Red Bull Racing and Sebastian Vettel had very little time to reflect on their 2013 championship glory, as Formula 1 swiftly moved from India to Abu Dhabi for the 17th round of the season.
The ultramodern Yas Marina Circuit welcomed the F1 paddock for the fifth time alongside the GP2 and GP3 field for their season finales.
For more on the stunning circuit, check out my race preview and track guide. To relive last year's race, see my One Year Rewind and looking back at an iconic Abu Dhabi Grand Prix moment with my F1 Flashback. You can also see previews of the race at Formula1Blog and Car Throttle. Finally, for all the Thursday action at the circuit see my Snap Shot.
With the titles being wrapped up one week earlier, the focus switched to second in the constructors' standings with Mercedes, Ferrari and Lotus involved in a tough fight for the runner-up spot.
FP1
It was a busy start to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend with plenty of drivers emerging early on in first practice to complete their installation laps, including Esteban Gutierrez and Kimi Raikkonen who were the first drivers out on track.
After 10 minutes of silence, the Marussia of Rodolfo Gonzalez - replacing Max Chilton for the first session - took to the track before returning to his pit garage. The McLaren of Sergio Perez was the first driver to set a lap time - a 1m48.525 - with an hour of the session remaining.
Button and Grosjean soon returned to the circuit for their first runs, with the latter taking to the run-off area at turn five. The Frenchman moved to the top of the time sheets before newly crowned four-time champion Sebastian Vettel displaced him.
As usual, drivers only completed running on the prime Pirelli compound tyre in the first session. It was quite a deceptive session due to the hotter daytime conditions - FP2, qualifying and the race take place in cooler twilight conditions.
Romain Grosjean topped the first session by two tenths of a second from Hamilton and Vettel. The Red Bull driver had a close escape after locking up into his pit box and stopping centimetres from his mechanics. Webber and Rosberg rounded out the top five.
Raikkonen, di Resta and Button finished within eight tenths of the fastest time. Maldonado and Perez completed the top 10 with Alonso and Massa down in 12th and 17th. FP1 only drivers James Calado, Heikki Kovalainen and Rodolfo Gonzalez finished in 14th, 20th and 22nd.
FP2
Under the setting sun, the second practice session of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix got underway with a busy start. Plenty of drivers went straight out for their first runs, with Kimi Raikkonen setting the first time of the 90 minute session - a 1m44.360.
Drivers started their running on the medium compound tyre with Button and Perez trading the fastest times early on. Gutierrez suffered an off-track excursion at turn eight as they pushed to the limit, and a bit more on some occasions. With just over an hour of the session remaining, Vettel moved to the top of the time sheets and Kimi Raikkonen was the first driver to switch to the soft tyres.
He duly went 1.2 seconds faster than Vettel before the rest of the cars emerged for some option tyre running. Max Chilton's Marussia shed a brake duct that was recovered swiftly by the marshals and Paul di Resta suffered a front-left puncture under braking for turn eight.
Chilton spun at turn one, Button was told to return slowly to the pits with a puncture (which actually turned out to be a sensor failure) and Grosjean reported a brake problem. By the end of the qualifying simulations, Vettel led from Webber, Hamilton, Raikkonen and Rosberg. Drivers then completed some long runs on the soft tyre.
Under the night sky, the chequered flag flew with Vettel remaining on top with a 1m41.335. He finished just ahead of team-mate Webber. Hamilton, Raikkonen and Rosberg rounded out the top five with the McLaren duo of Perez and Button, Alonso, Hulkenberg and Massa completing the top 10.
FP3
Under scorching Abu Dhabi sunshine, the third and final practice session got underway with the two Lotus cars leading the way out of the pit lane for their installation laps.
Kimi Raikkonen was the first driver to take to the track, but the majority of drivers returned to their pit garages after completing their installation laps. Caterham decided to start their running immediately, but Pic ruined his first timed lap with an off-track excursion at turn six.
