Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas of Finland in action during second practice at the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Friday, Dec, 10
Valtteri Bottas posted the fastest time Friday in the second practice for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver was .2 seconds ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton and .77 seconds clear of Red Bull driver Max Verstappen.
The session was interrupted near the end when the back of Kimi Raikkonen's Alfa Romeo car caught fire after he pulled over to the side of the track.
The veteran Finnish driver emerged unscathed and he even helped firefighters put out of blaze, pointing a fire extinguisher at the flames and then advising the track marshals where to aim.
When the session restarted with five minutes left, Hamilton encountered a problem with his gears and could not drive. His team mechanics had to remove the car because it was stuck in front of the Haas garage, preventing their two cars from getting out.
Earlier Friday, Verstappen was quickest ahead of Bottas and Renault driver Esteban Ocon in the first practice session, while Hamilton was fifth. The seven-time F1 champion, who missed the last race after testing positive for the coronavirus, struggled early in the session with a brake sensor issue which needed fixing in the team garage.
A third practice will be held Saturday ahead of qualifying under floodlights at the Yas Marina circuit.
