Voor de zevende keer op rij heeft Vettel de race naar zich toegetrokken. Daarmee heeft hij het recordaantal opeenvolgende overwinningen van Alberto Ascari en Schumacher geëvenaard. En er is nog de mogelijkheid dat hij het record de volgende race voor zich alleen heeft.
In totaal komt het aantal overwinningen van Vettel dit seizoen uit nu al uit op 11.
Deze race ging Webber van pole van start, maar lang kon hij daar niet van genieten. Vettel, als 2e gestart, had een betere start en hij pakte meteen de leiding over. Vanaf dat moment was er ook niemand meer die zijn leidende positie in gevaar kon brengen. Van start tot finish leidde Vettel de race.
Direct achter Vettel was het niet heel erg spannend. Rosberg pakte de 2e plaats bij de start en Webber moest genoegen nemen met de 3e plaats. Grosjean had een goede start en won 2 plaatsen en kwam als vierde de eerste ronde door.
Na een derde van de race maakte Webber een plaatsje goed ten koste van Rosberg en daarmee waren aan de kop van het veld de kaarten geschud.
De strijd vanaf de vijfde plaats was een stuk spannender en leuker om te zien. Na diverse inhaalacties over en weer ging de 5e plaats uiteindelijk naar Alonso. Di Resta, die daarvoor lang stand had gehouden eindigde op een verdiende 6e plaats.
Räikkönen had weinig plezier aan de race in Abu Dhabi. Hij had zich nog redelijk goed gekwalificeerd met een 5e tijd, maar door een probleem met de bodemplaat werd hij gediskwalificeerd. In de race moest hij daarom als laatste starten.
Na de start kwam hij in de eerste bocht in aanraking met Van der Garde en was zijn race voorbij. Räikkönen was de enige uitvaller.
Van der Garde finishte voor zijn directe concurrenten als 18e.
Lotus F1
Romain Grosjean produced a strong drive to take fourth place in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from sixth on the grid, whilst Kimi Räikkönen's race ended in retirement following contact at the first corner.
A flying start from Romain saw him jump two places to fourth position through the opening series of corners; settling in behind the third-placed Red Bull of Mark Webber until the first round of pit stops. Kimi meanwhile saw his evening curtailed after just a few hundred metres; a clash of wheels with Caterham's Giedo van der Garde resulting in a broken track rod on the Finn's E21.
Having emerged right behind Esteban Guttierez after his first pit stop, Romain wasted little time in passing the Mexican, only to be held up behind Adrian Sutil until the second phase of stops. Once in clear air, the Frenchman pushed hard to build a sufficient gap which would allow him to re-join in front of both Ferraris following his second stop; achieving that task by the narrowest of margins. Despite consistently closing the gap to Nico Rosberg in the closing stages, Romain missed out on a fourth consecutive podium finish by a margin of just a single second at the flag.
Kimi retains third place in the Drivers' Championship on 183 points; 34 behind Fernando Alonso in second. Romain remains in seventh position with 114 points; trailing Nico Rosberg by 45. The team remains fourth in the Constructors' Championship on 297 points from Ferrari's 323, with third spot remaining a firm target heading into the final two races of the season.
In his pursuit of the final podium position, Romain set the third fastest lap of the race on his penultimate lap; underlining the pace of the E21 here at the Yas Marina Circuit.
Kimi Räikkönen, DNF, E21-05
"There was some contact in front of me through the first corner so I stuck to the inside, but unfortunately one of the Caterhams touched my front wheel and it broke the track rod. It wasn't a heavy impact, but the angle made it worse. It's never easy starting so far back on the grid, but after the penalty it was a better choice to help our chances in the race rather than starting from the pit lane. After a difficult start to the weekend we did well yesterday so it was a shame we couldn't start where we qualified, but these things happen sometimes; it's just back luck."
Romain Grosjean, P4, E21-04
"That was a pretty long race. I got a good start and made up two places in the first few corners, but after that I lost a lot of time behind the Force India. I could overtake him with the DRS, but he had much better top speed and could just drive straight back past at the next straight. That middle stint cost us the chance of a podium in the end, and on pace we could maybe even have pushed Mark [Webber] for second place, but that's how it goes sometimes. It's a shame we couldn't make it four podiums in a row, but to come away with fourth place after a difficult couple of days is a decent result."
Eric Boullier, Team Principal
"It's been a difficult weekend for the team, but we can be pleased with the fact our car has once again shown strong pace at another different circuit. After the misfortune of his qualifying penalty it was always going to be a tough race for Kimi. Starting at the back with a faster car always puts you in a tricky position, and in the end it was bad luck once again that saw his race end on the first lap; for the first time since 2006 I believe. Romain drove a very mature race to narrowly miss out on his fourth consecutive podium, which on another day and without his issues in qualifying would certainly have been within reach. We have some work to do if we are to achieve our target of third place in the Constructors' Championship, so our focus must now be on returning to the podium in Austin."
De volgende race is op 17 november in de Verenigde Staten.
