08:45 Hello everyone and welcome to AUTOSPORT Live for the final round of the 2009 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

This weekend the sport makes its second trip of the season to the middle east to a brand new facility in the United Arab Emirates.

Over 14,000 people have been involved in the construction of a 5.554km circuit featuring 21 corners and the longest straight on the calendar at 1248m. Allied to this we have the Disneyland thrills of the much talked-about pitlane exit through a tunnel and the backdrop of the stunning five-star Yas Marina Hotel with its spectacular illuminated roof.

It's the inaugural Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from Yas Marina!

08:46 Today, we will guide you through the opening practice sessions with minute-by-minute commentary as the teams and drivers take their first proper look at the circuit in Formula 1 machinery.

First practice will begin shortly, with commentary ending 15 minutes after the session has concluded.

Later, at 12:45 GMT, we will return for live coverage of the second practice session. AUTOSPORT Live will end the day with a weekend weather forecast, on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weather page.

08:47 With both championships now settled in favour of Jenson Button and his Brawn team, the field of 20 will effectively compete in Formula 1's first 'dead rubber' event since the 2005 Chinese Grand Prix. But, behind the champions, there are still points and pride at stake.

Second place in the drivers' standings is up for grabs. Rubens Barrichello lost the runner-up spot to Sebastian Vettel in Brazil and will be aiming to retake it in the final race to cap a wonderful season for Brawn. Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton are also involved in a scrap over fifth.

In the constructors' race, Red Bull Racing is clear in second place behind Brawn, but the battle is on for third place between those old rivals Ferrari and McLaren. Since Felipe Massa's unfortunate incident at the Hungarian Grand Prix back in August, Kimi Raikkonen has been fighting the cause single-handedly. To grab third back from McLaren, the Finn will need a remarkable performance in the desert to wrap up his Ferrari career.

World Championship standings, after round 16:                

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  Button        89        1.  Brawn-Mercedes        161
 2.  Vettel        74        2.  Red Bull-Renault      135.5
 3.  Barrichello   72        3.  McLaren-Mercedes       71
 4.  Webber        61.5      4.  Ferrari                70
 5.  Hamilton      49        5.  Toyota                 54.5
 6.  Raikkonen     48        6.  Williams-Toyota        34.5
 7.  Rosberg       34.5      7.  BMW Sauber             32
 8.  Trulli        30.5      8.  Renault                26
 9.  Alonso        26        9.  Force India-Mercedes   13
10.  Glock         24       10.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari      7

08:49 The 2009 season has thrown a lot at us weather-wise: Blazing heat, spectacular storms, origami boats in the pitlane in Japan and everything in between.

But the campaign ends on a quiet note in terms of weather this weekend with guaranteed sunshine and no hint of rain at Yas Marina. There will be some patchy cloud from time to time today as temperatures soar up to 35 degrees Celsius.

08:50 AUTOSPORT forum members are invited to join the fun throughout the weekend, offering thoughts and opinions as the event unfolds.

• Who will get to grips first on this all-new circuit?

• Now that the championships have been decided, are you looking forward to this event as much as the other races that have been held this year?

• Kamui Kobayashi became an instant hit with many of you during the Brazilian Grand Prix two weeks ago. Can he carry that positive start forward and dazzle us again this weekend?

Tell everyone what you think.

Click the SHOW LIVE FORUM link in the red bar at the bottom of your browser window if you would like to join the debate.

08:51 The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is by far the biggest sporting event that the United Arab Emirates has seen. 33 months of work have gone into the Yas Marina Circuit with the stated aim of boosting tourism and cultural awareness of the country.

Here is your 'starter for ten' on the new facility:

Ten facts about Abu Dhabi

08:53 Some trackside news in brief ahead of first practice:

• Kamui Kobayashi again replaces Timo Glock in the second Toyota this weekend. The Japanese is now firmly the frame for a seat in 2010 and can stake a serious claim with another captivating performance here.

• The drivers will find that the track has already been in use today thanks to a healthy list of supporting series. GP2 Asia and the Porsche Supercup cars have been taking their first look at the track in practice sessions this morning, with drivers reporting slippery conditions.

• Renault this week confirmed its first new partner signing since the 'crashgate' scandal. Watchmaker TW Steel feature prominently on the front wing of the two R29s this weekend.