Drivers completed two short runs on the medium compound tyre before switching to the soft 'option' compound in the final 10 minutes. Vettel and Rosberg were the fastest runners on the medium tyres and the former continued his advantage on the softs.
With cars being pushed to the limit, mistakes were made with plenty of drivers taking to the plentiful Yas Marina Circuit run-off areas. Jules Bianchi spun at turn two and hit the barriers on the inside of turn three.
Vettel finished the session in the lead with a 1m41.349, just two tenths faster than team-mate Mark Webber. Hamilton and Rosberg followed closed behind with Grosjean completing the top five.
Button was sixth, but the sister McLaren of Sergio Perez could only manage 18th. In fact, he set his first timed lap of the session in the final 10 minutes. The Mexican was just behind the struggling Adrian Sutil. Ferrari's poor practice form continued with Alonso in 11th and Massa in 14th.
Qualifying
Q1
The sun was setting over the Yas Marina Circuit as the 20 minute first qualifying session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix got underway, eliminating the slowest six drivers from the fight for pole position.
There was an instant flurry of activity on track with drivers eager to get a few laps in early on. Paul di Resta set the first timed lap but it was a slow one, Chilton setting the first representative time - a 1m44.974. The four drivers racing at the back chose to go on to the soft compound tyre immediately. The Mercedes duo of Rosberg and Hamilton soon moved to the front, just ahead of Perez and Vergne.
The times continued to change but the Red Bulls didn't emerge until mid-way through the session, strangely on the soft compound tyre. They predictably went fastest with Webber bettering Vettel by one tenth. The Lotus pairing also moved on to the soft tyres, as did the majority of the field with five minutes remaining. Raikkonen moved to the top with his first option tyre effort as the track times evolved.
By the chequered flag, Lewis Hamilton topped the session by half a second from Massa, Raikkonen, Maldonado and Alonso. Rosberg, Grosjean and Webber were next up with Hulkenberg and di Resta completing the top 10.
However, Sutil dropped down the order and found himself in the drop-zone with Esteban Gutierrez for company. Giedo van der Garde was the leading backmarker from Bianchi (who has a five-place gearbox change grid penalty), Pic and Chilton.
Q2
After a short break to regroup, the qualifying hour continued with the 15 minute second session. The grid order from 11th to 16th was decided in this session, with the top 10 progressing to the pole position shoot-out.
Paul di Resta was the first driver to emerge onto the circuit in the second session, on a set of soft tyres, and was also the first to set a lap time - a 1m41.477. Raikkonen briefly held the top spot before Rosberg moved to the front by half a second.
Team-mate Hamilton went 0.004 seconds slower on his first lap with Vettel using his tyres from Q1 to set the third fastest time. With six minutes remaining, drivers returned to their pit garages to fit a fresh set of soft compound tyres. Rosberg and Vettel were the only drivers to remain in the pits, as the rest of the field headed out for one final run.
With the chequered flag flying, the times changed dramatically as the track evolved. Rosberg ended the session on top with Hamilton, Webber, Vettel and Perez just behind, Ricciardo impressed to make it through to Q3 alongside Hulkenberg, Grosjean Raikkonen and Massa.
Fernando Alonso failed to make it through to the top 10 shoot-out as their disappointing weekend continued. He was joined by di Resta and a frustrated Button. Vergne and the Williams duo of Maldonado and Bottas also finished in the drop-zone.
Q3
The fight for pole position arrived with just 10 minutes to decide the order of the first five rows on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix grid. Nico Hulkenberg was the first driver out on track, swiftly followed by Ricciardo and the Mercedes duo.
Nine drivers took to the circuit initially with seven of them continuing on to set a timed lap. Hulkenberg was the first to set a time - a 1m41.379 - but he was swiftly displaced by Rosberg. However, Vettel bettered them both with a storming time to go three seconds clear of his countryman.
With five minutes remaining, the four-time world champion held provisional pole from Rosberg, Hamilton, Raikkonen and Webber. Grosjean and Hulkenberg were next up but both were over a second off the pace with their first attempt.
