Video: Interview with Fernando Alonso after Qualifying at Abu Dhabi GP 2012

Fernando Alonso described Ferrari's qualifying session as 'perfect' despite his fastest time seeing him start Sunday's race seventh on the grid



Source: SeventySevenBucks

Practice Three: Hamilton leads McLaren 1-2

Lewis Hamilton topped the Abu Dhabi weekend's second McLaren 1-2 in a practice session that saw Sebastian Vettel have just six minutes of running

With the track temperature a blistering 46'C, Kamui Kobayashi was the first to get down to business with a 1:49.193 at the start of Saturday's final practice. The Sauber driver continued lapping on a free race track, lowering the benchmark to a 1:45.628.

The Japanese driver's run sparked of a flurry of activity while the track temperature fell by three degrees in the first 15 minutes of the session.

Kimi Raikkonen was the next to lead the way while his Lotus team-mate Romain Grosjean lined up behind him. But it was all change as Lewis Hamilton came flying through, setting fastest times in the first and third sectors on his way to a 1:44.264.

The McLaren driver lost out to Pastor Maldonado only to come back him the next lap while Michael Schumacher, who Hamilton will replace at Mercedes next season, climbing to third place. Hamilton had the benchmark time down to a 1:42.851 at the halfway mark although at that point Sebastian Vettel had not set a time.

Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso joined Hamilton at the top of the timesheets, however, the two chasers were already a second slower when Hamilton put his foot down and extended his advantage to 1.471s over Vettel's team-mate. Alonso was a further 0.015s adrift.

As for Vettel, with 20 minutes remaining he was still stuck in the pits without a time to his name as his Red Bull mechanics were bleeding his brakes. He finally ventured out with six minutes on the clock as his main rivals begun their soft tyre runs.

That saw Webber improve to third, Grosjean take fourth ahead of Maldonado and Hulkenberg. However, it was still a McLaren 1-2 as Hamilton upped his pace in first place while Button went quickest but remained second. Vettel came across the line third quickest, 0.484s down.

Times
01 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:42.130 18 laps
02 Jenson Button McLaren 1:42.420 0.290 17 laps
03 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:42.614 0.484 7 laps
04 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:42.743 0.613 18 laps
05 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:42.750 0.620 19 laps
06 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:43.015 0.885 18 laps
07 Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:43.064 0.934 19 laps
08 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:43.133 1.003 15 laps
09 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus 1:43.184 1.054 22 laps
10 Paul di Resta Force India 1:43.338 1.208 19 laps
11 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:43.480 1.350 17 laps
12 Sergio Perez Sauber 1:43.571 1.441 19 laps
13 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:43.593 1.463 20 laps
14 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:43.635 1.505 18 laps
15 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:44.010 1.880 21 laps
16 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:44.025 1.895 17 laps
17 Bruno Senna Williams 1:44.071 1.941 19 laps
18 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:44.149 2.019 19 laps
19 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham 1:45.301 3.171 21 laps
20 Timo Glock Marussia 1:45.879 3.749 19 laps
21 Charles Pic Marussia 1:46.036 3.906 18 laps
22 Vitaly Petrov Caterham 1:46.261 4.131 22 laps
23 Pedro de la Rosa HRT 1:46.554 4.424 20 laps
24 Narain Karthikeyan HRT 1:47.032 4.902 22 laps

Source: Planet-F1

Practice Two: Vettel hits the front

As night fell over the Yas Marina circuit, Sebastian Vettel emerged as the driver to beat in FP2, setting the pace on the medium and soft Pirellis ahead of Lewis Hamilton

As the sun set over the Yas Marina circuit and the floodlights came into play, the track temperature dropped dramatically from the earlier session and was some ten seconds cooler.

Reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel set the early pace with a 1:43.323 as the drivers quickly got down to business. Lap after lap the German lowered the benchmark, dropping down to a 1:42.730 when he headed into the pits after an seven-lap stint.

While the Red Bull racer was in his garage, Lewis Hamilton, on his 11th lap on the medium tyres, set the timesheets alight, putting in three purple sectors to hit the front by 0.635s despite a call from McLaren to head back into the pits.

