FORMULA ONE ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX:SEBASTIAN VETTEL became Formula One's world champion with a commanding lights-to-flag victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as Fernando Alonso's seemingly watertight title bid sank following a disastrous strategy decision early on in the season finale.
With an eight-point gap back to Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber and a 15-point lead over Vettel going into the weekend, Alonso simply needed to finish yesterday’s race in third to claim the title in the event of a Webber win. He could even afford to drop another place if Vettel took victory at the season’s final event.
Following Saturday’s qualifying session the job looked half complete. Vettel blasted to his 10th pole of the season but the performance seemed of little import as Alonso lined up in third with Webber consigned to fifth. In the press conference following the grid shoot-out, the ultra-relaxed Spaniard could barely keep the smile off his face. “I’m confident. I’ve been confident for the last five months,” he said on Saturday. “Now there is only one more cross to put: Sunday.”
At the race start, it seemed he would do just that. Eclipsed by Jenson Button into turn one he held fourth as Vettel powered away in the lead ahead of Lewis Hamilton. With Webber tucked in behind in fifth, the outcome seemed obvious. A measured drive to the flag and two points in hand over Vettel, enough to write him into the history books alongside other triple champions such as Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda and Ayrton Senna.
But then Michael Schumacher crashed. The former Ferrari star lost control through turn five on lap one and was immediately hit by Force India’s Vitantonio Liuzzi. Out came the safety car, and while the front runners maintained position, a host of midfield cars dived for the pits to take on hard tyres which they’d use for the remainder of the race. One of those was Renault’s Vitaly Petrov, who could have little idea he would later play a decisive part in determining the destination of the title. His role was defined on lap 11, when Red Bull gambled and brought Webber into the pits for hard tyres – aiming to give him a chance to make time up on Alonso ahead of the Spaniard’s own stop.
But Ferrari blinked – bringing in, first, Felipe Massa and then, when the Brazilian emerged behind Webber and Jaime Alguersuari, they brought in Alonso. Initially it seemed to work as Alonso rejoined just ahead of Webber.
In front though, was Petrov. With his pit stop done and on hard tyres, the Russian was racing for position and defended it as if his life depended on it, frustrating Alonso at every turn as the laps counted down. Ahead, Vettel ploughed on and as he did so the gap between him and the chasing pack to an ever-more frustrated Alonso grew.
By the time Renault’s other driver, Robert Kubica, made his single stop on lap 47 of the 55 and emerged in fifth, behind Nico Rosberg and ahead of Petrov, Alonso’s chance was gone. Seventh was a long way from the fourth he needed. The title was Vettel’s.
“I’m speechless, I don’t know what you’re supposed to say in this moment. We have seen incredible fights and a tight season,” he said of a title race he led only once, after the final race. “I don’t know how many times we have had a different (championship) leader. Some people got written off very early and then came back, like Fernando, they came back hard. Lewis (Hamilton) came back and was leading all of us.
“I could write a book about the races where we could have finished in a higher position. It was incredibly tough for all us, physically and especially mentally. But I kept believing in myself and today was a special day. For some reason it does not feel like it is happening.”
Alonso, meanwhile, refused to blame his team for the strategy choice which derailed his title bid. “After the race it is always very easy to see the best strategy,” he said. “When you cover someone, probably you give something away to the others. So it was then a choice between covering Vettel or (racing) Petrov and Rosberg, so we covered Webber and then it was difficult to overtake Petrov. But this is a sport, this is motor racing. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Congratulations to Red Bull and Sebastian but next year we will try again.”
Webber also congratulated his team-mate, despite the strained relations between the pair. “I fully congratulate Seb,” he said. “There’s time to reflect and look at the highs and lows in the next weeks, but that’s the way sport is sometimes . . . but I tried my absolute hardest.”
The final word was left to the new champion, who when asked what he believed had ultimately given him the edge over his rivals, simply smiled.
“The most important thing is to find the one thing that you enjoy and do it,” he said. “If it’s motorsport it’s motorsport, if it’s football it’s football. You just have to find the thing that makes you happy. And then I think the last bit comes from heart and passion . . . and fun. Just enjoy it.”
For Sebastian Vettel, at 23 years and 133 days, the youngest ever title winner, there are likely to be many more such days.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix result
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1hr 39mins 36.837secs, 2 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1:39:46.999, 3 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 1:39:47.884, 4 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:40:07.584, 5 Robert Kubica (Pol) Renault 1:40:15.863, 6 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Renault 1:40:20.357, 7 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1:40:20.634, 8 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:40:21.080, 9 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:40:27.038, 10 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:40:27.705
Standings
Drivers’ Championship
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 256pts, 2 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 252, 3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 242, 4 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 240, 5 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 214, 6 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 144, 7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP 142, 8 Robert Kubica (Pol) Renault 136, 9 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes GP 72, 10 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Williams 47
Manufacturers’ Championship
1 Red Bull 498pts, 2 McLaren 454, 3 Ferrari 396, 4 Mercedes GP 214, 5 Renault 163