The track briefly fell silent but the garages became very noisy places to be as mechanics and engineers prepared their cars for the final runs. With two minutes remaining, all 10 cars took to the circuit for one final lap.
Webber was the first driver to move into the 1m39s to take provisional pole. However the yellow flags came out after Hamilton spun on his final lap - which was caused by a right-rear wishbone failure. Vettel could only go second, one tenth down, which handed his Australian team-mate pole position - the 13th of his career.
Rosberg stayed third with Hamilton holding on to fourth after his final sector spin. Raikkonen, Hulkenberg, Grosjean and Massa completed the top eight with Perez and Ricciardo rounding out the runners in Q3.
Update: Kimi Raikkonen's car was investigated after qualifying and was found to have failed a floor deflection test. He was excluded from qualifying and sent to the back of the grid.
Results
The Race
With night-time closing in and the sun setting over the glamorous Yas Marina Circuit, the 22 drivers on the 2013 grid lined up for the 55-lap Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
After the drama of Saturday's qualifying session, in which Mark Webber took pole, Alonso was knocked out in Q2 and Raikkonen's was sent to the back of the grid, there was plenty to look forward to ahead of the race start.
Despite the two titles being won in India seven days earlier, there was still plenty to prove for many with constructor's positions to sort out and drives to secure for next year.
The cars lined up on the grid in preparation for the start of the 17th round of the 2013 season. The revs rose, the lights went out and we were racing in Abu Dhabi. Off the line, pole-sitter Webber had a poor start and dropped down to third place into turn one behind Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel.
Kimi Raikkonen's race ended on the first lap after a crash with Giedo van der Garde at the first corner. His team-mate Romain Grosjean had a better first lap after displacing Lewis Hamilton for fourth place. The Brit narrowly avoided losing a position to Nico Hulkenberg too into turn 11. Vettel had a two second lead over Rosberg by the end of the first lap.
Button had a terrible start and dropped to 15th on the opening lap. He sustained front wing damage after contact with Paul di Resta. The McLaren driver pitted at the end of lap two for repairs and a fresh set of soft tyres.
Vettel started to extend his advantage in the early stages with the deficit increasing to four seconds by the end of the fourth lap. Pastor Maldonado pitted for the first time on lap five for a set of medium compound tyres. Sergio Perez pitted on the following lap and he also took on a new set of prime tyres.
Lewis Hamilton was the first leader to take to the pit lane on lap eight. The soft tyre seemed to degrade quicker than expected. It wasn't a particularly smooth start to the race for the Brit after his rear brakes were changed on the grid due to a vibration that he reported to the team on his lap to the grid.
Webber and Grosjean filed in to the pit lane on the following lap to cover off Hamilton. They both emerged ahead of the Mercedes driver. Hulkenberg was told to use up all of the life of his tyres before pitting on lap nine. Rosberg took to his pit box on the following lap but Vettel remained out on track and in clean air.
Button could only manage nine laps on the soft tyre before pitting for the second time. Meanwhile, the likes of Rosberg, Webber and Hamilton made their way through the traffic. Prior to his first pit stop, Vettel's pace was very impressive despite the worn soft compound Pirelli's.
However, the four-time champion did take to the pit lane at the end of lap 13 and emerged comfortably ahead of his rivals. Mark Webber managed to find his way past Vergne and Grosjean tried to overtake Sutil. The Frenchman made the move stick into turn nine but lost out in the DRS zone on the run to turn 11.
Fernando Alonso pitted for the first time on lap 15. He emerged on the prime tyres behind the McLaren of Sergio Perez. His Ferrari team-mate took to the pit lane three laps later for a fresh set of the medium compound. Esteban Gutierrez joined him, releasing Hamilton who had been stuck behind him for several laps.
By lap 20, Vettel had an astonishing lead of nearly 25 seconds to Nico Rosberg. The Mercedes driver lost time behind Paul di Resta, who hadn't stopped, and this enabled Webber to close in. The Aussie made good use of his long seventh gear to displace his rival into turn 11. Alonso also moved up a position after overtaking Perez at the same corner.