Thirty minutes into the session Hamilton was leading ahead of Jenson Button, Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen and Nico Rosberg.

It boiled down to a repeat of first practice as the session progressed with the two McLaren setting the pace ahead of the Red Bulls while Alonso was there and there about.

A switch to the soft yellow-marked Pirellis did not see any massive improvements from the drivers with Jenson Button, Sergio Perez, Mark Webber and the rest all failing to go quicker on the first two or even more hot laps.

Romain Grosjean was the first notable improvement on the soft tyres and he climbed to second place. This sparked a brief run of drivers improving with Vettel taking the lead by 0.039s over Hamilton. Alonso, using the new front wing and the new rear one for the first together, climbed to fifth but was still 0.750s down on Vettel's best.

Vettel increased his lead only for Hamilton to close it while Button climbed to third ahead of Webber, Grosjean and Alonso, the drivers who made up the top six after the first hour of practice.

As the drivers put in lap after lap with a few spins and near encounters with the walls, the track temperature dropped to 30'C and many in the field opted to swap to heavier fuel loads. As such there were no changes to the timesheets with most seven to eight seconds down on their previous best times.

Practice Two concluded with Vettel on top with a 1:41.751, 0.168s ahead of Hamilton, who had a late issue with the downshifts, while Button was a further 0.5s off the pace.

Times
01 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:41.751 33 laps
02 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:41.919 0.168 33 laps
03 Jenson Button McLaren 1:42.412 0.661 35 laps
04 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:42.466 0.715 21 laps
05 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:42.500 0.749 34 laps
06 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus 1:42.532 0.781 27 laps
07 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:42.587 0.836 30 laps
08 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:42.823 1.072 32 laps
09 Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:42.998 1.247 37 laps
10 Sergio Perez Sauber 1:43.106 1.355 35 laps
11 Bruno Senna Williams 1:43.191 1.440 33 laps
12 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:43.200 1.449 35 laps
13 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:43.255 1.504 34 laps
14 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:43.267 1.516 31 laps
15 Paul di Resta Force India 1:43.578 1.827 33 laps
16 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:43.689 1.938 31 laps
17 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:44.260 2.509 26 laps
18 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:45.073 3.322 19 laps
19 Vitaly Petrov Caterham 1:45.245 3.494 35 laps
20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham 1:45.782 4.031 32 laps
21 Timo Glock Marussia 1:46.589 4.838 35 laps
22 Charles Pic Marussia 1:46.671 4.920 31 laps
23 Pedro de la Rosa HRT 1:46.707 4.956 26 laps
24 Narain Karthikeyan HRT 1:47.406 5.655 34 laps

Source: planet-F1

Alonso's Blog: Twenty podiums in two years with Ferrari: not bad!

I’m already home from the trip to Abu Dhabi which ended on a high note. Yesterday’s second place is definitely a better result than we had expected going into the weekend, but what gave me the most satisfaction was the speed we had for practically the whole race. It was a good battle with Hamilton: at some points he was quicker and at others I was. Usually, at the start of a stint, he was able to pull out a bit of a gap, but then I’d close it in the final part, especially when we were both on the Softs. In the second stint the traffic also added to this sort of elastic movement between us, but it’s hard to say which of us it affected most. Having analysed the data in last night’s debrief, it was also clearly the case that the little problem at the second pit stop did not impact on the final result: I would not have been able to get back out on track ahead of Hamilton, who was immediately quick on the Medium tyres. In fact the ability to get the most out of the tyres right from the very first lap, is one of the areas we need to work on for next year.

Bringing home a trophy from Abu Dhabi was very pleasing for me, but I’ve realised I made a statistical error, when I said that in my collection I have at least one trophy from each of the Grand Prix venues since I’ve raced in Formula 1: I’m missing one from Austria where I raced only twice, in 2001 and 2003, failing to finish on both occasions. The first time was in a Minardi, when the gearbox let me down, the second was when I was with Renault and the engine failed. Well, I’m not sure if the Austrian Grand Prix will ever return to the calendar, but if it did happen, then that would be just an extra reason to try and make it to the podium!

