARLOS SAINZ	TORO ROSSO	1:43.429	+1.573s	22
11	22	JENSON BUTTON	MCLAREN	1:43.508	+1.652s	15
12	13	PASTOR MALDONADO	LOTUS	1:43.680	+1.824s	18
13	12	FELIPE NASR	SAUBER	1:43.718	+1.862s	24
14	33	MAX VERSTAPPEN	TORO ROSSO	1:43.826	+1.970s	19
15	8	ROMAIN GROSJEAN	LOTUS	1:43.928	+2.072s	21
16	14	FERNANDO ALONSO	MCLAREN	1:44.014	+2.158s	13
17	9	MARCUS ERICSSON	SAUBER	1:44.325	+2.469s	21
18	28	WILL STEVENS	MARUSSIA	1:47.283	+5.427s	16
19	98	ROBERTO MERHI	MARUSSIA	1:47.520	+5.664s	17
20	26	DANIIL KVYAT	RED BULL RACING			2

FP2: Rosberg Heads Hamilton as Perez Impresses

Clive Mason/Getty Images

Nico Rosberg went fastest in the second practice session at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Friday to turn the tables on Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

The world champion edged Rosberg into second spot in Friday's first session but was pipped by the German in the evening.

Hamilton was just over a 10th of a second down on Rosberg, with third-placed Sergio Perez another half-second back after an impressive performance in his Force India.

The Mexican had some brake issues late on and was forced to pit after flames appeared from his right rear wheel, but his early pace saw him well placed on the timesheets.

The yellow flag came out with half an hour to go of the session after Carlos Sainz was forced to pull up at Turn 7 of the Yas Marina Circuit because of a problem with his Toro Rosso.

Fernando Alonso finished in ninth, just under a second down on Rosberg in his McLaren, while team-mate Jenson Button was in 16th place.

In an evening of long running as the drivers prepared for Saturday's qualifying, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was fifth fastest, just behind former team-mate Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull.

Mercedes, once again, look to have the pace that will give them an edge in qualifying, and Rosberg and Hamilton will likely be battling it out for pole position—a potentially crucial advantage when it comes to the race.

Here are the full results from the second practice session, per Formula1.com:

POS.	NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME	GAP	LAPS
1	6	NICO ROSBERG	MERCEDES	1:41.983		39
2	44	LEWIS HAMILTON	MERCEDES	1:42.121	+0.138s	31
3	11	SERGIO PEREZ	FORCE INDIA	1:42.610	+0.627s	23
4	3	DANIEL RICCIARDO	RED BULL RACING	1:42.647	+0.664s	37
5	5	SEBASTIAN VETTEL	FERRARI	1:42.717	+0.734s	35
6	26	DANIIL KVYAT	RED BULL RACING	1:42.798	+0.815s	34
7	7	KIMI RAIKKONEN	FERRARI	1:42.849	+0.866s	36
8	27	NICO HULKENBERG	FORCE INDIA	1:42.928	+0.945s	35
9	14	FERNANDO ALONSO	MCLAREN	1:42.955	+0.972s	31
10	13	PASTOR MALDONADO	LOTUS	1:43.431	+1.448s	37
11	77	VALTTERI BOTTAS	WILLIAMS	1:43.441	+1.458s	32
12	19	FELIPE MASSA	WILLIAMS	1:43.506	+1.523s	33
13	33	MAX VERSTAPPEN	TORO ROSSO	1:43.662	+1.679s	40
14	55	CARLOS SAINZ	TORO ROSSO	1:43.854	+1.871s	20
15	8	ROMAIN GROSJEAN	LOTUS	1:43.929	+1.946s	27
16	22	JENSON BUTTON	MCLAREN	1:44.050	+2.067s	32
17	12	FELIPE NASR	SAUBER	1:44.116	+2.133s	37
18	9	MARCUS ERICSSON	SAUBER	1:45.245	+3.262s	28
19	28	WILL STEVENS	MARUSSIA	1:46.450	+4.467s	35
20	98	ROBERTO MERHI	MARUSSIA	1:47.022	+5.039s	27

FP1: Hamilton Edges Rosberg as Mercedes Dominate

Lars Baron/Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton made the ideal start to the race weekend as he went fastest in the first practice session at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Friday.

The Englishman headed his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg by just over one-tenth of a second, while Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was over half a second down on Hamilton in third.

The Finn will be hoping for a strong finish to the season after he admitted to a "pretty average" campaign in 2015, per BBC Sport's Gary Rose.

He has the chance to claim fourth spot in the drivers' standings from his compatriot Valtteri Bottas as the Williams driver is currently just one point ahead of him.

As is so often the case in Friday morning's practice sessions, the two Williams cars finished some way down the timesheets, Felipe Massa and Bottas ending in 10th and 11th spot, respectively.

Jenson Button finished 13th fastest, just ahead of McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso, despite struggling intermittently with lock ups.

Meanwhile, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was fifth fastest, with Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat again impressing as he finished in fourth spot.

British driver Jolyon Palmer, replacing Romain Grosjean in the Lotus for the first practice session, was limited to only a few laps after a water leak.

He had a spin late on in the session but would have been happy to get in any laps at all after the issues with his Lotus.

Hamilton will look to edge Rosberg again later on Friday in the second session as all the drivers continue their preparations for Saturday's crucial qualifying.

Here are the full results from the session, per Formula1.com:

POS.	NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME	GAP	LAPS
1	44	LEWIS HAMILTON	MERCEDES	1:43.754		28
2	6	NICO ROSBERG	MERCEDES	1:43.895	+0.141s	32
3	7	KIMI RAIKKONEN	FERRARI	1:44.500	+0.746s	27
4	26	DANIIL KVYAT	RED BULL RACING	1:44.702	+0.948s	23
5	5	SEBASTIAN VETTEL	FERRARI	1:44.742	+0.988s	23
6	27	NICO HULKENBERG	FORCE INDIA	1:44.751	+0.997s	22
7	3	DANIEL RICCIARDO	RED BULL RACING	1:44.893	+1.139s	26
8	11	SERGIO PEREZ	FORCE INDIA	1:44.934	+1.180s	27
9	13	PASTOR MALDONADO	LOTUS	1:45.314	+1.560s	29
10	19	FELIPE MASSA	WILLIAMS	1:45.433	+1.679s	20
11	77	VALTTERI BOTTAS	WILLIAMS	1:45.603	+1.849s	22
12	33	MAX VERSTAPPEN	TORO ROSSO	1:45.718	+1.964s	32
13	22	JENSON BUTTON	MCLAREN	1:45.773	+2.019s	15
14	14	FERNANDO ALONSO	MCLAREN	1:45.865	+2.111s	20
15	12	FELIPE NASR	SAUBER	1:46.115	+2.361s	20
16	55	CARLOS SAINZ	TORO ROSSO	1:46.220	+2.466s	21
17	9	MARCUS ERICSSON	SAUBER	1:46.407	+2.653s	29
18	30	JOLYON PALMER	LOTUS	1:46.501	+2.747s	9
19	28	WILL STEVENS	MARUSSIA	1:48.836	+5.082s	19
20	98	ROBERTO MERHI	MARUSSIA	1:49.888	+6.134s	20