A train began to develop behind Adrian Sutil who was on course for a one-stop race. Hamilton overtook the Force India driver into turn eight but lost out on the next straight - a common theme during the race. Meanwhile, Massa used DRS to get past the Mercedes driver into the next corner. Alonso moved up the inside of Hulkenberg at turn seven but lost out on the long back straight.
However, the second DRS zone caught the Sauber driver out and he was once again displaced by Alonso into the turn 11 chicane. Hamilton cleared Sutil on the following lap. Meanwhile Hulkenberg dived into the pits for a new set of tyres. It was a slow stop and he was released from his box just ahead of Sergio Perez, who threw his hand up in frustration.
Hamilton pitted on lap 29 for a fresh set of medium compound tyres. At the front, Vettel had a 29 second gap over Webber with Rosberg three seconds further back. Nico Hulkenberg was handed a drive-through penalty for an unsafe release from his second pit stop.
Nico Rosberg followed Mark Webber in for his second pit stop. They both returned to the circuit in clean air. The Ferrari duo started to scrap for fifth place by lap 36, Massa leading Alonso as they both hunted down Rosberg's Mercedes.
Race leader Sebastian Vettel pitted for the second and last time on lap 38. Grosjean followed him in on the same lap, albeit 40 seconds behind, and emerged just ahead of Massa's Ferrari. The Brazilian took to the pit lane on the next lap and returned behind Hamilton.
By lap 41, Vettel's lead had extended to 32 seconds. Hamilton suffered a large lock-up into turn eight, losing time to Vergne ahead as he looked to pick his way past the one-stoppers. He moved ahead of the Toro Rosso driver on lap 45, moving in to clean air.
With 10 laps remaining, Ferrari pitted Alonso and moved him on to the soft compound tyre for the final stint. He emerged side-by-side with Vergne, who moved him on to the run-off area. The Spaniard bounced across the kerbs but managed to stay ahead of the French driver.
He soon began to close in on Lewis Hamilton and with four laps to go, he moved ahead of the Brit and in to sixth place. He was on the move once again and passed Paul di Resta - who completed a one stop strategy - on the following lap.
Hulkenberg pulled off a brilliant move to pass both Toro Rosso drivers into the turn eight chicane. Vergne's tyres had hit the cliff and he pitted for the second time on lap 52. However out front, Vettel raced to perfection and crossed the line to take his 37th career victory.
Sebastian Vettel wins the 2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
It was another dominant drive for Sebastian Vettel, taking his 11th win of the season and his seventh race victory in a row - he has won every race since the sport returned from the summer break after the Hungarian Grand Prix. The start was crucial for the German and he had a great getaway, moving into the lead and remaining unchallenged for the whole 55-lap race.
Rosberg crossed the line to take his second podium finish in a row. The German drove a good race and managed to move his way through the traffic well mid-way through the race. However, the Mercedes just didn't have the race pace to challenge the Red Bulls. Grosjean made a strong start and drove a mature race to fourth, ending his impressive run of podiums.
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| (c) Getty Images |
For more on the stunning circuit, check out my race preview and track guide. To relive last year's race, see my One Year Rewind and looking back at an iconic Abu Dhabi Grand Prix moment with my F1 Flashback. You can also see previews of the race at Formula1Blog and Car Throttle. Finally, for all the Thursday action at the circuit see my Snap Shot.
With the titles being wrapped up one week earlier, the focus switched to second in the constructors' standings with Mercedes, Ferrari and Lotus involved in a tough fight for the runner-up spot.
FP1
It was a busy start to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend with plenty of drivers emerging early on in first practice to complete their installation laps, including Esteban Gutierrez and Kimi Raikkonen who were the first drivers out on track.
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| (c) Lotus F1 Team |
Button and Grosjean soon returned to the circuit for their first runs, with the latter taking to the run-off area at turn five. The Frenchman moved to the top of the time sheets before newly crowned four-time champion Sebastian Vettel displaced him.