Still on the subject of statistics, yesterday’s podium was the twentieth of my “red” career, which means that I have managed to finish in the top three in over half the races I have driven for Ferrari. This shows that even in a year like this, which has not been so fantastic, in terms of our car’s performance, the average level is still very high. It’s not by chance that over the last eighteen years, the Scuderia has managed to win at least one Grand Prix per season. No other team can say the same and factors like this also influenced my decision to extend my contract with Ferrari for such a long time. I know many of you will think it would have been better if I could have come second in Abu Dhabi a year ago. I know it too, but there’s no point in thinking about what might have been, also because I am sure that the time will come sooner or later when we can obtain the satisfaction that has eluded us so far. I am sure that from now until 2016 there will be many more bottles of champagne for me to hand to the mechanics as I come down the steps from the podium!

Source: Ferrari.com

Alonso completes silverware collection

Second place in the Abu Dhabi GP not only transcended Ferrari expectations, but made a welcome addition to Fernando Alonso's personal haul

Fernando Alonso entered the third Abu Dhabi Grand Prix wanting a podium finish almost as much as win in order to complete an envious record of having finished in the top three at every circuit on the F1 schedule. In the end, he could have had both....

The Spaniard made another storming start to the 55-lap race, driving around the outside of Mark Webber to pick up one place immediately, before then out-fumbling Jenson Button before the end of the lap. With pole sitter Sebastian Vettel spinning out with a sudden puncture, Alonso's blitz left him in second place and chasing Lewis Hamilton for the lead.

"The opening lap was exciting," he admitted, "At the start, I squeezed round the outside of Webber at the first corner because I knew there was more grip there. Then, once I saw Vettel was off, I got into Button's slipstream, taking a bit of a risk but, in the end, I managed to pass him too. After that, I expected to struggle more, but today was one of those where the car went much better than expected and you are kept busier fighting with those ahead of you than in looking in your mirrors."

At no point through the weekend had Ferrari looked to have the pace to threaten either Red Bull or McLaren, but Alonso kept Hamilton in sight, even if the gap at the front gradually extended. By lap eight, Hamilton was 2.7secs in front, and there was no change to the order as the leading pair pitted together on lap 16, the Briton taking advantage of a slightly quicker turnaround to pull out another second on his rival as the race approached half-distance.

As the sun began to set over Yas Marina, the two men continued to battle it out, with both falling foul of recalcitrant backmarkers from time to time, allowing Alonso to narrow the gap slightly. Hamilton was the first to pit second time around, giving the Spaniard a couple of laps to bridge the margin and hopefully emerge in front after his final switch to the harder Pirelli tyres.

With Hamilton also running to the finish, but almost 20 seconds down after his stop, Alonso needed everything to go in his favour but, right from the moment he headed for pit-lane, it was clear that it was to be the Briton's day. First, the Ferrari trailed one of the HRTs into the pits, then the Scuderia executed a slower than usual stop, all of which meant that Alonso emerged in second spot, 4.4secs behind his former team-mate.

With victory out of the question barring a problem for Hamilton, Alonso had to switch his attention to Webber who, having yet to change to the harder rubber, was making a third set of the soft Pirellis work in his favour by closing in on the Spaniard. The fastest man on track, the Australian was reducing the gap in big chunks, but there wasn't enough time for him to reverse the positions and make a third stop to comply with the rules. By pitting at the end of the penultimate lap, the pressure on Alonso was lifted and the Ferrari cruised to second place.

"Today we were fighting for the win all the way to the end," the Spaniard confirmed, "We got a good start and could match Hamilton's pace and the first pit-stop went well, but I lost a couple of seconds at the second one, what with traffic on my in-lap and a problem changing the front left wheel. However, I don't think that's where we lost the race, because I am convinced that, in the end, it's the quickest car that wins and so it was.

Before the weekend, Alonso had revealed how he had a podium trophy from each of the races on the calendar with the exception of Abu Dhabi, but his performance in attack ensured that he at least fulfilled a personal goal.

