ABU DHABI -- Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time in a tight opening practice session for the final Formula One race of the season in Abu Dhabi.
Although both championships were decided several races ago, the battle between Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull rages on, with drivers from the top three teams split by just 0.148s. New world champion Lewis Hamilton was second fastest, 0.120s off Vettel, while Red Bull's Max Verstappen finished third with a time 0.028s off Hamilton.
Hamilton was the fastest of the three drivers in sectors one and two, but lost time to Vettel and Verstappen in Abu Dhabi's tight sector three -- a sequence of slow-speed, off-camber corners.