• Tyres as always will be a major factor of the event once practice gets going. Bridgestone has supplied the medium compound as the prime tyre this weekend and the soft compound is the option. Managing the tyres will be a supreme challenge in the fierce 35 degree heat.

08:55 There are just five minutes to go until the drivers get their first taste of the roller-coaster pitlane exit and the Yas Marina Circuit.

08:57 The track temperature is 45 Celsius in hazy sunshine and a seering 34 degree ambient.

08:58 The new world champion, Jenson Button, is being strapped into the Brawn Mercedes as he gets ready to take his first look at this visually stunning circuit.

08:59 Lewis Hamilton prepares to head out in his McLaren.

0 min: The practice session is underway.

0 min: Mark Webber gets the ball rolling and winds his way through the tunnel and out onto the circuit.

1 min: Round Turn 7 goes the Australian and he comes onto the longest straight in Formula 1. Several other drivers are also out on track.

2 min: The heat haze is shimmering off the extremely smooth asphalt as the installation laps continue.

2 min: It is no surprise that the teams are keen to get to work quickly. 17 drivers have exited the pits for the standard installation run.

2 min: Nick Heidfeld continues on to a second tour, as the BMW drivers often do.

3 min: Force India is also taking the two-lap installation route. Adrian Sutil and Tonio Liuzzi will come back in at the end of the lap.

4 min: Heidfeld pits to complete his two-lap systems check and heads for the BMW garage.

5 min: Everyone has been out except Rubens Barrichello, as Sutil and Liuzzi return to the pits.

5 min: Robert Kubica also completed two installation laps in his BMW.

6 min: The Force India drivers are wheeled into the garage and now the data download can begin to check that all systems on the cars are okay.

7 min: Rubens Barrichello now takes his exploratory lap around Yas Marina on a clear circuit.

7 min: Michael Schumacher is once again on hand in the Ferrari garage.

8 min: Sebastian Vettel reports to his race engineer on the team radio that the asphalt is very dirty, dusty and slippery. He is convinced that the grip level will improve as the cars run.

8 min: Barrichello comes back into the pits at the end of a single installation lap, leaving the circuit empty for the time being.

9 min: Kazuki Nakajima has wandered over to the Williams pit gantry, as has team-mate Nico Rosberg. Nakajima has yet to score a point this season.

10 min: The drivers are settling in to what could be a lengthy wait for further action as the slippery track conditions weigh against the need to learn the circuit.

10 min: Sebastian Vettel has climbed out of the Red Bull while the telemetry engineers continue their checks.

11 min: Jaime Alguersuari is clear to run and the Spaniard winds his way onto the circuit for the first run of laps this weekend.

13 min: Alguersuari crosses the line to start the first timed lap. He is out there using a set of the medium compound tyres. No-one will want to waste a set of softs at this stage of proceedings.

14 min: Lewis Hamilton joins Alguersuari on the circuit.

14 min: The drivers will have course tested extensively in the weeks leading up to the event at the team factories on the simulators. This is now the chance to see if the estimates are on the mark.

15 min: Alguersuari posts the first time on the board - 1m55.624s.

15 min: His first lap featured a trip wide across the extra run-off at Turn 17. He continued without problem.

16 min: Hamilton wraps up his early outing at the end of a single, slow tour.

17 min: Alguersuari completes a second timed lap, this time without any errors. His time is 1m50.886s.

19 min: The learning process continues for Jaime Alguersuari. He runs slightly wide at Turn 17 - less so than on his first flyer, but loses time and spoils what was an improving lap up to that point.

20 min: Alguersuari's fourth timed lap is clean and the Spaniard lowers the benchmark to 1m49.545s.

21 min: Sebastien Buemi joins his team-mate on the circuit for a first run of laps.

21 min: The rest of the field are content to watch the monitors for the moment as the Toro Rosso duo clean up the dust from the racing line.

23 min: Alguersuari finds another two-tenths of a second on his fifth timed effort, lowering the target down to 1m49.388s, as Buemi starts his first timed lap.

23 min: Romain Grosjean has joined the circuit to begin his learning of the tricky track layout.

24 min: Buemi completes his first flyer in 1m50.961s as Alguersuari finishes his sixth timed attempt with no improvement.

25 min: Grosjean slots in third with his first effort of 1m54.253s.

26 min: Fisichella is now on track in his Ferrari.

