Hamilton Wins In Abu Dhabi

Lewis Hamilton claimed the victory in Abu Dhabi on Sunday after Sebastian Vettel retired on the opening lap

Vettel's phenomenal season, in which he has claimed 11 race victories and only finished once off the podium, suffered its first black mark at the Yas Marina circuit when the pole sitter suffered a puncture on the opening lap.

Spinning off the track and limping back to the pits, it was soon discovered that Vettel's return journey had caused damaged to his RB7's floor and brake ducts forcing Red Bull to bench their World Champ.

Bad news for Vettel, but great news for Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.

Hamilton inherited the lead while Alonso overtook first Mark Webber and then Jenson Button to move up into second place. The Ferrari tried to hold onto Hamilton but the Brit etched out a steady lead.

So began a game of cat and mouse where every time Hamilton extended his lead, Alonso closed the gap only for Hamilton to extend it again.

And despite Ferrari's attempts to undercut Hamilton in the final round of pit stops, it was all the Brit on Sunday as he claimed his third win of the season in Abu Dhabi.

Alonso finished second ahead of Button, who had an interesting battle with Webber in the DRS zones with the Red Bull driver repeatedly overtaking the McLaren only to be retaken through the next zone.

Times
01. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1h37:11.886
02. Alonso Ferrari + 8.457
03. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 25.881
04. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 35.784
05. Massa Ferrari + 50.578
06. Rosberg Mercedes + 52.317
07. Schumacher Mercedes + 1:15.900
08. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1:17.100
09. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:40.000
10. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
11. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap
12. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
13. Petrov Renault + 1 lap
14. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap
15. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap
16. Senna Renault + 1 lap
17. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 1 lap
18. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 2 laps
19. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps
20. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 2 laps

Did Not Finish
Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 49
Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 19
D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 18
Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1

Source: Planet-F1