Site logo

Vettel takes lights to flag win in Abu Dhabi

NEWS STORY
03/11/2013

For someone that shuns the spotlight in much the same way as Dracula avoided sunlight, Kimi Raikkonen is very much centre stage this weekend.

As if the situation with his pay - or lack of it - isn't enough, the Finn revealing that he hasn't been paid a single euro this year and admitting that he might miss the United States and Brazilian Grands Prix in protest, post-race scrutineering put him in the headlines yet again.

Basically, the car followed the underfloor deflection test and as result the Iceman finds himself excluded from the qualifying results and banished to the back of the grid.

The team insists it did nothing wrong and that damage was incurred after contact with a kerb, nevertheless, the Iceman starts from behind the Caterhams and Marussias.

Whereas you or I might say 'bugger this for a game of soldiers', or such like, we're sure that Kimi will take full advantage and give the performance of a life time. After all, when you consider that last week he was told to "move out of the f***ing way" for teammate Romain Grosjean - who had started from 17th on the grid - how sweet would it be for the Iceman to repay the compliment today.

Not for the first time, the front row is a Red Bull lock-out, however, this time around, as in Japan, it is Mark Webber who heads Sebastian Vettel. Fact is it was a stunning lap from the Australian, all that matters now being whether he can convert it into his first win of the season and possibly one of the last in a twelve-season career.

The Red Bulls have to be favourites, not only in terms of coming off the back of six consecutive wins - and having secured both titles for the fourth time - but also because they look so good here.

While Lotus was expected to be the biggest threat to the Austrian team here, the Enstone outfit has lost more and more ground as the weekend continued, and that's before Raikkonen's banishment to the back of the grid. As a result Mercedes now looks to be Seb and Mark's main challenger.

A wishbone failure robbed Lewis Hamilton of any chance of taking pole yesterday but nonetheless he starts fourth just one place behind his teammate.

In our humble opinion, the team to watch today is Sauber. Traction out of the slow corners is vital here and as we have seen in recent races the Swiss car appears to have it in spades.

Couple this with ever improving performances from both drivers - and yes we include Esteban Gutierrez whose performance in India last week was widely overlooked - and we feel the Hinwil outfit could pull of a real surprise, if only in terms of closing the gap to Force India.

With every race Ferrari appears to lose more and more ground and one cannot help but notice the dropped shoulders in the Maranello outfit's garage. For the first time since Valencia 2012 Fernando Alonso failed to make it to Q3, an embarrassment not only to the Spaniard but his team which is so much reliant on its Abu Dhabi ties.

Like Raikkonen, Felipe Massa is in no mood to toll over for his teammate knowing that his team's 2013 cause is already lost but that a strong performance might yet decide whether he secure a seat elsewhere for 2014.

Strong performance from Sergio Perez and Daniel Ricciardo saw the pair complete the top ten, the Mexican aiming to build on his strong performance in India whilst the Australian bides his time at Toro Rosso before stepping up to the big time.

As we've said before, though the titles are won, there is still so much more to come. Indeed, the settling of the title fights means we can focus on what's happening elsewhere.

Though money looks set to decide who fills many of the seats next season, particularly in the case of Williams, it is the battle for money in the Constructors' Championship that is really fuelling the fire.

Whilst Ferrari might not need the cash as much as say Mercedes, it does need the prestige of finishing runner-up (such as it is), it certainly doesn't want to finish fourth. On the other hand Lotus does need the money that comes with second place, and McLaren wouldn't turn it down.

And so it goes throughout the field, right down to the battle for tenth between Caterham and Marussia, the Russian team still hurting from Vitaly Petrov's performance in Brazil last year which earned the Anglo-Malaysian outfit tenth - and the associated prize pot - at the death. And look how the Russian driver was rewarded.

Whilst the Constructors' Championship doesn't mean anything in terms of a driver's CV, as Petrov and others will happily tell you, these last three races could decide the futures of numerous drivers taking part today.

Though a number of teams claim they are close to revealing their line-ups for 2014, the fact is that a major mistake, or major mistake, here or in the next two races, could mean the difference between being on the grid next season as a driver or TV pundit.

Tyre compounds are medium and soft and yesterday we witnessed a difference of up to 1.5s between the two. Throughout the weekend two key factors have shaped the strategy: the big lap time difference between the two compounds and the high degree of track evolution, which meant that the fastest times were usually set at the end of each session once the most rubber had been laid down on the surface. As an extra factor, the track temperature was consistently falling with the sun going down during the later sessions.

LATEST NEWS

more news >

RELATED ARTICLES

LATEST IMAGES

galleries >

  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images
  • Pitpass.com latest F1/Formula 1 images

POST A COMMENT

or Register for a Pitpass ID to have your say

Please note that all posts are reactively moderated and must adhere to the site's posting rules and etiquette.

Post your comment

READERS COMMENTS

 

1. Posted by BigMac, 05/11/2013 17:16

"I wasn't surprised to see Kimi parked up before a lap was completed ( I had predicted he would pull in after the first lap) and who could blame him.

Anyone lacking the moral fibre to pay someone for a job done (well done in Kimi's case) doesn't deserve the services of that man. What a nerve.

He has earned the points and the prize money, and the sponsorship and accolades that go along with both, expecting him to continue to risk his life - yes F1 Motorsport is still dangerous- without due payment and respect would be laughable if it wasn't just plain dishonest. Maybe they could sell some of their historic assets to at least show their good intentions. But instead we get a typical shrug with palms up and that queer sound of.... Why should I give a sh*t.

Ok they have reached some agreement, but Renault ..... Argh...yew! "

Rating: Neutral (0)     Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

2. Posted by Spindoctor, 04/11/2013 11:35

"The tediousness was terrific!
I'm probably in a minority, but for me Vettel's "greatness" is a bit moot.
Under the current regulations, he who can get ahead at turn one and whose car is fast enough to get a couple of seconds' lead in the first few laps is most likely going to win. This often applies to cars whose tyre-wear is quite high, as running in clean air does wonders for the longevity of the Pirellis.

It would have been a decent gesture if Red Bull had given Webber a "fair go" in a car that was working properly for the whole race, but it seems they can't or won't do that...."

Rating: Negative (-1)     Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

3. Posted by Kkiirmki, 03/11/2013 21:48

"I got up at 2.00am to watch this snore fest??? The most interesting thing I saw was the partial solar eclipse. "

Rating: Negative (-1)     Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

4. Posted by White Lightning, 03/11/2013 17:12

"Regardless of the entertainment value, or otherwise, of a horribly artificial circuit built by slave labour to satisfy the tourism whims of a vulgar government...


Sebastian Vettel was simply breathtaking today. We are truly witnessing one of the greatest ever."

Rating: Positive (1)     Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

Share this page

X

Copyright © Pitpass 2002 - 2024. All rights reserved.

about us  |  advertise  |  contact  |  privacy & security  |  rss  |  terms