26 min: Buemi does not manage to improve on his second timed lap but Alguersuari finds a further couple of tenths, lowering the time again to 1m49.143s.

27 min: Grosjean finds some time on his second flying lap but remains behind the Toro Rosso pair in the early order.

28 min: Nico Rosberg joins the group on track in the Williams as Buemi moves ahead of Alguersuari on the time sheet with 1m48.373s after just his third timed lap.

28 min: Fisichella slots in fourth with his first effort as engineer Rob Smedley passes on advice about the wind direction from this afternoon's gentle sea breeze.

29 min: Jaime Alguersuari pits at the end of his first run, consisting of seven timed laps. He is second to team-mate Buemi at the moment.

30 min: Nico Rosberg goes fourth on his first effort with 1m51.341s

30 min: Track conditions continue to improve slowly as the running cars clear dust from the line and begin to lay Formula 1 rubber on the asphalt.

31 min: Kimi Raikkonen is getting his final weekend at Ferrari underway and is now on a first flying lap.

31 min: Sebastien Buemi continues to improve and lowers the bar to 1m47.207s - almost two seconds clear of Nico Rosberg who is now second.

32 min: Jaime Alguersuari reports on the team radio following his first run of laps that the grip level was improving all the time throughout those seven timed lap.

33 min: Raikkonen slots in slowest so far as team-mate Fisichella tests the run-off area at the first corner.

33 min: Nico Rosberg finds almost 1.5 seconds on his latest lap of the track. He remains second to Buemi but is now on a time of 1m47.852s.

34 min: The fans' favourite - Kamui Kobayashi - is on track and now learning the way round. He is eighth in the classification currently after just a single timed lap.

35 min: Sebastien Buemi improves yet again and posts 1m46.73s in the Toro Rosso. He has now completed as many laps as team-mate Alguersuari and the difference between them is 2.370 seconds.

36 min: Fisichella is now the fastest man through the fast middle sector as he springs up to second quickest.

37 min: Buemi pits at the end of the lap, mirroring the first run strategy of Alguersuari.

37 min: Kamui Kobayashi leaps up the order to second place with a lap just over one-tenth of a second shy of Buemi's target time.

38 min: Mark Webber improves to third place in the Red Bull with a lap of 1m46.923s.

39 min: Raikkonen now sets the pace in the middle sector, which features the Turn 7 hairpin and the lengthy back straight.

39 min: Nico Rosberg trumps everyone with a 1m46.117s in the Williams. Buemi is now second with Kobayashi third and Webber fourth.

39 min: Heikki Kovalainen heads out to sample the circuit in his McLaren.

40 min: Robert Kubica leaps up to fourth quickest as he commences his final weekend at BMW.

40 min: Kobayashi runs wide at the left-handed Turn 1 and onto the green astroturf strips beyond the kerb and the extra asphalt run-off. He continues without any damage to the Toyota.

42 min: The Brawn drivers are among the last to venture out onto the circuit for a run of laps. Button and Barrichello are on their first effort now and should show their faces on the board imminently.

42 min: The track is now busy as the drivers get on with their work to learn this new venue.

42 min: Jarno Trulli is the next man to sample the run-off at Turn 1. He runs only slightly wide onto the astroturf and continues.

43 min: Kazuki Nakajima has moved up to fourth place in the Williams as Sebastian Vettel goes quickest with 1m45.372s.

43 min: Robert Kubica is now third quickest, behind the Red Bull pair.

44 min: Mark Webber makes it a Red Bull one-two with 1m45.649s. Robert Kubica is third currently with Rosberg down to fourth.

45 min: Rubens Barrichello's second effort is a 1m48.508s. That lap puts him 16th for now.

45 min: Lewis Hamilton is immediately fastest through the middle sector as he moves up to tenth. The KERS boost is expected to be very useful here.

45 min: Jenson Button completes his first timed laps around Yas Marina and is 18th with a time of 1m50.601s.

46 min: The McLaren pair trade fastest sector times as Kovalainen springs up to second quickest and Hamilton goes fourth.

47 min: Force India are leaving it very late to send its cars out for a first run of laps. Tonio Liuzzi is on track now and has just completed his first timed lap, while team-mate Sutil remains in the garage.

48 min: Jenson Button's exploration continues in these early laps. The Briton runs wide at Turn 20 on his way back to the start-finish line but continues out there on his first run.

