Lewis Hamilton has picked up his third victory of the 2011 Formula 1 season in Abu Dhabi, leading home Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and team-mate Jenson Button. Mark Webber beat Felipe Massa to fourth, although Champion and pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel suffered a puncture and flew off the circuit at the second corner.
McLaren always was a genuine threat to Red Bull this evening, with the Woking cars having topped all three practice sessions before Hamilton was pipped to pole position by Vettel on Saturday, courtesy of a superb lap by the Red Bull driver. However, as the sun gradually set when the five red lights went out, events were quickly turned upside down.
An ideal getaway for Vettel allowed the German to stretch out an easy lead on the run to Turn 1, allowing Hamilton to slot into second place as Alonso overhauled Webber on the outside line; the Spaniard, who had started fifth, went on to grab second from Button at Turn 8 as Nico Rosberg retook the position he had lost to team-mate Michael Schumacher.
Vettel found himself crawling back to the pits after exiting stage right at the second corner, with a right-rear puncture sending the Red Bull off-track backwards. The title winner, previously unbeaten at Yas Marina, spent the rest of the race analysing data in his garage and received a visit from F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone. The retirement marks Vettel’s first of the year and only the second for Red Bull Racing.
Hamilton settled into his lead over the opening laps, with Alonso chasing ahead of Button, Webber, Felipe Massa, Rosberg and Schumacher. Adrian Sutil ran eighth, as team-mate Paul di Resta and Sébastien Buemi provided a highly entertaining scrap for ninth which was eventually won by the Swiss when the Scot ran wide at Turn 11.
There were early-race stops for Sergio Pérez, who damaged his Sauber’s nose cone, as well as Bruno Senna, who quickly switched from the slower, Medium tyres to the quicker, Soft compound. However, it was fellow early-pitter Kamui Kobayashi who made his strategy work, rinsing through the field to collect his first point since the German Grand Prix in July by finishing tenth. Despite that, Force India has significantly boosted its chances for sixth in the Constructors’ Championship after Sutil and di Resta finished eighth and ninth, respectively.
At the front, Hamilton was only ever headed during the pit-stop windows, with he and Alonso exchanging fastest laps early on before the former posted several rapid efforts to maintain a lead of around four seconds in the middle of the race. The Spaniard attempted to jump the McLaren with his second and final visit to the pits, by coming in three laps later – on Lap 43 of 55 – although only a 20-second advantage and being unintentionally slowed by Daniel Ricciardo both conspired against the former title winner.
Button overcame a KERS problem, which was fixed during the race, to seal the final podium slot, with Massa’s attack weakened by Webber’s own challenging of the Brazilian for fourth; both were delayed by Pastor Maldonado, who took a drive-through penalty for ignoring blue flags and could face further punishment later, although the Australian – who, unlike his nearest rivals, was on a three-stop strategy but lost much time due to a slow first stop - came out on top courtesy of several fastest laps and a spin for Massa at Turn 1.
Nico Rosberg held third place before pitting for the last time, beating team-mate Schumacher to the chequered flag for sixth by 23.6 seconds; the seven-time World Champion then pulled off the circuit after crossing the finish line. Also in the wars tonight were Senna, who like Maldonado took a drive-through penalty for ignoring blue flags, plus Jérôme d’Ambrosio, the aforementioned Buemi and Daniel Ricciardo, who all retired with technical problems.
Lewis Hamilton’s 17th F1 victory leaves him 15th in the all-time rankings, once win ahead of compatriot Stirling Moss and one behind former rival Kimi Räikkönen. He remains fifth in the 2011 Drivers’ Championship, but now only six points in arrears of Mark Webber for fourth.
Button is still favourite to finish runner-up to Vettel, carrying a ten-point advantage over Alonso to the final race of the campaign.
- Post-race feelings from winner Lewis Hamilton
The final race of the 2011 Formula 1 season, the Brazilian Grand Prix from São Paulo, will take place in a fortnight’s time
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  L. Hamilton | McLaren | 1:37:11.886 |
| 2. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | +8.457 |
| 3. | J. Button | McLaren | +25.881 |
| 4. | M. Webber | Red Bull | +35.784 |
| 5. | F. Massa | Ferrari | +50.578 |
| 6. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | +52.317 |
| 7. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | +1:15.964 |
| 8. | A. Sutil | Force India | +1:17.122 |
| 9. | P. di Resta | Force India | +1:41.087 |
| 10. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | +1 Lap |
| Full results | |||
| Lewis Hamilton | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| More Lewis Hamilton photos | |||
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