Abu Dhabi GP 2010: Martin Whitmarsh and Christian Horner Interview

Source: bokuwahmz

Qualifying: Vettel claims 10th pole of 2010

Sebastian Vettel put himself in pole position to win Sunday's Abu Dhabi GP, taking the coveted grid slot in an intense qualifying session



The Red Bull racer, who would do his chances of winning the World title the world of good by winnning the showdown come Sunday afternoon, crossed the line with a 1:39.394.



And although Lewis Hamilton came close to pipping Vettel, he ultimately fell 0.031s short.



Fernando Alonso will line up in third place, 0.398s off the pace, and has the advantage of having Jenson Button as a buffer between himself and his main rival for the title, Mark Webber.



A scruffy qualifying in which Red Bull left it rather late saw Webber finish down in fifth place.



Meanwhile, Robert Kubica lost his record of being the only non-Red Bull driver to make it through to the final qualifying segment in all this season's races. He dropped out in Q2, putting his car into 11th place.



Times:



01. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m39.394

02. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m39.425



03. Alonso Ferrari 1m39.792

04. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m39.823



05. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m39.925

06. Massa Ferrari 1m40.202



07. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m40.203

08. Schumacher Mercedes 1m40.516



09. Rosberg Mercedes 1m40.589

10. Petrov Renault 1m40.901



11. Kubica Renault 1m40.780

12. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m40.783



13. Sutil Force India-Ferrari 1m40.914

14. Heidfeld Sauber-Ferrari 1m41.113



15. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1m41.418

16. Liuzzi Force India-Ferrari 1m41.642



17. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m41.738

18. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m41.824



19. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1m43.516

20. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1m43.712



21. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m44.095

22. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1m44.510



23. Senna Hispania-Cosworth 1m45.085

24. Klien Hispania-Cosworth 1m45.296



Source: Planet-F1

Alonso expects 'tight qualifying'

Fernando Alonso is optimistic that his Ferrari team can get closer to Red Bull during Saturday's all important qualifying session than it has managed before this season after he finished third fastest in Friday free practice.

"This weekend has got off on the right foot for us, as we gathered a lot of data which is now being evaluated by our engineers," said Alonso. "We are reasonably pleased with the car's level of competitiveness and the fact it feels easy to drive, but we know there is still more potential that can be extracted to go even quicker.

"I expect tomorrow's qualifying to be very tight: let's hope we can get closer to the Red Bulls than we have been in the past. There is no point in speculating over the possible scenarios that could unfold in the race: we have to concentrate on ourselves and on how to make the car go faster."

Team-mate Felipe Massa also confessed himself happy with his opening salvo of the weekend despite stopping on the circuit late in the second session.

"Overall, it was a good debut for me at this track, where I was unable to race last year," said Massa. "My times came down progressively, both because of the changing track conditions and also, as lap after lap, I managed to learn where I could push harder. It was a shame I had a little problem towards the end of the second session which prevented me from doing my last series of laps with a heavy fuel load.

"I hope to be able to continue to make progress so as to be in the fight for the top places. The car seems to handle well: now we must analyse the data we have gathered to try and make the right choices in terms of set-up and aerodynamic configuration. I am sure that there is room to improve our performance level."

Source: ESPNF1

Practice Two: Hamilton tops title rivals

Lewis Hamilton set the pace in Abu Dhabi on Friday night as the four title rivals dominated the timesheets

The McLaren driver, who needs a miracle to win this weekend in order to win his second Drivers' title, clocked a 1:40.888 to take the P1 slot in Friday's second practice.

However, the Brit was by no means heads and shoulders above his rivals.

Sebastian Vettel finished in second place, 0.257s off the pace, while Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber were next in line, also within half a second of Hamilton's P1 time.

Robert Kubica was the best of the rest, with Felipe Massa, Vitaly Petrov and Jenson Button lining up behind him.

Report: Dusk was setting in as Friday's second practice got underway on a bone-dry Yas Marina circuit. Nick Heidfeld, Lucas di Grassi and Christian Klien led out the pack for the standard installation laps, all three staying out to post their first times with Heidfeld quickest with a 1:45.314.

Completely opposite to today's earlier session, the drivers were quick to get down to work with Lewis Hamilton the next in the P1 slot. His team-mate Jenson Button was second in an early McLaren 1-2. Button went on to overhaul Hamilton before both McLaren's lost out to Fernando Alonso with a 1:42.474. Michael Schumacher went fourth quickest.

Hamilton returned to the front, eight-tenths up on Alonso while the Red Bull duo, the other two drivers in the title race, remained in their garages. Alonso retook the P1 slot with Felipe Massa sliding into third in all Ferrari/McLaren top four. Mark Webber went fifth and Sebastian Vettel sixth. Webber improved to third before losing out to Robert Kubica.

There were a couple of drivers running a bit wide at the final corner as the lighting system took over from the natural daylight and the temperature began to cool a few degrees. Lap after lap, the drivers got down to business, perfecting their cars in preparation for qualifying and Sunday's grand prix.

Webber improved to second, 0.086s behind Alonso, while Hamilton had a flying lap ruined by the pitting Senna. The stewards are set to look into the after the session. Vettel was the next to challenge Alonso but fell 0.070s short before Hamilton finally pulled it off, a 1:41.213 for the McLaren driver.

Bad news for Jaime Alguersuari - he lost control of his Toro Rosso at Turn 19, spun and stalled. Game over for the Spaniard. Felipe Massa joined Alguersuari on the sidelines when his Ferrari came to a halt on the side of the track. It was later revealed that his Ferrari ran out of fuel.