As usual, drivers only completed running on the prime Pirelli compound tyre in the first session. It was quite a deceptive session due to the hotter daytime conditions - FP2, qualifying and the race take place in cooler twilight conditions.
Romain Grosjean topped the first session by two tenths of a second from Hamilton and Vettel. The Red Bull driver had a close escape after locking up into his pit box and stopping centimetres from his mechanics. Webber and Rosberg rounded out the top five.
Raikkonen, di Resta and Button finished within eight tenths of the fastest time. Maldonado and Perez completed the top 10 with Alonso and Massa down in 12th and 17th. FP1 only drivers James Calado, Heikki Kovalainen and Rodolfo Gonzalez finished in 14th, 20th and 22nd.
FP2
Under the setting sun, the second practice session of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix got underway with a busy start. Plenty of drivers went straight out for their first runs, with Kimi Raikkonen setting the first time of the 90 minute session - a 1m44.360.
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| (c) Getty Images |
He duly went 1.2 seconds faster than Vettel before the rest of the cars emerged for some option tyre running. Max Chilton's Marussia shed a brake duct that was recovered swiftly by the marshals and Paul di Resta suffered a front-left puncture under braking for turn eight.
Chilton spun at turn one, Button was told to return slowly to the pits with a puncture (which actually turned out to be a sensor failure) and Grosjean reported a brake problem. By the end of the qualifying simulations, Vettel led from Webber, Hamilton, Raikkonen and Rosberg. Drivers then completed some long runs on the soft tyre.
Under the night sky, the chequered flag flew with Vettel remaining on top with a 1m41.335. He finished just ahead of team-mate Webber. Hamilton, Raikkonen and Rosberg rounded out the top five with the McLaren duo of Perez and Button, Alonso, Hulkenberg and Massa completing the top 10.
FP3
Under scorching Abu Dhabi sunshine, the third and final practice session got underway with the two Lotus cars leading the way out of the pit lane for their installation laps.
Kimi Raikkonen was the first driver to take to the track, but the majority of drivers returned to their pit garages after completing their installation laps. Caterham decided to start their running immediately, but Pic ruined his first timed lap with an off-track excursion at turn six.
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| (c) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team |
Drivers completed two short runs on the medium compound tyre before switching to the soft 'option' compound in the final 10 minutes. Vettel and Rosberg were the fastest runners on the medium tyres and the former continued his advantage on the softs.
With cars being pushed to the limit, mistakes were made with plenty of drivers taking to the plentiful Yas Marina Circuit run-off areas. Jules Bianchi spun at turn two and hit the barriers on the inside of turn three.
Vettel finished the session in the lead with a 1m41.349, just two tenths faster than team-mate Mark Webber. Hamilton and Rosberg followed closed behind with Grosjean completing the top five.
Button was sixth, but the sister McLaren of Sergio Perez could only manage 18th. In fact, he set his first timed lap of the session in the final 10 minutes. The Mexican was just behind the struggling Adrian Sutil. Ferrari's poor practice form continued with Alonso in 11th and Massa in 14th.
Qualifying
Q1
The sun was setting over the Yas Marina Circuit as the 20 minute first qualifying session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix got underway, eliminating the slowest six drivers from the fight for pole position.
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| (c) Marussia F1 Team |
The times continued to change but the Red Bulls didn't emerge until mid-way through the session, strangely on the soft compound tyre. They predictably went fastest with Webber bettering Vettel by one tenth. The Lotus pairing also moved on to the soft tyres, as did the majority of the field with five minutes remaining. Raikkonen moved to the top with his first option tyre effort as the track times evolved.
By the chequered flag, Lewis Hamilton topped the session by half a second from Massa, Raikkonen, Maldonado and Alonso. Rosberg, Grosjean and Webber were next up with Hulkenberg and di Resta completing the top 10.
However, Sutil dropped down the order and found himself in the drop-zone with Esteban Gutierrez for company. Giedo van der Garde was the leading backmarker from Bianchi (who has a five-place gearbox change grid penalty), Pic and Chilton.
