Rosberg vs. Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton was faster than his Formula One title rival Nico Rosberg in both practice sessions on Friday for the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The British driver posted a best lap of 1 minute, 42.113 seconds in the second practice at the Yas Marina circuit to finish 0.083 seconds faster than his Mercedes teammate.

McLaren driver Kevin Magnussen of Denmark was 0.782 seconds behind in third, with Sebastian Vettel, who is leaving Red Bull to join Ferrari next year, fourth fastest.

Two-time champion Fernando Alonso - who will be driving his last race with Ferrari - stalled early on and failed to set a lap time. British driver Jenson Button, possibly preparing for his last race in F1, also had technical issues.

It was the 15th time in 19 races this year that Hamilton had been the fastest driver in second practice. There is a third practice session on Saturday before qualifying.

Hamilton vs. Rosberg showdown

Hamilton, the 2008 Formula One champion, leads Rosberg going into the Abu Dhabi race by 17 points. But with double points available in Sunday's race, the German driver can secure his maiden F1 title if he wins and Hamilton finishes third.

Without the double points, Hamilton would have only needed to finish sixth to beat his childhood friend and go-karting rival.

"He has everything to lose and I have everything to win. That can make all the difference," said Rosberg, who beat Hamilton two weeks ago in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Hamilton won the Abu Dhabi race in 2011. But he finished seventh last year, and retired the year before after starting from pole.

"Abu Dhabi was one of his worst races last season," Rosberg said. "With the car that I have this year, I can win at every track."

Total domination by Mercedes

Between the pair, Mercedes have won 15 of the 18 races this season, boasting a record 11 one-two finishes. Rosberg has performed better in qualifying, though, winning 10 pole positions to Hamilton's seven.

There have been calls from smaller teams that Formula One is heading on a path to some kind of autocracy between just a handful of dominant teams.

Several teams have suffered financial problems with Caterham and Marussia plunging into turmoil and missing out on one race. It's simple: the smaller teams cannot keep up with the finances of the bigger companies.

Is that a problem for F1? "Is there anybody out there who believes that it was a boring season? Not one single soul," said motorsport head Toto Wolff to the official Formula One website.

"It was an incredibly exciting season, despite our record. Our drivers were battling each other to the limit and I am sure that the fans appreciate that."

Despite being locked in a head-to-read rivalry, Hamilton and Rosberg's rivalry has generally appeared to be a healthy one.

Still, the pair haven't been able to avoid some controversial situations. In Belgium, Rosberg clipped Hamilton's car as the Englishman dropped out of the race altogether. The team-mates seem to have put this incident behind them.

But there are no dilemmas behind the scenes: Mercedes will toast whoever turns out to be the winner in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

"All through the year we have tried to balance it out between the two and keep it neutral," Wolff told Motorsport.

"Although we're going to honor and celebrate the championship-winning driver you've got to respect that, for the other driver, it's going to be a fairly difficult day in his life."

al/rd (AFP, AP)