The final ten minutes saw a flurry of activity as the entire field ventured out for their final run of the day. However, none of the top ten were able to improve their times.

Times
01. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m40.888s
02. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m41.145s + 0.257
03. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m41.314s + 0.426
04. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m41.315s + 0.427
05. Robert Kubica Renault 1m41.576s + 0.688
06. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m41.583s + 0.695
07. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m42.096s + 1.208
08. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m42.132s + 1.244
09. Tonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1m42.203s + 1.315
10. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m42.222s + 1.334
11. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m42.246s + 1.358
12. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1m42.449s + 1.561
13. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m42.535s + 1.647
14. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m42.768s + 1.880
15. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m42.914s + 2.026
16. Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Ferrari 1m42.950s + 2.062
17. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m43.128s + 2.240
18. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m43.584s + 2.696
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1m45.180s + 4.292
20. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m45.259s + 4.371
21. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1m45.612s + 4.724
22. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1m46.053s + 5.165
23. Christian Klien Hispania-Cosworth 1m47.210s + 6.322
24. Bruno Senna Hispania-Cosworth 1m47.434s + 6.546

Source: Planet-F1

Practice One: First blood to Vettel

Sebastian Vettel threw down the gauntlet in Friday's opening practice for the title showdown in Abu Dhabi, setting the fastest time ahead of his title rivals

All eyes were on the leading four in the Drivers' standings as proceedings got underway at the Yas Marina circuit.

However, a wet track kept everyone, not just the four, in their garages for more than half the session as they waited for the asphalt to dry out.

As to be expected, once underway the Red Bulls came to the fore with Vettel topping Practice One with a 1:42.760.

And although it initially appeared as if it would be a Red Bull 1-2, a late charge from McLaren put Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button up into second and third places. Hamilton, though, was 0.609s slower than Vettel.

Webber finished fourth quickest, ahead of Robert Kubica and Championship leader Fernando Alonso.

Report: Due to showers earlier in the morning, Practice One got underway on a damp Yas Marina track. However, with the temperature sitting at 28'C it won't be long before it dries out completely. Christian Klien was the first out of the pits, following by the pack with some having a moment or two on the damper parts of the track.

The first half of the session was spent waiting for the track to dry out with the occasional single lap run before the drivers headed back into the pits rather than risk going off on the damp patches. Nico Hulkenberg was the first of the brave souls, crossing the line with a 1:51.207 while Vitaly Petrov also made his mark on the timesheets. The duo's adventures, which saw both keep all four wheels on the circuit, prompted others to venture out.

Mark Webber was the first of the title-four to clock a time, a 1:49.320 for the Aussie, putting him sixth. Fernando Alonso was eighth on his first lap, a massive 11s off the pace. A run of purple sector times saw Petrov lower the benchmark time to a 1:46.028 with Felipe Massa, despite a "small telemetry problem" taking second before he was dropped by Alonso and Webber, who claimed second and third places.

Alonso was the next to lead the way, a 1:45.807 for the Ferrari driver. His reign was short-lived as Webber went quickest, 0.630s up. Sebastian Vettel ventured out taking fifth place while Michael Schumacher went P7. Vettel lept to the front with a 1:44.274 as Robert Kubica slotted in between the Red Bull drivers.

25 minutes remaining and there were still no sign of Lewis Hamilton. Webber went quickest, Schumacher went off, Jenson Button claimed sixth, Nick Heidfeld jumped to fourth, dropped to fifth as Adrian Sutil went fourth and then dropped even further as Button went fourth and then Schumacher went fourth. Nico Rosberg went third, Kubica went third and then Button went third.

Hamilton finally came out of the pits but could only manage a 1:50.780, almost seven seconds off the pace. However, he went second quickest two laps later, 0.022s behind Webber.

Vettel took over from his team-mate at the front with a 1:43.477. Hamilton slotted into second place, Button took third dropping Webber to fourth, Vettel extended his lead and Alonso took sixth. And that's how the session ended.

Times
01. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m42.760s 18 laps
02. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m43.369s + 0.609s 16 laps
03. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m43.785s + 1.025s 19 laps
04. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m43.840s + 1.080s 19 laps
05. Robert Kubica Renault 1m44.080s + 1.320s 19 laps
06. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m44.121s + 1.361s 17 laps
07. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m44.199s + 1.439s 19 laps
08. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m44.604s + 1.844s 18 laps
09. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m44.718s + 1.958s 19 laps
10. Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Ferrari 1m44.737s + 1.977s 19 laps
11. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m45.160s + 2.400s 18 laps
12. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m45.445s + 2.685s 21 laps
13. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m45.474s + 2.714s 15 laps
14. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m45.552s + 2.792s 20 laps
15. Tonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1m45.585s + 2.825s 14 laps
16. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m46.003s + 3.243s 20 laps
17. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1m46.644s + 3.884s 19 laps
18. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m47.105s + 4.345s 22 laps
19. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m48.450s + 5.690s 19 laps
20. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1m48.472s + 5.712s 17 laps
21. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1m49.375s + 6.615s 13 laps
22. Bruno Senna Hispania-Cosworth 1m49.590s + 6.830s 18 laps
23. Christian Klien Hispania-Cosworth 1m50.274s + 7.514s 17 laps
24. Fairuz Fauzy Lotus-Cosworth 1m51.705s + 8.945s 18 laps

Source: Planet-F1