49 min: Button gets a clean lap and moves up to 10th spot with a lap of 1m46.254s. He is now under one second off the leading pace.

51 min: Lewis Hamilton takes the top time away from Vettel with a 1m44.908s effort in the McLaren.

52 min: Hamilton, like team-mate Kovalaianen and the Ferrari pair, is making good use of KERS to accelerate on to the long straight.

52 min: The first run is complete for several drivers. Sebastian Vettel completed eight timed laps. Team-mate Webber ran for seven, Trulli also with seven, Nakajima eight and Alonso managed seven timed laps.

53 min: Jenson Button is the first spinner of the weekend. The champion loses control of the Brawn on entry to Turn 19, but was able to rejoin without damage.

54 min: Kamui Kobayashi is back out onto the track for his second run of the day, as is Sebastien Buemi. They have slid down the order to 13th and 15th respectively.

55 min: The top eight drivers are all in the pits as the engineers pour over data collected on the first run around this circuit.

55 min: Rubens Barrichello's competition with team-mate Button knows no bounds. They even trip off at the circuit at the same point - Turn 19. Barrichello runs wide but continues.

57 min: Kamui Kobayashi loses control of the Toyota exiting Turn 5 in the left-right chicane. He spins 180 degrees but rejoins.

57 min: Fernando Alonso and Robert Kubica are back on track for another run.

57 min: Kobayashi has stayed out following that moment and is continuing on with his second run of laps.

59 min: Adrian Sutil has still to leave the garage following his two-lap installation run at the start of the session. Clearly some problem is preventing the German from lapping the circuit. He has now lost a full hour of track time.

60 min: At the top, Lewis Hamilton leads the field with 30 minutes remaining. His time of 1m44.908s is almost 0.5s clear of Vettel in second. Kovalainen is third with Kubica fourth.

60 min: Kimi Raikkonen continues a run on the harder tyres. Teams will be saving the softer rubber for later this evening when track conditions will be cooler.

62 min: The harder, medium compound Bridgestone is designed for high track temperatures while the softer option is better suited to cooler temperatures.

62 min: Mark Webber has improved to third place on his latest lap with a time of 1m45.437s. The Australian is quicker in sector one on the following lap and could move towards the top soon.

63 min: Robert Kubica improves to second quickest with a 1m44.988s.

65 min: Jaime Alguersuari has now completed 20 laps of the circuit, but has yet to improve significantly like the rest of the drivers have.

65 min: There are some inconsistent lap times on this second run as many drivers have taken the best of the grip out of their first set of tyres.

66 min: Alguersuari is down in 19th place, over 3.6 seconds off the pace on a 1m48.409s, while team-mate Buemi is almost two seconds quicker.

66 min: Fisichella locks up his right front as he brakes with a wheel on the painted kerb. The Italian now knows that the kerb doesn't offer good grip at this stage.

67 min: It took a couple of further laps but Mark Webber did make it to the top of the order with a time of 1m44.805s. Hamilton is now second.

67 min: Jenson Button has just come out for his second run of the day in the Brawn. Barrichello is still in the pits currently.

68 min: Adrian Sutil finally joins the fun on the circuit. He was sidelined for over an hour with brake problems. He can now start his education.

68 min: Heikki Kovalainen has cemented his position in the top five with a 1m45.236s as he bounces over the kerbs on a committed lap this time around.

69 min: Mark Webber ends his second run as the fastest driver so far. Button moves up to eighth with 1m45.684s.

69 min: Kovalainen was fastest through the KERS-dominated middle sector but ran wide through the twisting final complex.

70 min: Nick Heidfeld is now the fastest man through the first sector but is slow through the middle portion of the lap.

71 min: Button comes round to complete another lap ... oh and look at this! He moves right to the top with a lap of 1m44.524s.

71 min: Lewis Hamilton has slipped to third quickest with recent improvements but is now back on track in the McLaren.

72 min: Rubens Barrichello is also out on track now, as Adrian Sutil completes his first timed lap of the weekend in 1m47.197s.

72 min: That is an impressive effort from Sutil, several seconds quicker than some drivers managed on their first lap of this new circuit. Sutil is 19th.

73 min: Hamilton is immediately quickest through the middle sector and takes the top spot back from Button with a 1m44.219s.

74 min: Sutil fails to improve on his second timed lap in the Force India. He remains 19th with team-mate Liuzzi just ahead in 18th after 14 laps.