Q2
After a short break to regroup, the qualifying hour continued with the 15 minute second session. The grid order from 11th to 16th was decided in this session, with the top 10 progressing to the pole position shoot-out.
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| (c) Vodafone McLaren Mercedes |
Team-mate Hamilton went 0.004 seconds slower on his first lap with Vettel using his tyres from Q1 to set the third fastest time. With six minutes remaining, drivers returned to their pit garages to fit a fresh set of soft compound tyres. Rosberg and Vettel were the only drivers to remain in the pits, as the rest of the field headed out for one final run.
With the chequered flag flying, the times changed dramatically as the track evolved. Rosberg ended the session on top with Hamilton, Webber, Vettel and Perez just behind, Ricciardo impressed to make it through to Q3 alongside Hulkenberg, Grosjean Raikkonen and Massa.
Fernando Alonso failed to make it through to the top 10 shoot-out as their disappointing weekend continued. He was joined by di Resta and a frustrated Button. Vergne and the Williams duo of Maldonado and Bottas also finished in the drop-zone.
Q3
The fight for pole position arrived with just 10 minutes to decide the order of the first five rows on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix grid. Nico Hulkenberg was the first driver out on track, swiftly followed by Ricciardo and the Mercedes duo.
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| (c) Getty Images |
With five minutes remaining, the four-time world champion held provisional pole from Rosberg, Hamilton, Raikkonen and Webber. Grosjean and Hulkenberg were next up but both were over a second off the pace with their first attempt.
The track briefly fell silent but the garages became very noisy places to be as mechanics and engineers prepared their cars for the final runs. With two minutes remaining, all 10 cars took to the circuit for one final lap.
Webber was the first driver to move into the 1m39s to take provisional pole. However the yellow flags came out after Hamilton spun on his final lap - which was caused by a right-rear wishbone failure. Vettel could only go second, one tenth down, which handed his Australian team-mate pole position - the 13th of his career.
Rosberg stayed third with Hamilton holding on to fourth after his final sector spin. Raikkonen, Hulkenberg, Grosjean and Massa completed the top eight with Perez and Ricciardo rounding out the runners in Q3.
Update: Kimi Raikkonen's car was investigated after qualifying and was found to have failed a floor deflection test. He was excluded from qualifying and sent to the back of the grid.
Results
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| (c) Getty Images |
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap
1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m39.957s
2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m40.075s +0.118s
3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m40.419s +0.462s
4. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m40.501s +0.544s
5. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m40.542s +0.585s++
6. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m40.576s +0.619s
7. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m40.997s +1.040s
8. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m41.015s +1.058s
9. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m41.068s +1.111s
10. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m41.111s +1.154s
Q2 cut-off time: 1m40.989s Gap **
11. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m41.093s +0.620s
12. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m41.133s +0.660s
13. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m41.200s +0.727s
14. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m41.279s +0.806s
15. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m41.395s +0.922s
16. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m41.447s +0.974s
Q1 cut-off time: 1m41.884s Gap *
17. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m41.999s +1.306s
18. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m42.051s +1.358s
19. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m43.252s +2.559s
20. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m43.398s +2.705s+
21. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m43.528s +2.835s
22. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m44.198s +3.505s
107% time: 1m47.741s
* Gap to quickest in Q1
** Gap to quickest in Q2
+ 5 place grid penalty - gearbox change
++ Excluded from qualifying for failing a floor deflection test
The Race
With night-time closing in and the sun setting over the glamorous Yas Marina Circuit, the 22 drivers on the 2013 grid lined up for the 55-lap Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
After the drama of Saturday's qualifying session, in which Mark Webber took pole, Alonso was knocked out in Q2 and Raikkonen's was sent to the back of the grid, there was plenty to look forward to ahead of the race start.
Despite the two titles being won in India seven days earlier, there was still plenty to prove for many with constructor's positions to sort out and drives to secure for next year.
