Hamilton wins Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain completed McLaren's dominance during the weekend by cruising to victory in the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit on Sunday.

Hamilton staved off a strong challenge from Ferrari's Fernando Alonso helped by some brilliant pit stops and the early retirement of reigning world champion and pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull to win his third race of the season by 8.4 seconds on a day when everything seemed to go for right for McLaren.

Vettel's Red Bull team mate Mark Webber lost the battle for third place from Hamilton's McLaren team mate Jenson Button after pitting on the penultimate lap of the only twilight race of the Formula One calendar.

"Mega job - mega job guys - as usual. I want to dedicate this win to my mum. Happy birthday and thanks for coming out here," Hamilton said on the team radio.

“One of my best races – I said that to myself as I slowed down. Being able to hold one of best drivers in the world [Fernando Alonso] is something that is tough to do. I was looking after tyres and managing the gap. The team did a great job with the stops," said the 26-year-old Englishman at the post-race press conference.

“I’m ecstatic, very happy to be back up here. I can get on my flight tonight and smile.”

Asked if he was back on track after all his troubles, he said: "I don't know. It's early days.

"We've a great race in Brazil coming up, so I just need to try and keep the momentum."

Alonso also felt he enjoyed "a fantastic race", adding: "I had a very good start, a good first lap and the fight with Jenson.

"Then after the problem with Sebastian, I fought with Lewis, and at the last stop we stayed out two laps longer than Lewis.

"But in the last stint he had a bit more pace, so even if I had got ahead in the second stop, we probably wouldn't have won, but it has been a good weekend."

As for Button, his KERS issues proved a hindrance as he said: "On about lap 13 or 14 it went. I had to fend off Webber and Massa, which was interesting, and then I eventually got it back.

"But then it went again and I had to keep resetting it, which means it was very tricky, so coming home third I'm pretty happy."

Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal said: "I am thrilled for the team, for Lewis, for everyone. We knew we could win the race, Fernando is a phenomenal competitor but Lewis controlled the race and controlled the gap. It was a great job for Jenson as well. He was battling with a car that lacked the Kers power system for half the race and that affects the brakes as well. Lewis had the right approach he knew he was going under pressure all race. Sebastian wanted to put in a flying lap, but when you do that you run a risk." 

In a spectacular start to the only Middle East race this season, reigning world champion Vettel was forced to retire after spinning out on the opening lap. This was his first retirement in 20 races since suffering engine trouble in Korea last year.

Hamilton, who also won in China and Germany, took advantage to take over the lead fending off attempts by Alonso to pass him.

Alonso passed Hamilton's McLaren team mate Jenson Button in the frantic start while Red Bull endured a bad day with Vettel's team mate Mark Webber being overtaken by Ferrari's Felipe Massa after a slow pit stop on lap 18.

Vettel suffered a puncture on his rear right tyre.

A 11-time winner this season, Vettel spun off in the second corner and continued in the next corner bringing the yellow flag as he pitted.

He managed to nurse his Red Bull back to the garage on three tyres and a rim but he was forced to retire once mechanics had surveyed the damage.

The 24-year-old won pole position from McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button with a stunning last lap in qualifying on Saturday to equal Briton Nigel Mansell's 1992 record of 14 poles in a season.

"At the exit of the first corner everything seemed fine but when I turned in I tried to catch the car but I couldn't do it any more and I spun off. On the way back I damaged the suspension so badly. I don't know what happened. We lost pressure all of a sudden out of the exit of Turn One. I don't why. There is nothing that I did differently to any of the others laps. We need to find out why, maybe I cut the kerb at a funny angle. It is tough, but I used the opportunity to learn a bit on the pit wall," said Vettel whose hopes of eclipsing Formula One legend Michael Schumacher's record of 13 wins in a season were dashed by his retirement with one race remaining in Brazil.

Schumacher had a spectacular crash last year in Abu Dhabi.

It was Vettel's first retirement of the season, having suffered engine trouble in Korea last year.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso passed Jenson Button for second place but his McLaren team mate Lewis Hamilton held onto the lead after Vettel's dramatic exit.

Australian Webber clocked the fastest lap of one minute 42.612 seconds on lap 51. Hamilton's best effort came in the 51st lap when he clocked 1:43.914.

"On the second stop, we fitted the option tyre again to cut the race into something different. It was worth a bit of a punt. We lost a lot of time. It put us on the back foot. We lost track position. That's where we lost the podium," said Webber.

Richard Cregan, Chief Executive Officer of Yas Marina Circuit: “Right up until the last lap the race was full of excitement, with plenty of overtaking. The DRS zones and the driver’s determination to win made this a fantastic race. We can’t wait for next year, and Yas Marina Circuit would like to thank all of our guests for supporting the race once again.” 
 

Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix result
 
1. Lewis Hamilton (Britain)      McLaren        1:37:11.886   
2. Fernando Alonso (Spain)       Ferrari         +00:08.457    
3. Jenson Button (Britain)       McLaren          00:25.881    
4. Mark Webber (Australia)       RedBull          00:35.784    
5. Felipe Massa (Brazil)         Ferrari          00:50.578    
6. Nico Rosberg (Germany)        Mercedes         00:52.317    
7. Michael Schumacher (Germany)  Mercedes         01:15.964    
8. Adrian Sutil (Germany)        Force India      01:17.122    
9. Paul Di Resta (Britain)       Force India      01:41.087    
10. Kamui Kobayashi (Japan)       Sauber              1 lap 
11. Sergio Perez (Mexico)         Sauber              1 lap 
12. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil)   Williams            1 lap 
13. Vitaly Petrov (Russia)        Renault             1 lap 
14. Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela)  Williams            1 lap 
15. Jaime Alguersuari (Spain)     Toro Rosso          1 lap 
16. Bruno Senna (Brazil)          Renault             1 lap 
17. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland)   Lotus               1 lap 
18. Jarno Trulli (Italy)          Lotus               2 laps 
19. Timo Glock (Germany)          Virgin              2 laps 
20. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy)     HRT                 2 laps 
r.  Daniel Ricciardo (Australia)  HRT                 7 laps   
r.  Sebastien Buemi (Switzerland) Toro Rosso         36 laps    
r.  Jerome d'Ambrosio (Belgium)   Virgin             37 laps    
r.  Sebastian Vettel (Germany)    RedBull            54 laps    

(rank: r = retired, nc = not classified)  
Fastest Lap: Mark Webber,1:42.612, lap 51.   
 
Reuters' Team by team analysis of Abu Dhabi GP
 
(listed in championship order): 

RED BULL (Mark Webber fourth, Sebastian Vettel retired) 

Vettel, on pole, suffered his first retirement in more than a year after a first-lap puncture. That ended a run of 19 races in the points and his hopes of an Abu Dhabi hat-trick and equalling Michael Schumacher's record of 13 wins in a season. Webber was third until he had to pit on the penultimate lap, his fourth place ending the team's run of 19 podiums in a row. Webber did set the fastest lap, however.     

MCLAREN (Lewis Hamilton 1, Jenson Button 3)  
Hamilton's third win of the season and first since Germany in July, the 17th of his career. Button suffered a KERS malfunction and ran much of the race without it. The podium place ensured he finishes ahead of Hamilton in the championship, the first time the 2008 champion has lost out to a team mate over the course of a season.  
     
FERRARI (Fernando Alonso 2, Felipe Massa 5) 
Alonso added to his trophy collection as the first Ferrari driver to finish on the Abu Dhabi podium, the team's 10th of the season. The Spaniard now has a trophy from every circuit on the current calendar. He also cut the gap between him and second placed Button to 10 points. Massa spun on lap 49, ending his fight with Webber and Button. 

MERCEDES (Nico Rosberg 6, Michael Schumacher 7) 
Both drivers made up a place on their grid positions, battling on the first lap before Rosberg emerged ahead. Schumacher had a slow puncture towards the end but defined his as a "reasonable race".  

RENAULT (Vitaly Petrov 13, Bruno Senna 16) 
Senna had a KERS failure and then a drive-through penalty for ignoring warning flags. Petrov suffered a problem with the moveable rear wing (DRS). He attempted a one stop but had to make two because the hard tyre did not last. 

FORCE INDIA (Adrian Sutil 8, Paul di Resta 9) 
A double points finish allowed Force India to pull 15 points clear of Sauber. Di Resta did a one stop race, although it turned out to be not the best strategy. 

SAUBER (Kamui Kobayashi 10, Sergio Perez 11) 
Kobayashi started 16th for a precious point that allowed Sauber to pull clear of Toro Rosso. Perez hit Sutil's car on the first lap into turn seven, breaking his own front wing. 

TORO ROSSO (Jaime Alguersuari 15, Sebastien Buemi retired) 
Alguersuari lost time at a pitstop and was also handed a 20- second penalty after the finish for ignoring blue warning flags. Buemi retired with an hydraulics problem after passing Di Resta and running as high as seventh. 

WILLIAMS (Rubens Barrichello 12, Pastor Maldonado 14)     
Yet another blank for Williams after the new low of starting with both cars on the back row of the grid. Barrichello, who had an engine change post-qualifying, made up 12 places. Maldonado had a drive-through penalty for ignoring blue warning flags and a 30-second end of race penalty for the same offence.   

TEAM LOTUS (Heikki Kovalainen 17, Jarno Trulli 18) 
A straightforward race for Kovalainen, Trulli lost places at the start with a slipping clutch.  

HRT (Vitantonio Liuzzi 20, Daniel Ricciardo retired)    
Ricciardo retired three laps from the end with a broken alternator.  
    
VIRGIN RACING (Timo Glock 19, Jerome d'Ambrosio retired)     
D'Ambrosio retired on lap 18 with a front brake problem.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.