Champion Lewis is fourth fastest as team-mate Bottas sets the pace

WORLD champion Lewis Hamilton was fourth fastest in second practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

With his fifth title already secured, Hamilton is hoping to sign off with his 11th victory of a remarkable year, but the Mercedes star finished 0.207 seconds slower than team-mate Valtteri Bottas (above) in the final running of the day at the Yas Marina circuit.

Hamilton, sporting a gold crash helmet and number one on his car this weekend to celebrate his latest championship success, faced a summons to the stewards after crossing the white line as he entered the pits.

The British driver is likely to be handed only a reprimand. Bottas is searching for his first victory of an inauspicious campaign. The Finn finished four hundredths of a second ahead of Max Verstappen in the early-evening dark.

Fernando Alonso will bring down the curtain on the second longest career in Formula One under no illusions that he can add to his 32 victories.

The two-time world champion will be squabbling for the minor points tomorrow, his 312th and final start. Here, he finished 13th for McLaren, 1.5 sec off the pace. CROATIA moved to the brink of a second Davis Cup title yesterday as straight-set victories for Marin Cilic and Borna Coric gave them a 2-0 lead over reigning champions France in the final.

The visitors were dominant throughout the day in front of a capacity crowd at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille as Yannick Noah’s France failed to make the most of home advantage and the clay court.

Coric got Croatia off to the best possible start with a 6-2 7-5 6-4 thrashing of Jeremy Chardy, who was a surprise selection by