Vettel leads Red Bull 1-2 in Abu Dhabi

Reuters - Sun, 01 Nov 12:49:00 2009

Germany's Sebastian Vettel won Formula One's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the first race to start in daylight and end at night, in a Red Bull one-two finish.

2009 Abu Dhabi Red Bull Vettel - 0

The 22-year-old German beat Australian Webber by a comfortable 17.8 seconds under the floodlights for his fourth win of the season to make sure of second place overall in the championship.

Britain's Jenson Button, who clinched the title in the previous Brazilian Grand Prix for his championship-winning Brawn GP team, rounded out his season with third place after hunting down Webber and chasing him nose-to-tail in the closing laps.

A mere 0.6 of a second separated the two cars at the chequered flag.

It was Button's first appearance on the podium since Italy last month after a season that started with him winning six of the first seven races.

McLaren's outgoing world champion Lewis Hamilton had led from pole position but the Briton's hopes of becoming the first winner in Abu Dhabi vanished after 20 laps when he retired with a brake problem (click link below picture to read separate story).

Brazilian Rubens Barrichello, likely to move from Brawn to Williams for next year, finished fourth with Germany's Nick Heidfeld fifth in BMW-Sauber's last race before the German manufacturer leaves the sport.

Japanese stand-in Kamui Kobayashi, replacing the injured German Timo Glock, scored his first points in Formula One with sixth place for Toyota ahead of veteran Italian team mate Jarno Trulli in seventh.

After just two races, Kobayashi could also claim to be his country's top driver with Williams' Toyota-backed driver Kazuki Nakajima ending the season with a dismal tally of no points from 17 starts.

Swiss rookie Sebastien Buemi, a Bahrain resident for much of the year, took the final point for Toro Rosso in eighth place.

The race, against the stunning backdrop of the most lavish circuit in Formula One, was low on thrills or incidents other than Button's determined chase of Webber and Hamilton's unexpected retirement after threatening to run away with victory.

Reuters

Comment 72 - 91 of 91

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  1. RYAN NEWMAN'S CRASH YESTERDAY IN TALLADEGA WAS MORE­ FUN THAN THE WHOLE F1 RACE!!

    From Vítor, on Mon 2 Nov 2:57PM

  2. I was at the venue and it was a great race. Vettle­ deserves it and will be a world champ soon. Great­ potential.

    I have been to quite a few F1 Circuits.­ Apart from Monaco this is the most spectacular,­ advanced circuit in the world. The venue is too­ amazing. As long as F1 exists Abu dhabi GP is here to­ stay.

    Enough of those dull weather boring @#$% at­ donington or silverstone. We need more british drivers­ instead so guys like Kobayashi and Vettle can teach­ them a lesson in overtaking.

    From rui, on Mon 2 Nov 12:37PM

  3. it was only boring because the hamster popped off and­ out. three cheers to red bull.

    From harleyboy, on Mon 2 Nov 11:23AM

  4. ^^^^^^^***^*^*^*

    VERY BORING ---- SHOWING ONLY ­ ADVERTS.,.,, BUILDINGS & LIGHTS ON TV

    NO SIGN­ OF THE CARS AMONG THE BLUE PAINT & WHITE LIGHTS

    From startoratora, on Mon 2 Nov 10:28AM

  5. this race was fixed from start. vettel, told a­ journalist who interviewed him on
    race day that­ although LH was on pole position, he still would win..­ he had prior
    knowledge of the problems of LH's car.­ what a shammmmmmmmmmmmmmm

