Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - 12 Nov 2010 - 14 Nov 2010 |
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Welcome to Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi for race 19 and the final race of the 2010 season. Alonso's all set to claim the title. Webber is his closest competitor being 8 points behind him. Webber's team mate Sebastian Vettel too is in the running and is 15 points behind Alonso. Lewis Hamilton though mathematically capable of winning the title, needs a miracle to do so. Jenson Button took himself out of the battle after his disastrous weekend at Brazil.
Red Bull's Christian Horner reassures that there will be no team orders. He says it's up to the drivers to decide who runs at that position.
Alonso's the best equipped to claim the title but Webber's everyone's favourite to win.
As we draw closer to the race, everyone looks cool and collected. The pressure of the race seems to be handled well by all. It's after a long time that the battle for the driver's championship has survived all the way to the season finale.
The Grid
Sebastian Vettel yet again has pole. This is his tenth pole of the season and the 15th for Red Bull. He has had more pole positions this season than every other driver put together. Beside him is Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren. Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button are right behind them. Mark Webber and Felipe Massa are next on the grid. Ex team mates, Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher are on row 4. Nico Rosberg and Vitaly Petrov complete the top ten. Robert Kubica and Kamui Kobayashi are on the grid. Adrian Sutil and Nick Heidfeld are on row 7.Nico Hulkenberg and Vitantonio Liuzzi are behind them. Behind them are the two Toro Rossos, the two Lotuses, the two Virgins and the two HRTs to complete the grid. This is one of those rare races that don't have any place changes by way of penalties.
The five red lights illuminate...
It's a clean start for all. Hamilton has a better start than Webber but it is not enough to steal the race lead. Alonso has a rather poor start and he loses third to Button. Webber's stuck at 5th.
Schumacher's under pressure. His team mate's bumper to bumper with him. Schumi's struggling to hold on to his position. He spins out and Vitantonio Liuzzi drives right into him. The Force India is parked on top of the Mercedes. Both drivers walk away from the crash.
The safety car's out on the track. The cars will take a shortcut in turn 5 to avoid the wreck. The order is Vettel leading Hamilton, Button, Alonso, Webber, Massa, Rubens Barrichello, Kamui Kobayashi, Adrian Sutil, Kubica, Nick Heidfeld, Sebastien Buemi, Nico Hulkenberg, Heikki Kovalainen, Jarno Trulli, Timo Glock, Rosberg, Petrov, Alguersuari, Di Grassi, Senna and Klien.
A train of cars dive into the pits and switch to hard tyres.
Lap 7
Kubica gets past Sutil with great ease to claim 9th. Force India's definitely not having a pleasant weekend.
At the current position, Alonso'll take the championship with 2 points ahead of Vettel.
Lap 16
Alonso dives into the pits. Webber and Massa had dived into the pits in the previous laps. Alonso rejoins the race at P12 ahead of Webber, Alguesuari and Massa.
Things just got tougher for Alonso. Given the current positions, Alonso has to get past Rosberg if he wants to claim the championship. He will finish 5th if he's behind Rosberg and will be tied for points with Vettel and Vettel'll take the championship.
Lap 24
Hamilton pits and rejoins the race at 5th. The championship seems definitely out of his reach.
Vettel dives into the pits. Given the gap between him and rest of the cars, he should re enter the race at 2nd.
Lap 30
Jarno Trulli clips a marker and loses his front wing. He dives into the pits and his crew struggles to remove whatever's left of the destroyed front wing.
Hamilton's pushing his McLaren to its limits. He's pulling all stops to overtake Kubika's Renault.
Button leads Vettel by 11.6 seconds, followed by Kubica (18.7s), Hamilton (19.0s), Kobayashi (24.0s), Sutil (25.9s), Buemi (27.5s), Rosberg (29.0s), Hulkenberg (30.2s), Petrov (30.9s), Alonso (31.5s) and Webber (32.7s) in 12th place.
Vettel posts the fastest lap at 1:43.302. In the current position, Vettel will finish three points ahead of Alonso giving him the title. With 25 laps to go, can Alonso make up the difference?
Lap 35
Vettel 's flying through the track and Button's lead has quickly been slashed to 8.5 seconds
Lap 40
Button pits and hands race lead back to Vettel. He rejoins the race at P5, behind Kubica and Hamilton
Lap 44
Kubica and Sutil are the only drivers yet to pit.
Yellow Flags are being waved. Timo Glock has crashed and is out of the race.
Lap 51
Alonso's making too many mistakes. Webber's told over the radio to try to get past Alonso.
Hats off to Petrov for keeping Alonso and Webber back chewing on their gearbox for over 20 laps
Final Lap
Vettel takes the chequered flag and becomes the youngest champion ever at the age of 23. Hamilton finishes 2nd with Button right on his tail. It's a bitter finish for Alonso who's finishing in 7th. Webber finishes behind Alonso in 8th. Nico Rosberg finishes 4th. The two Renaults of Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov finishes 5th and 6th respectively. Jamie Alguesuari finishes 9th and Felipe Massa claimed the final point scoring postion.