“I am pleased with this result - finally my podium trophy collection is complete!" the Spaniard enthused, "I have 73 top three finishes and have managed to stand on the podium of all the circuits that have been on the F1 calendar over the past ten years. Next year, we go to Austin, and the year after to Russia, so there will always be new challenges to tackle and objectives to reach - even if, obviously, the main one is always to win the title."

Team principal Stefano Domenicali was full of praise for his lead driver, and delighted to have gone some way to addressing the disappointment of last year, when a pit-wall error cost the Spaniard a possible third world title.

“We knew a podium was possible and that was confirmed this evening when, thanks to yet another extraordinary drive from Fernando, we were in the fight for the win right up until the final part of the race," Domenicali noted, "The first lap was exceptional, as was his race pace after that.

"Finally getting a driver onto the podium in this race is indeed cause for satisfaction, but there's one race to go, in two weeks time in Brazil, and second place in the drivers' championship is still up for grabs. That will be hard to achieve, but it is definitely not impossible and we will do all we can to give Fernando the tools to achieve this."

Source: Crash.net

Hamilton: Victory is good for the soul

Lewis Hamilton admits arriving in Abu Dhabi with a "less weighing" on him played a huge role in his fantastic grand prix weekend

The McLaren driver had had a difficult 2010 season, earning almost as many penalties and reprimands as he has top-three finishes.

It was apparent that his issues, both on and off the track, were weighing heavily on his shoulders as even his pole position last month in Korea could not encourage a smile.

However, two races later, Hamilton was finally smiling in Abu Dhabi thanks to a near perfect weekend.

Having topped two of the three practice sessions, he only missed out on pole position by 0.141s but was back at the very front on Sunday evening when he claimed the victory at the Yas Marina circuit.

"I'm usually my own biggest critic, but I felt like I maximised everything," said Hamilton.

"I definitely think that this weekend I've been clearer in my mind and I've had less weighing on me, less thoughts and issues or whatever problems that I've got.

"I was just able to drive clearly.

"I think my qualifying has always been generally good and my practice has always been pretty good but obviously in the last race I had that mistake which was... I was just not thinking straight and this weekend I was able to think straight.

"This is so uplifting, to be able to walk away with a smile feels fantastic. Victory is good for the soul."

And although one could argue that Hamilton's victory was courtesy of Sebastian Vettel's first retirement of the season, the fact that he didn't put a wheel wrong can't be taken away from the Brit, who reckons a bit of bad luck helps one appreciate the good.

"I don't remember the last time he (Vettel) had a bit of bad luck," said Hamilton. "Every now and then, we need a bit of bad luck to notice the good times."

As for whether his Abu Dhabi victory is the beginning of a resurgence, Hamilton said: "It is early days yet but this is definitely the start of something hopefully very good."

Source: Planet-F1

Video: BBC - Ferrari's Fernando Alonso buoyed by Abu Dhabi GP display

Fernando Alonso is pleased with his second-place finish at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, saying his Ferrari car did "better than expected".

The Spaniard, who started fifth on the grid, overtook Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber and Jenson Button of McLaren to sit just behind leader Lewis Hamilton for the rest of the race.

However, Alonso insists his start was not "special" and McLaren simply had "more pace" than his Ferrari team at Yas Marina



Source: Formula1Arab

Räikkönen's managers in Williams premises

Kimi Räikkönen's managers David and Steve Robertson made a quick visit to Yas Marina Grand Prix -paddock on Sunday. What do you know, the Robertsons followed the beginning of the F1-race in Williams premises.

Frank Williams assured on Friday night to MTV3 that he is very interested in getting Räikkönen to his team.

Robertsons were completely silent about the matter.

– The times are completely different from those times for example in 2001 when Kimi started in Sauber, because these days even being a top talent isn't enough to assure a team seat, Robertson told Turun Sanomat.

Co-founder of Williams-team, Patrick Head, admitted before the race when asked once again, that they have thought about getting Räikkönen earlier too.

– We were interested in Kimi when he drove for Sauber. We proposed to make a deal to our partner at the time, BMW, but they thought it would be too expensive, Head cleared.

So far only Pastor Maldonado's continuance in Williams next year is sure.

