Sebastian Vettel's fortunes took a dramatic twist when the defending Formula One champion was penalised for not carrying enough fuel during qualifying and ordered to start from the back of the grid at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.

 
McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton secured pole position for the season's only twilight race, holding off the Red Bull duo of Mark Webber and two-time world champion Vettel.
 
Hamilton, the 2008 world champion, clocked 1 minute, 40.630 seconds on the 5.5km Yas Marina circuit on Saturday, 0.348 seconds quicker than Webber.
 
Vettel was disqualified for stopping his car out on the track on his way back to the pits at the end of the session, as McLaren's Lewis Hamilton had done in Spain in May.
 
It promotes his title rival Fernando Alonso of Ferrari to sixth on the grid.
 
Vettel heads into the race with a 13-point lead over the Spaniard after winning the last four races.
 
F1's regulations state that drivers must return to the pits under their own power so a one-litre fuel sample can be taken from the car for analysis.
 
Article 6.6.2 of the Technical Regulations states: "Competitors must ensure that a one litre sample of fuel may be taken from the car at any time during the Event.
 
"Except in cases of force majeure (accepted as such by the stewards of the meeting), if a sample of fuel is required after a practice session the car concerned must have first been driven back to the pits under its own power."
 
Red Bull representatives were summoned to provide an explanation for why Vettel did not return to the pits, and the stewards duly accepted the reasons provided by the team.
 
However, following a further check of the car by the FIA in parc ferme, it was found that Vettel's car did not have enough fuel to provide the one-litre sample.
 
The rule - article 6.6.2 of the technical regulations - dictates that cars must make their way back to the pits under their own power but says that exceptions may be made in cases of force majeure.
 
A statement from governing body the FIA said: "The stewards heard from the driver and team representatives and studied telemetry evidence that showed the reason why the car was stopped.
 
"The stewards accepted the explanation and considered the incident as being a case of force majeure.
 
"However, a report was received from the technical delegate that showed during post-qualifying scrutineering an insufficient quantity of fuel for sampling purposes.
 
"The stewards determine that this is a breach of article 6.6.2 of the FIA Formula 1 technical regulations and the competitor is accordingly excluded from the results of the qualifying session.
 
"The competitor is however allowed to start the race from the back of the grid."
 
The decision gives Alonso a golden opportunity to make up some of the ground he has lost in the championship following a major step forward in performance made by Red Bull since the Singapore Grand Prix at the end of September.
 
When Hamilton started at the back at the Spanish Grand Prix, after qualifying on pole by more than half a second, he made it back up to eighth by the end of the race.