    BEL pa zed

    From Brian, on Mon 2 Nov 10:25AM

  6. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

    TOTALLLY BORING TV PICS SHOWED­ ONLY BUILDINGS +++ LARGE ADVERTS

    WHERE WERE THE CARS­ ..?? ~~~~ LOST AMONG THE BUILDINGS // LIGHTS/// BLUE­ PAINT

    From startoratora, on Mon 2 Nov 10:25AM

  7. ********** boring evENT

    TOTALLY BORING EVENT

    ALL­ PICS OF BUILDINGS +++ LIGHTS ON TV**********

    CARS­ WERE LOST IN BRIGHT LIGHT =-- TRACKSIDE PAINT &­ LIGHTING ONLY BUILDINGS

    From startoratora, on Mon 2 Nov 10:23AM
  8. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    touronroute, Any smart F1 could have predicted a Red­ Bull 1-2, just look at the form of the Red Bull cars,­ and the only reason why they didn't win the­ championships was the failures of the Renault engines,­ this was a real problem with the Red Bull cars after­ Hungary. Who cares what happens during P1,P2,and P3,and­ Qualifying to a degree. It is the races that determine­ who gets the points and sprays the champaign. Red Bull­ were extremely quick during the Japanese race, Vettel­ won and murdered everyone, Webber couldn't qualify­ after a accident during practise that damaged his tub,­ but Webber ended up with the fastest lap in Japan. Look­ at Brazil, Webber dominated, but Vettel stuffed up his­ Q3 run, but was fast during the race in Brazil. The Red­ Bull Renault is a fantastic race car, when reliable,­ and this is the team that really won both­ championships, and without KERS all season. KERS got­ Lewis pole, Vettel piled on the pressure on Lewis, the­ brakes of the McLaren failed after Lewis destroyed his­ brakes. Webber had one more lap of fuel over Lewis,­ Vettel had two laps of fuel over Lewis, after the first­ round of stops, Vettel was in the lead and Lewis­ couldn't hack the pace and the brakes failed......­ Red Bull are the revelation of 2009, and are the­ Williams power house of old............every real F1­ fans can see this.......

    From formula1police, on Mon 2 Nov 8:46AM
  9. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    I love­­ sports.Especially f1. I also love men-all­ men.­ Feel­­ free to view my photos under..­ "Leeli"­ @­ Age­ Wrinkle - c - o - m­ --­­­­
    It's a nice and free­ place­­ for older Women and­ younger Men, to interact with each­ other.
    many
    nice
    sports
    (GAMES:)

    From audrey.smith18, on Mon 2 Nov 8:46AM
  10. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    I HAV AN F1 WAGAN IN ME GERAGE.

    From Donney, on Mon 2 Nov 8:46AM

  11. Disappointing race. Boring to the extreme until the­ last few laps with Button trying to get past Webber.­ Don't think the track is all that much to write­ home about even though £ millions have been spent on­ it. Must do something here to make it more viewer­ enthralling or it will be like watching paint­ dry.
    terama119

    From terama119, on Mon 2 Nov 8:20AM

  12. formula1police, yes my Friend but you know you was­ smack on with your result,your not living a big­ DREAMWORLD like some.

    From touronroute, on Mon 2 Nov 8:13AM
  13. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Again a very close grid line up with Lewis just­ grabbing pole, thanks to his KERS button,but the car­ weights are going to give us a clearer picture of what­ to expect during the first part of the race. I would­ say that both Red Bull's would be filled slightly­ heavier than the McLaren and the Brawns, but expect a­ close race and an exciting race and an Red Bull 1-2 to­ end the year. And expect an interesting top eight,­ their are some drivers keen to impress team owners and­ managers for next years remaining F1 seats. (­ formula1police on Sat 31 Oct 2:35 PM ) 1 thumb up and­ 13 thumbs down

    " Formula1police, You predict a­ Red Bull 1-2 on Sunday. You obviously did not watch 3­ practise session before qualifying. The McLarens were­ consistantly fastest on heavy fuel loads. Come Sunday­ you will be eating your words. FOREVER LEWIS." (­ stardustafricanus on Sat 31 Oct 3:01 PM ) 18 thumbs up­ 0 thumbs down.

    Now what words do I have to eat, and­ by memory yesterday at Abu Dhabi it was a Red Bull 1-2­ just like my post said, ummmmmmmm interesting, any­ answers......

    From formula1police, on Mon 2 Nov 7:47AM

  14. Vettel, a great DRIVE.............

    From harleyboy, on Mon 2 Nov 4:58AM

  15. What a boring race!!!

    From mun c, on Mon 2 Nov 3:04AM

  16. What a boring race!!!

    From mun c, on Mon 2 Nov 3:04AM

  17. The Brits are amongst the best drivers in the world but­ nobody stood out this season as 'the best­ driver' in Formula 1.
    Some still say Alonso is the­ best driver, with Vettel and Hamilton catching up,­ while Kobayashi could be a star of the future!­
    Nevertheless, Button is a world champion so good for­ him! It shows that the most talented do not always­ win, so there is hope for all of us...

    From Expro, on Mon 2 Nov 12:48AM
  18. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    why develop so a powerful kers if you can't contain­ the damage it induce? the cheats should have spoken to­ the breaks manufacturers before they opte to mean way­ to get a head start. any way, this is what one can­ expect from the team of losers and liars

    From abdes, on Mon 2 Nov 12:01AM
  19. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    oooh, hampster only 1 point ahead of raiko. what a­ shame!!!! ferrari have scrapped the 2009 car months ago­ while the team of cheats and liars continued­ developping their cars illicitly probably. what a­ shame!!!

    From abdes, on Sun 1 Nov 11:52PM

  20. I thought it was a pretty good season, lots of drama.­ Look forward to seeing you all next year...

    From Tempoe, on Sun 1 Nov 11:50PM
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