Turun Sanomat, Abu Dhabi

HEIKKI KULTA

Courtesy: Nicole

Abu Dhabi GP 2011 | Sebastian Vettel blog | Unfortunate end

World champion Sebastian Vettel suffered his biggest disappointment of the season at the Abu Dhabi GP on Sunday. In his latest blog, the German explains why he was forced to retire after an unexplained puncture on the first lap ended his race prematurely

by Sebastian Vettel, Nov 13, 2011

A final hello from Abu Dhabi!

We would have wanted a different result today but now it's over there's nothing we can do about it. We don't actually know why I lost the car on the first lap and all I can say is that it happened so fast it was a complete surprise to me too.

It was a pity because I got off to an amazing start but suddenly I lost all of the air out of the back tyre and my race was over.

I tried to nurse the car back to the pit to see if the guys could do something to save the race, but they saw immediately that it was impossible to continue.

'I tried to nurse the car back... but it was irreparable'

On the way back round, the tyre had fallen off completely – taking part of the suspension with it which was irreparable. It's really sad, but there was nothing we could have done to prevent it.

Some might say that one retirement isn't that bad because we've already won the two championships, but that's not the way we think. We had a really good feeling before the start, the car was in great shape and we had the potential for a great race.

Sadly, we won't find out how we would have got on and it's something we have to accept. All we can do is sit down together, watch the footage and find out what happened so we can understand it. Then we'll concentrate on the last race in Brazil to make sure we can end this season in style and shine once again.

Thank you for all of your support! We'll do better next time!

All the best,

Seb

Source: Red Bull

Video: BBC - 'Positive energy' inspires Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi

Lewis Hamilton says winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was the perfect end to the weekend and says things "just seemed to go right" at the Yas Marina Circuit.

It was the 26-year-old's first victory in eight races and he admits that he had been suffering from a "negative vibe" that has affected his performances.

Hamilton is joined in the McLaren garage by his mum who is in Abu Dhabi celebrating her birthday, and the McLaren driver admits he needs to surround himself with more friends and family at races



Source: Formula1Arab

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

Close your eyes, Kimi!

My reporter buddy Alan Baldwin wrote after Abu Dhabi qualification on his twitter: "Don't look here, Kimi".

Why not? Well because this is the first time in the history when Williams-cars have to start from the back to a GP. Baldwin came up with a joking slogan about how the result better not be shown to the driver who they want in the team.

Williams bottom rock this season is a harsh fact. When I asked the team's other founder Patrick Head if he remembers the cars ever being in the back row, he shook his head and assured it has never happened before.

And if it has, then a painful information like that has at least been wiped out of his memory.

In a way this grid result comes at a bad time. The future big sponsors from Qatar are at the paddock as the team's guests. With these kind of positions they won't at least speed up those negotiations which already are about to be finished.

Williams has had an awkwardly bad season. Head was asked what the main reason for the catastrophy is, but according to him it's the sum of many factors. When the reliability has plagued the whole team this season Williams hasn't got any kind of compensation for their positions behind the top 10.

By changing Rubens Barrichello into Räikkönen it would in some way at least shake up the team to shape up. I heard from the inside circle that the mechanics in Williams already have a tough competition over who gets in the team operating around Kimi's car. The spirit is that it will definitely be fun in Kimi's team.

Frank Williams is still the master in his team. They were a bit astonished over the way he replied on Friday evening to two questions presented by Finnish reporters.

When I asked in FIA:s official press conference if he is interested in taking Räikkönen as his driver, he replied that he won't comment on the rumours.

When MTV3 asked the same from him in their own exclusive interview, filmed by two cameramen, he said that it's not a secret that they are very interested in getting Räikkönen.

This or that. I guess that Räikkönen's rallying career at least ended to his retirement in Wales on Saturday.