The cars lined up on the grid in preparation for the start of the 17th round of the 2013 season. The revs rose, the lights went out and we were racing in Abu Dhabi. Off the line, pole-sitter Webber had a poor start and dropped down to third place into turn one behind Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel.
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| (c) Getty Images |
Kimi Raikkonen's race ended on the first lap after a crash with Giedo van der Garde at the first corner. His team-mate Romain Grosjean had a better first lap after displacing Lewis Hamilton for fourth place. The Brit narrowly avoided losing a position to Nico Hulkenberg too into turn 11. Vettel had a two second lead over Rosberg by the end of the first lap.
Button had a terrible start and dropped to 15th on the opening lap. He sustained front wing damage after contact with Paul di Resta. The McLaren driver pitted at the end of lap two for repairs and a fresh set of soft tyres.
Vettel started to extend his advantage in the early stages with the deficit increasing to four seconds by the end of the fourth lap. Pastor Maldonado pitted for the first time on lap five for a set of medium compound tyres. Sergio Perez pitted on the following lap and he also took on a new set of prime tyres.
Lewis Hamilton was the first leader to take to the pit lane on lap eight. The soft tyre seemed to degrade quicker than expected. It wasn't a particularly smooth start to the race for the Brit after his rear brakes were changed on the grid due to a vibration that he reported to the team on his lap to the grid.
Webber and Grosjean filed in to the pit lane on the following lap to cover off Hamilton. They both emerged ahead of the Mercedes driver. Hulkenberg was told to use up all of the life of his tyres before pitting on lap nine. Rosberg took to his pit box on the following lap but Vettel remained out on track and in clean air.
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| (c) Getty Images |
However, the four-time champion did take to the pit lane at the end of lap 13 and emerged comfortably ahead of his rivals. Mark Webber managed to find his way past Vergne and Grosjean tried to overtake Sutil. The Frenchman made the move stick into turn nine but lost out in the DRS zone on the run to turn 11.
Fernando Alonso pitted for the first time on lap 15. He emerged on the prime tyres behind the McLaren of Sergio Perez. His Ferrari team-mate took to the pit lane three laps later for a fresh set of the medium compound. Esteban Gutierrez joined him, releasing Hamilton who had been stuck behind him for several laps.
By lap 20, Vettel had an astonishing lead of nearly 25 seconds to Nico Rosberg. The Mercedes driver lost time behind Paul di Resta, who hadn't stopped, and this enabled Webber to close in. The Aussie made good use of his long seventh gear to displace his rival into turn 11. Alonso also moved up a position after overtaking Perez at the same corner.
A train began to develop behind Adrian Sutil who was on course for a one-stop race. Hamilton overtook the Force India driver into turn eight but lost out on the next straight - a common theme during the race. Meanwhile, Massa used DRS to get past the Mercedes driver into the next corner. Alonso moved up the inside of Hulkenberg at turn seven but lost out on the long back straight.
However, the second DRS zone caught the Sauber driver out and he was once again displaced by Alonso into the turn 11 chicane. Hamilton cleared Sutil on the following lap. Meanwhile Hulkenberg dived into the pits for a new set of tyres. It was a slow stop and he was released from his box just ahead of Sergio Perez, who threw his hand up in frustration.
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| (c) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team |
Hamilton pitted on lap 29 for a fresh set of medium compound tyres. At the front, Vettel had a 29 second gap over Webber with Rosberg three seconds further back. Nico Hulkenberg was handed a drive-through penalty for an unsafe release from his second pit stop.
Nico Rosberg followed Mark Webber in for his second pit stop. They both returned to the circuit in clean air. The Ferrari duo started to scrap for fifth place by lap 36, Massa leading Alonso as they both hunted down Rosberg's Mercedes.
Race leader Sebastian Vettel pitted for the second and last time on lap 38. Grosjean followed him in on the same lap, albeit 40 seconds behind, and emerged just ahead of Massa's Ferrari. The Brazilian took to the pit lane on the next lap and returned behind Hamilton.
