Formula One Highlights: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Qualifying Part 6
The final qualifying session was heading for a last minute dash. It was understandable as it was going to determine the starting grid positions for the top ten drivers.
Sebastian Vettel had been on target once again and it was more a case of other drivers beating his time rather than the Red Bull doing the chasing. Speaking of Red Bull, Mark Webber had only managed a 4th fastest time and was driving the wheels
of his car to be able to ensure a spot on the front row for the race on Sunday. The McLarens and Ferraris were out to prove a point themselves...
Mark Webber crossed the line and was sadly unable to improve. He was still on 4th and by the looks of it the Australian was bound to be disappointed. His team mate had done loads better with the same machinery and with fewer points to his championship
account.
A case of Webber playing it a bit too safe?
Sebastian Vettel on the other hand, had little to lose and could easily throw the kitchen sink in the last round. To add to that, Red Bull had already secured the constructor’s title which meant literally no pressure on the young German, who therefore had,
little to lose.
Alonso was on track as well, and it was obvious that the Spaniard would be looking to get ahead of his closest title rival. A minute later, the Ferrari went 3rd fastest. Di Montezemolo, the Ferrari chairman, pumped his fist. Alonso was crucially
ahead of Webber. The order was Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button and Mark Webber.
Yes, the Red Bull was down to 5th after Button’s heroics in the dying stages of the shootout.
Felipe Massa ended his qualifying campaign 6th fastest behind Mark Webber. The Brazilian managed a 1 minute 40.202 in the end. It appeared that Alonso was on his own defending his lead without much ‘wanted’ intervention from his team mate.
Another Brazilian and former Ferrari driver followed Massa. Rubens Barrichello was a mere thousandth of a second slower than the Ferrari and started the race from 7th. Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg and Vitaly Petrov rounded off the final 10
positions. Schumacher had managed to out qualify his team mate, a personal season high for the veteran?
Summary:
Sebastian Vettel got another pole in the final race of the season, the 15th for Red Bull out of 19 races. However, it was an extremely disappointing performance from his team mate Mark Webber, who was 6 tenths slower and only managed 5th fastest.
Hamilton qualified 2nd, followed by Alonso, who grabbed 3rd in the dying moments of qualifying, and crucially placing himself ahead of Webber. Button had done Alonso and Hamilton a huge favour by qualifying 4th, ahead of Webber.
The battle was straightforward for Alonso. He required 2nd to seal his third drivers championship. But apart from that, the situation was rather complicated, especially for Red Bull. If Vettel were to win, Alonso needed to finish 5th or below. Vettel therefore,
required Hamilton, Button and Webber to finish ahead of Alonso.
It was rather pointless listing every possible championship scenario. All there was to do was simply get a ticket to the race the next day to find out exactly what went down. Lucky for you, our valued reader, missing the race wasn’t the end of the world as
we bring to you the blow by blow of the race from Yas Marina.
Stay tuned to bettor.com for the final race of the season…
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