Turun Sanomat, Abu Dhabi

HEIKKI KULTA

Courtesy: Nicole

Video: BBC - Abu Dhabi GP - Balance an issue for Jenson Button in Abu Dhabi

Jenson Button admits he is struggling to find the right balance in his McLaren, despite putting in an impressive drive to qualify third for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The 31-year-old Englishman looked good for his first pole position of the season, but his team-mate Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel pipped him to second and first respectively



Source: SixtyBuckss

F1 blog | Inside the Abu Dhabi GP | Kimi Shelter

With the Abu Dhabi grand prix around the corner and the global economic crisis in the back of everybody's minds, one question was on the press' lips... When will the iceman cometh back to F1?

Sitting in Yas Marina looking at the mega-yachts bobbing up and down in front of the five-star Yas Viceroy hotel, lit up as usual in all its pomp, it’s fair to say that the global economic downturn isn’t exactly in evidence. Then again, who knows? Maybe the people on the boats are ranging against the dying of the light and its all going to be repossessed in the morning? Even the fantasy-land that is the F1 paddock isn’t immune to the travails of the global economy and at today’s press conference team principals accustomed to answering questions about grumpy drivers and broken gearboxes were asked to step out onto the rather more unfamiliar territory of airing their views on the state of the Euro and other such matters economic. Admittedly, the questions were couched in fairly comfortable terms, mostly along the lines of ‘If Europe sinks into a catastrophe not seen since the Mongol horde was at the gate of Vienna and fire, famine, plague and pestilence rain down, will it affect your development budget for next year?’ Reassuringly most of them said ‘No'.

Rather more in keeping was the inevitability that Frank Williams would receive a question or two about Kimi Räikkönen. The Iceman is currently sliding around the forests of Wales in a borrowed Citroën, but his presence is very much in evidence on Yas Island as the saga of whether or not the 2007 F1 World Champion is coming back for another tilt edges nearer to an answer. Whenever one of the Williams board is put in front of the microphone these days, that’s usually the first question, and always if the man doing the asking is Finnish.

“Frank, 10 years ago you were interested in getting Kimi to your team. Now, 10 years later are you still interested to get him now you can do so?’

Newspaper men know that local talent is what sells their papers, so when Red Bull Racing disappear into the distance and record another one-two finish, the headlines in Italy are going to be ‘Ferrari disaster’, while the British will probably go for ‘HAMILTON SNATCHES THIRD as Vettel wins again.’ As the F1 media’s professional Finn, Heikki Kulta of the Turku daily Turun Sanomat has a rather more narrow window of opportunity. Heikki Kovalainen is the amiable bread and butter story, but the possibility of a returning Räikkönen is an ice-cream sundae with a cherry on top. A cherry that’s probably been dipped in vodka and taken a ride on a jetski dressed as a gorilla, but definitely a cherry. So when Frank’s on the panel, and Heikki snaffles the microphone, everybody in the room smiles, including Frank. Credit to Heikki he asks the same question he’s asked every race but for variety changes the phrasing. This week it was “Frank, 10 years ago you were interested in getting Kimi to your team. Now, 10 years later are you still interested to get him now you can do so?’

Frank pauses for dramatic effect, eyes twinkling before saying “A lot of supposition, and I cannot make any comment about supposition, sorry to be so unhelpful.” It’s the ‘no comment’ everybody knew was coming, but delivered with sufficient grace to create a respectable quote to file. Even with the world falling about their ears, you can still depend on the old school.

Source: Red Bull

Hamilton relieved to be clear of Massa

Lewis Hamilton looked forward to a trouble-free Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after qualifying well clear of Ferrari's Felipe Massa on Saturday

The pair has collided six times this season, most recently in India two weeks ago when they were alongside on the grid, but Hamilton qualified his McLaren on the front row at Yas Marina while Massa starts sixth.

"I am ahead of Felipe, so that helps," the 2008 champion said with a grin when asked whether it would be easier to have a clean race and fight for victory on Sunday.

Hamilton has had a nightmare season, with regular visits to stewards and controversial actions on and off the track as well as splitting from his singer girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger, but there are signs his troubles may be easing.

He was fastest in two of the three practice sessions and missed out on pole only at the very last to Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel.

He remains the sole driver outside of Red Bull to have started a race on pole this year, and in Abu Dhabi he earned warm praise from former McLaren team mate and Ferrari foe Fernando Alonso.