By lap 41, Vettel's lead had extended to 32 seconds. Hamilton suffered a large lock-up into turn eight, losing time to Vergne ahead as he looked to pick his way past the one-stoppers. He moved ahead of the Toro Rosso driver on lap 45, moving in to clean air.
With 10 laps remaining, Ferrari pitted Alonso and moved him on to the soft compound tyre for the final stint. He emerged side-by-side with Vergne, who moved him on to the run-off area. The Spaniard bounced across the kerbs but managed to stay ahead of the French driver.
He soon began to close in on Lewis Hamilton and with four laps to go, he moved ahead of the Brit and in to sixth place. He was on the move once again and passed Paul di Resta - who completed a one stop strategy - on the following lap.
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| (c) Getty Images |
Hulkenberg pulled off a brilliant move to pass both Toro Rosso drivers into the turn eight chicane. Vergne's tyres had hit the cliff and he pitted for the second time on lap 52. However out front, Vettel raced to perfection and crossed the line to take his 37th career victory.
Sebastian Vettel wins the 2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
It was another dominant drive for Sebastian Vettel, taking his 11th win of the season and his seventh race victory in a row - he has won every race since the sport returned from the summer break after the Hungarian Grand Prix. The start was crucial for the German and he had a great getaway, moving into the lead and remaining unchallenged for the whole 55-lap race.
He was obviously ecstatic by the result, completing more donuts for the fans. However, this time they were during the lap back to the pits and so he was able to return his car to parc ferme. Team-mate Mark Webber finished 30 seconds behind in second place after a largely trouble-free race. He had a poor start and suffered a KERS issue at the
beginning of the race, but recovered well to claim second from Rosberg. He
showed some strong pace towards the end of the race but was no match for the four-time world champion.
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| (c) Mercedes AMG Petronas |
Fernando Alonso's final stint of the soft tyre moved him up to fifth place. It was a good result for Ferrari after a terrible qualifying session and the Spaniard's race pace was much better in comparison to his one-lap speed. With questions surrounding his future, Paul di Resta put in a strong performance to hold off Hamilton in sixth.
The Scot was one of just two drivers to complete a one-stop strategy - the other being his team-mate Sutil - and even set his personal best time on the final lap. Hamilton couldn't get past the Force India driver on the final lap and had to make do with seventh after a difficult race. He lost time behind slower cars - including Esteban Gutierrez - and didn't have the speed to recover.
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| (c) Pirelli Media |
Massa, like Alonso, couldn't make a one-stop strategy work and finished in eighth. Sergio Perez snatched ninth place from Sutil at the very end to take McLaren's only points. Sutil kept hold of 10th place to make it a double point's finish for Force India.
Maldonado missed out on a point by just two seconds but it was an improved showing for Williams. Button's first stint was compromised once again by first lap contact but he managed to recover to 12th place after an early stop. Gutierrez finished ahead of his team-mate in 13th place, although Hulkenberg was handed a drive-through.
Bottas finished in 15th, ahead of the Toro Rosso duo of Ricciardo and Vergne. Giedo van der Garde was the lead Caterham car with Pic 11 seconds behind. It was a poor 55-lap race for Marussia with Bianchi and Chilton some way off the green machines. There was just one retirement from the race: Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn made contact with van der Garde on lap one, breaking his front-right track rod.
Classified Results:
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| (c) Getty Images |
Pos Driver Team Time 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h38m06.106s 2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault +30.8s 3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes +33.6s 4. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault +34.8s 5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari +1m07.1s 6. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes +1m18.1s 7. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +1m19.2s 8. Felipe Massa Ferrari +1m22.8s 9. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes +1m31.1s 10. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes +1m33.2s 11. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault +1m35.9s 12. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes +1m43.6s 13. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari +1m44.1s 14. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari +1 lap 15. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault +1 lap 16. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap 17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap 18. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault +1 lap 19. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault +1 lap 20. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth +2 laps 21. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth +2 laps Fastest lap: Alonso 1m43.434 Not classified/retirements: Driver Team Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 0 laps
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