74 min: Heidfeld has also improved to third quickest as he pits the BMW.

74 min: Button retakes first place in the standings from Hamilton with a rapid 1m44.035s. This is good stuff between the two Britons.

75 min: The scrap between former and current world champions continues over the top time with Hamilton now back on top after a quick final sector.

75 min: Sutil leaps up the order from 19th to 10th on his third timed lap with a 1m45.794s. He is now less than two seconds away from the leading pace.

76 min: Button returns to the pits after a short second run of laps. He is second to Hamilton, with Heidfeld third and Webber fourth.

77 min: Hamilton continues to attack the circuit in spectacular style, this time running too wide, testing the blue-striped run-off zone.

77 min: The scintillating first run from Adrian Sutil continues. We have been tracking his progress on each lap and he is now fifth with 1m44.860s.

79 min: Sutil is less than one second off the pace and was set to improve again, but backed off and came into the pits. Clearly the long straights at this circuit are suiting the VJM02.

80 min: The Red Bull drivers are on the move and ready to top the list once again. Vettel and Webber are both quick at the moment.

82 min: Vettel set the quickest first sector time, but then lost a lot in the second section. He then hauls back some of that lost time in the final twisty section and goes fourth with 1m44.644s.

82 min: Vettel it would appear is losing out with a high downforce set-up in the second sector which features the two longest straights on the track.

83 min: The Ferrari pair of Raikkonen and Fisichella have slid to 15th and 16th but are both back on track.

84 min: Adrian Sutil is back out on the circuit following a brief change of set-up in the pits. It will be interesting to see if his meteoric improvement continues.

85 min: The harder, medium compound tyre continues to be used for this early running. Teams are likely to deploy their new rubber this evening when track conditions will be more representative of qualifying and the race.

85 min: Rubens Barrichello is now third in the standings with a lap of 1m44.207s behind Hamilton and Brawn team-mate Button.

86 min: Jaime Alguersuari is slowly beginning to improve in the Toro Rosso. He remains in 20th and last place but is now under three seconds off the pace.

87 min: Fernando Alonso controls a spectacular moment of oversteer in his Renault on what was a poor lap from the Spaniard.

87 min: Alguersuari moves up from the foot of the table to 14th with a lap fo 1m46.119s - an improvement of almost one second.

88 min: Adrian Sutil is pushing harder and harder. As a result he is more susceptible to minor errors. He locks up heavily on his latest lap, ruining a set of those medium compound tyres.

89 min: Jenson Button is out for his third and final run. Can he surpass Hamilton's mark?

90 min: The session has ended. Cars that have already started a lap may complete it.

10:30 No he can't. Button remains second with no improvement on his 1m44.035s.

10:30 Adrian Sutil moves up from seventh to sixth on his final lap of the session with a time of 1m44.688s.

10:31 Sebastian Vettel improves on his final lap of the first session. He goes third with 1m44.153s.

10:32 Sebastien Buemi vaults up the standings to sixth quickest with a time of 1m44.687s as the top positions change in the final moments.

10:33 The drivers head around to practice starts from the grid.

10:34 Lewis Hamilton ends the first Formula 1 practice session at the Yas Marina Circuit as the quickest driver. His time was 1m43.939s.

10:34 Jenson Button was second for Brawn, just under one tenth of a second shy of his fellow Briton.

10:35 Sebastian Vettel was third in the first of the Red Bulls, ahead of Barrichello in fourth, Heidfeld fifth and Buemi rounding out the top six.

10:35 Jaime Alguersuari was another who found a lot of time in the final minute of the session. He improved to ninth spot on a 1m44.955s.

10:36 Fisichella pits his Ferrari to round out the first Formula 1 session at Yas Marina.

10:40 Our round-up of first practice is now available:

Hamilton heads first Abu Dhabi practice

10:41 The first session has already given us a few early pointers to the rest of the weekend.

Force India's low downforce set-up would appear to be paying dividends early, while Red Bull has gone the other way and its pair were quick in the twisty sections, losing out to the Mercedes-powered cars in particular on the long straights. Perhaps Vettel and Webber will trim out the wing level a little in the evening session.

Lewis Hamilton was instantly on the pace, and Brawn drivers Button and Barrichello can drive more freely now with the pressure of the championship fight gone.

Will the order change later when the drivers get their second dose of Arabian action? Join us at 12:45 GMT to find out.