"With racing, a lot of it is mental," said Hamilton, who spoke earlier in the week of his desire to create a happy 'bubble' around him like that enjoyed by team mate Jenson Button.

"Even if you think you're ready, you could subconsciously not be ready.

"I think this weekend I feel fresh, I feel clean in the mind. Obviously I've stayed out of trouble and that makes a huge difference and it just adds to your confidence and you just roll with it.

"I'm second on the grid now, taken no penalty, which is usually quite a big hit to confidence and we are in a good position tomorrow to move forward."

Hamilton revealed that he had spent time with his family since India, enjoying a traditional British bonfire night with fireworks before flying to the Middle East.

"Those kind of positive things make a big difference," he said.

Source: Reuters Sports

Video: BBC - Abu Dhabi GP - Sebastian Vettel pride at equalling Nigel Mansell pole record

World champion Sebastian Vettel shares his pride at equalling Nigel Mansell's 1992 record of 14 pole positions in a season.

The 24-year-old Red Bull driver produced a stunning last lap of 1:38.481 as darkness fell on the twilight session, beating Lewis Hamilton's benchmark by 0.141 seconds.

The pole is the 29th of Vettel's career and leaves him on target to complete a hat-trick of Abu Dhabi Grand Prix wins

Vettel matches Mansell's pole record

Double Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel dug deep to seize pole position at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Saturday and equal Nigel Mansell's 1992 record of 14 in a single season

The 24-year-old German, who has already clinched his second title with Red Bull, saved his best for last after McLaren's Lewis Hamilton had been fastest in the first two phases of qualifying as well as final practice.

Hamilton will start the season's penultimate race alongside on the front row, with team mate and fellow Briton Jenson Button third.

Red Bull's Australian Mark Webber, seemingly no closer to a first win of the season, lines up fourth.

The pole was the 29th of Vettel's career and 17th in 18 races this year for Red Bull.

"I think it's going to be a long, fun race," said Vettel, who has won both of the two races held to date at the Yas Marina circuit, where last year he won from pole to become Formula One's youngest champion.

"They will be very quick in the race...it will be a long fight to the chequered flag," he added, grinning at the McLaren drivers sitting on either side in the post qualifying news conference. "I'm confident and ready.

"We expected if we got everything right to be closer, much closer than in practice," added the German, who hit the barriers on Friday.

"I felt there was more in the car and we just had to get to it. Overnight we tried to find where the problem was and this afternoon it was already much better."

Hamilton, who lapped just nine thousandths of a second faster than Button, appeared to have done enough for his second pole of a troubled season but Vettel pipped him right at the finish.

"I'm happy with today," said Hamilton. "And to not have any penalties is a blessing for me."

Ferrari's double champion Fernando Alonso and Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa shared the third row, with the latter well away from Hamilton after six collisions between the two this year.

The next rows also followed in pairs, with Mercedes' Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher seventh and eighth and ahead of Force India's Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta in ninth and 10th.

Struggling former champions Williams, with a meagre five points from 17 races representing their worst showing in F1, will fill the back row after Brazilian Rubens Barrichello failed to get a lap in.

"We had a brand new engine this morning and it was looking good. We went out and had difficulties after two laps (in practice). We tried to review the situation but before qualifying the team told me there was no way we could go out," said Barrichello.

His Venezuelan team mate Pastor Maldonado qualified 17th but has a 10 place penalty for exceeding his engine quota for the season.

Qualifying Times:

1. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 38.841s
2. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 38.622s
3. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 38.631s
4. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 38.858s
5. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 39.058s
6 Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 39.695s
7. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 39.773s
8. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 40.662s
9. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 1m 40.768s
10. Paul di Resta Britain Force India-Mercedes no time Q3

11. Sergio Perez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari 1m 40.874s
12. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault 1m 40.919s
13. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 41.009s
14. Bruno Senna Brazil Renault-Renault 1m 41.079s
15. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 41.162s
16. Kamui Kobayashi Japan Sauber-Ferrari 1m 41.240s
17. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Williams-Cosworth 1m 41.760s*

18. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Renault 1m 42.979s
19. Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Renault 1m 43.884s
20. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth 1m 44.515s
21. Daniel Ricciardo Australia HRT-Cosworth 1m 44.641s
22 Jerome d'Ambrosio Belgium Virgin-Cosworth 1m 44.699s
23 Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy HRT-Cosworth 1m 45.159s
24. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth no time

Source: Reuters Sports

Video: BBC - Abu Dhabi GP - 'A great day' as Hamilton tops timings in Abu Dhabi

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton says Friday practice in Abu Dhabi was "a great day" for McLaren as he tops the timings in second practice ahead of team-mate Jenson Button.