What an end to the 2010 season. Alonso and the Ferrari team were obsessed with keeping Webber behind and Vettel stole the show and the title from under him. Its been an explosive season this year with the battle for the title lasting all the way to the last race.
See you guys in a few months for the 2011 season!
Click here for the Abu Dhabi GP Race Results.
Red Bull's Christian Horner reassures that there will be no team orders. He says it's up to the drivers to decide who runs at that position.
Alonso's the best equipped to claim the title but Webber's everyone's favourite to win.
As we draw closer to the race, everyone looks cool and collected. The pressure of the race seems to be handled well by all. It's after a long time that the battle for the driver's championship has survived all the way to the season finale.
The Grid
Sebastian Vettel yet again has pole. This is his tenth pole of the season and the 15th for Red Bull. He has had more pole positions this season than every other driver put together. Beside him is Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren. Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button are right behind them. Mark Webber and Felipe Massa are next on the grid. Ex team mates, Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher are on row 4. Nico Rosberg and Vitaly Petrov complete the top ten. Robert Kubica and Kamui Kobayashi are on the grid. Adrian Sutil and Nick Heidfeld are on row 7.Nico Hulkenberg and Vitantonio Liuzzi are behind them. Behind them are the two Toro Rossos, the two Lotuses, the two Virgins and the two HRTs to complete the grid. This is one of those rare races that don't have any place changes by way of penalties.
The five red lights illuminate...
It's a clean start for all. Hamilton has a better start than Webber but it is not enough to steal the race lead. Alonso has a rather poor start and he loses third to Button. Webber's stuck at 5th.
Schumacher's under pressure. His team mate's bumper to bumper with him. Schumi's struggling to hold on to his position. He spins out and Vitantonio Liuzzi drives right into him. The Force India is parked on top of the Mercedes. Both drivers walk away from the crash.
The safety car's out on the track. The cars will take a shortcut in turn 5 to avoid the wreck. The order is Vettel leading Hamilton, Button, Alonso, Webber, Massa, Rubens Barrichello, Kamui Kobayashi, Adrian Sutil, Kubica, Nick Heidfeld, Sebastien Buemi, Nico Hulkenberg, Heikki Kovalainen, Jarno Trulli, Timo Glock, Rosberg, Petrov, Alguersuari, Di Grassi, Senna and Klien.
A train of cars dive into the pits and switch to hard tyres.
Lap 7
Kubica gets past Sutil with great ease to claim 9th. Force India's definitely not having a pleasant weekend.
At the current position, Alonso'll take the championship with 2 points ahead of Vettel.
Lap 16
Alonso dives into the pits. Webber and Massa had dived into the pits in the previous laps. Alonso rejoins the race at P12 ahead of Webber, Alguesuari and Massa.
Things just got tougher for Alonso. Given the current positions, Alonso has to get past Rosberg if he wants to claim the championship. He will finish 5th if he's behind Rosberg and will be tied for points with Vettel and Vettel'll take the championship.
Lap 24
Hamilton pits and rejoins the race at 5th. The championship seems definitely out of his reach.
Vettel dives into the pits. Given the gap between him and rest of the cars, he should re enter the race at 2nd.
Lap 30
Jarno Trulli clips a marker and loses his front wing. He dives into the pits and his crew struggles to remove whatever's left of the destroyed front wing.
Hamilton's pushing his McLaren to its limits. He's pulling all stops to overtake Kubika's Renault.
Button leads Vettel by 11.6 seconds, followed by Kubica (18.7s), Hamilton (19.0s), Kobayashi (24.0s), Sutil (25.9s), Buemi (27.5s), Rosberg (29.0s), Hulkenberg (30.2s), Petrov (30.9s), Alonso (31.5s) and Webber (32.7s) in 12th place.
Vettel posts the fastest lap at 1:43.302. In the current position, Vettel will finish three points ahead of Alonso giving him the title. With 25 laps to go, can Alonso make up the difference?
Lap 35
Vettel 's flying through the track and Button's lead has quickly been slashed to 8.5 seconds
Lap 40
Button pits and hands race lead back to Vettel. He rejoins the race at P5, behind Kubica and Hamilton
Lap 44
Kubica and Sutil are the only drivers yet to pit.
Yellow Flags are being waved. Timo Glock has crashed and is out of the race.
Lap 51
Alonso's making too many mistakes. Webber's told over the radio to try to get past Alonso.
Hats off to Petrov for keeping Alonso and Webber back chewing on their gearbox for over 20 laps
Final Lap
Vettel takes the chequered flag and becomes the youngest champion ever at the age of 23. Hamilton finishes 2nd with Button right on his tail. It's a bitter finish for Alonso who's finishing in 7th. Webber finishes behind Alonso in 8th. Nico Rosberg finishes 4th. The two Renaults of Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov finishes 5th and 6th respectively. Jamie Alguesuari finishes 9th and Felipe Massa claimed the final point scoring postion.
What an end to the 2010 season. Alonso and the Ferrari team were obsessed with keeping Webber behind and Vettel stole the show and the title from under him. Its been an explosive season this year with the battle for the title lasting all the way to the last race.
See you guys in a few months for the 2011 season!
Click here for the Abu Dhabi GP Race Results.
