Hamilton quickest in second practice for Abu Dhabi GP - MotorSportsTalk

ABU DHABI – Lewis Hamilton has sent out a statement of intent during practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix by finishing as the quickest driver in both sessions on Friday, beating Mercedes teammate and championship rival Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton heads into the final race of the 2014 Formula 1 season with a 17-point lead over Rosberg at the top of the standings, and even with double points on offer for the final round, a top two finish will be enough to secure the Briton the title.

After topping the daytime FP1 session on Friday, Hamilton’s good form continued once the sun had set at Yas Marina, posting a fastest lap time of 1:42.113 to finish just eight-hundredths of a second faster than Rosberg.

The season-long game of cat and mouse looks set to continue in Abu Dhabi, with both drivers trading fastest lap times during their qualifying simulations before switching to high-fuel long runs for the second half of the session.

After finishing third in FP1, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso had hoped to follow the Mercedes drivers home once again, but a complete electrical failure on his Ferrari brought him to a halt on just his second lap. As a result, he finished at the bottom of the timesheets without posting a time.

Instead, it was McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen who rose to third place in FP2, finishing seven-tenths of a second adrift of the Silver Arrows at the front. Sebastian Vettel finished fourth despite lamenting a lack of rear grip, with Williams’ Valtteri Bottas making up for the time lost in FP1 by finishing fifth.

After a disappointing first run for Caterham in FP1, F1 debutant Will Stevens improved in the second session to finish within the 107% time of Hamilton at the front, meaning that he should have no problem meeting the qualifying criteria on Saturday.

In the battle for the championship, though, the heat is well and truly on. As Hamilton continues to push at the front, Rosberg knows that he must dig deep if he is to stand any chance of winning the title in Abu Dhabi. Given that the chasing pack is far behind the Mercedes drivers, the chances of a driver finishing between the German and Hamilton look slim, making the Briton’s life much easier.

Be sure to join us for FP3 on Saturday at 5a ET tomorrow on NBC Sports Live Extra, with qualifying airing at 8a ET on NBCSN.

Follow @LukeSmithF1

The NTT IndyCar Series will return to the Motor City for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix but with start times in a new location for 2023.

After a 30-year run on Belle Isle, the Detroit GP has moved a few miles south to the streets of downtown on a new nine-turn, 1.645-mile circuit that runs along the Detroit River.

It’s the first time single-seater open-cockpit cars have raced on the streets of Detroit since a CART event on a 2.5-mile downtown layout from 1989-91. Formula One also raced in Detroit from 1982-88.

The reimagined Detroit Grand Prix also will play host to nightly concerts and bring in venders from across the region. Roger Penske predicts the new downtown locale will be bigger for Detroit than when the city played host to the 2006 Super Bowl.

Here are the details and IndyCar start times for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach race weekend (all times are ET):

CHEVROLET DETROIT GRAND PRIX INDYCAR START TIMES

TV: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET on NBC and streaming on Peacock, the NBC Sports App and NBCSports.com. Leigh Diffey is the announcer with analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Kevin Lee are the pit reporters. Click here for the full NBC Sports schedule for IndyCar in 2023.

Peacock also will be the streaming broadcast for both practices and qualifying.

POSTRACE SHOW ON PEACOCK: After the race’s conclusion, an exclusive postrace show will air on Peacock with driver interviews, postrace analysis and the podium presentation. To watch the extended postrace show, click over to the special stream on Peacock after Sunday’s race ends.

COMMAND TO START ENGINES: 3:23 p.m. ET

GREEN FLAG: 3:30 p.m. ET

PRACTICE: Friday, 3 p.m. (Peacock Premium); Saturday, 9:05 a.m. (Peacock Premium); Sunday, 10 a.m. (Peacock Premium)

PRACTICE RESULTS: Session I l Session II l Warmup l Combined

QUALIFYING: Saturday, 1:20 p.m. (Peacock Premium)

STARTING LINEUP: Alex Palou captured the first street course pole of his IndyCar career; click here for where everyone will begin Sunday’s race

RACE DISTANCE: The race is 100 laps (170 miles) on a nine-turn, 1.645-mile temporary street course in downtown Detroit.

TIRE ALLOTMENT: Seven sets primary, four sets alternate. Rookie drivers are allowed one extra primary set for the first practice.

PUSH TO PASS: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation (Indy NXT: 150 seconds total, 15 seconds per). The push-to-pass is not available on the initial start or any restart unless it occurs in the final two laps or three minutes of a timed race. The feature increases the power of the engine by approximately 60 horsepower.

FORECAST: According to Wunderground.com, it’s expected to be 80 degrees with a 0% chance of rain.

ENTRY LIST: Click here to view the 27 drivers racing Sunday at Detroit

INDY NXT RACES: Saturday, 12:05 p.m. 45 laps/55 minutes (Peacock Premium); Sunday, 12:50 p.m. 45 laps/55 minutes (Peacock Premium)

INDY NXT ENTRY LIST: Click here to view the 19 drivers racing at Detroit