Hamilton was in good spirits after "a positive day", but said he was taking things "one day at a time".

Hamilton was on course to win the inaugural race in Abu Dhabi in 2009 before suffering a brake problem, and finished second to Sebastian Vettel last year as the German was crowned world champion



Source: SixtyBuckss

Bets on for Massa and Hamilton to collide again

Ferrari's Felipe Massa and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton kept their Formula One feud simmering Thursday as bookmakers offered odds on them colliding again in Abu Dhabi this weekend

The two drivers have had a magnetic attraction for each other on the track this season, chalking up six incidents in 17 races.

The most recent was in India at the end of last month, with Massa punished by stewards for causing a collision and then presenting himself as the wronged party.

Asked whether he had spoken to Hamilton since India, Massa told reporters at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that there had been no conversation and he was still clearly aggrieved at getting the drive-through penalty.

Hamilton said he felt the whole incident was 'done and dusted' without any need for a meeting.

The 2008 champion denied it was getting harder to mend fences as more time passed.

"Not really. If you want to be a man about it, be a man about it and sort it out," Hamilton told Reuters.

"But it has to come from two people, and if one doesn't want to do that then you just continue going down the route you are going down, and you try to be professional."

British bookmakers saw a commercial opportunity.

William Hill were taking bets at 14-1 on a seventh coming together at the Yas Marina circuit while Ladbrokes offered a less generous 5-1.

Massa was not impressed by either.

"I don't think so, and anyway I will do everything right, which is what I've done all the time," he said when asked if it was a good bet.

"I've not done anything wrong. Even though we've touched this year it has not been my fault."

Source: Reuters Sports

Abu Dhabi GP - Alonso: “there is only one trophy missing at home”

When Fernando Alonso met the media this afternoon in the Scuderia Ferrari hospitality unit, the journalists were quick to open old wounds by asking him about last year’s race here in Abu Dhabi. “I still believe this was not the place where we lost the championship,” he began. “We were not competitive and finished seventh when maybe we could have been fifth, but if you look at the 2010 season as a whole there were examples like Silverstone or Valencia where we were heading for the podium and scored two zeros. That is where we lost the championship.”

Twelve months later, the motivation is still there. “Once again I will be targeting the podium,” said the Spaniard. “I have 72 podiums so far, which means 72 trophies at home, which is not bad. They come from all the circuits on the calendar apart from Abu Dhabi. So there is only one trophy missing at home and I hope that this year I can add the one from Abu Dhabi.” Fernando admitted that maybe last year’s race would have ended differently if DRS had been available and he has high hopes for it this weekend. “The DRS is quite a high challenge here, because in the past this was one of the most difficult tracks for overtaking. It is now time to prove that it works and if it does, it will make this a better race. I am pretty confident it will work and we should have a much better race than last year.”

As for these final two rounds of the championship, Fernando feels their real value will only be seen in 2012. “We will continue to use the Friday practice as a test session aimed at next year, trying to collect as much data as possible for the guys in Maranello. More important than evaluating new components is the work of checking the correlation between what we see on the race track with what we see from the wind tunnel. This means we can work with confidence through December and January, knowing that all the data we have in the tunnel is real. We need to get the most out of ourselves this winter and arrive in March with the best Ferrari possible. It is much more important to learn for the new car: better to get half a tenth of a second for next year than to be second in this Drivers’ championship. But I can see how hard the engineers and mechanics are working to get me to second place, with the whole team being really motivated, so for them I will be trying my best this weekend.”

Source: Ferrari.com