19. Abu Dhabi

[pete]

vettel disqualified from qualifying has to start from back of grid

[bingoking]

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel has been excluded from Saturday’s qualifying results for the 2012 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after the stewards found his car did not have sufficient fuel onboard to comply with the rules on its return to parc ferme.

The German stopped out on track at the end of Q3, after being told over his radio to pull over at the side of the circuit following advice from engine supplier Renault. Vettel, who had qualified in third behind team mate Mark Webber and polesitter for McLaren Lewis Hamilton, is now expected to start from the pit lane.

Although, after a lengthy discussion, the FIA stewards accepted that Vettel had stopped due to reasons of ‘force majeure’, there wasn’t enough fuel in his RB8 to provide a one-litre sample in post-qualifying scrutineering, as required by the sport’s technical regulations.

“The stewards heard from the driver and team representatives and studied telemetry evidence that showed the reason why the car was stopped,” explained the FIA in a statement.

"The Stewards accepted the explanation and considered the incident as being a case of force majeure. However a report was received from the Technical Delegate that showed during post-qualifying scrutineering an insufficient quantity of fuel for sampling purposes.

"The Stewards determine that this is a breach of Article 6.6.2 of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations and the Competitor is accordingly excluded from the results of the Qualifying Session. The Competitor is however allowed to start the race from the back of the grid."

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner added: "During the slow-down lap following the final run of Q3, Renault instructed to immediately stop Sebastian’s car on the circuit due to an issue with the fuel system.

"After speaking with the stewards, who accepted the situation of force majeure for technical reasons for the car to be stopped, unfortunately, for reasons yet to be fully understood, 850ml of the required one litre was pumped out of the car following post-race checks.

"As a result, the FIA has excluded Sebastian from qualifying and we will withdraw the car from Parc Ferme in order to investigate further. Therefore Sebastian will start from the pit lane for tomorrow’s race. We will need to make the most of Mark’s strong front-row grid position and Sebastian will have a busy evening ahead of him."

Click here to see the revised grid for Sunday’s Abu Dhabi round, following Vettel’s exclusion.

For tickets and travel to 2012 FORMULA 1 races, click here.

For FORMULA 1 and F1 team merchandise, click here.

[Mark Blanchard]

HURRAYYY!! Lotus wins in Abu Dhabi!! A great race and nail bitting to the finish.

[esprit s2]

Was a brilliant race from start to finish! Feel a bit sorry for Lewis though.

[TBD]

YES! Congratulations Kimi!

[Bloodnok]

What a race! I was on the edge of my seat for this one. Shame Grosjean went out, he did a great job getting up to 5th after losing a tire at the start. And nicely done by Vettel to get 3rd from the back of the grid.

"Leave me alone, I know what I'm doing" - Kimi

[LotusX180R]

I could not sit still the last couple of laps. Fantastic result for Kimi and Lotus F1.

Unbelievably great to see Lotus win a race again!

[Gus82]

Bloody hell! Was so nervous the last 10 laps and especially the last 3!!!

Looking forward to seeing more from the modern Lotus Team!!!! Away for a beer

[Mario]

Great Kimi performance

[04ESPRIT]

Fantastic result!

I was really pulling for Kimi.

Congrats to him and Lotus!

[bingoking]

Fantastic result, congratulations to Kimi and Lotus.

[fmxa]

Outstanding race and you've got to love Kimi radio transmissions!

[robcarter]

Well done Lotus and Kimi - made us all very proud!

[ramjet]

That'd be right. It was on at midnight here, so I wasn't staying up with work the next day AND I didn't bother to tape it.

[Steve1]

I was 13 the last time it happen honestly thought it wouldn't happen again, Kimi you are the man....

[gghc87]

Great result and the radio chat was hilarious.

[mayevora]

The 25 year wait was worth it. Another Great Race in one of the best F1 seasons I can remember.

Lovely podium interview by DC post race. I bet the BBC were cringing with a Sunday afternoon 3pm broadcasted live "sh1t" from Kimi followed within 60 seconds with a live "F##k" from Vettel lol.

[robcarter]

He's the man!

[mayevora]

Still can't help thinking Rosberg accident will add fuel to the close the cockpit camps. Probably rightly as well. A few too many near decapitations happening,

[hedgerley]

Outstanding. As usual, Kimi did it 'his way'.

Great to see Lotus on the top step again (the last one was in the US in 1987) but its interesting that the team and Group Lotus see this as their first win since 2008 (Japan), respecting the fact that this is/was Renault/Beneton/etc. and not Team Lotus. Which is exactly the right thing to do of course.

The timing could not have been better as Genii Capital are looking for additional minority investors for next year. I still live in hope that Lopez comes up with a scheme to re-unite Lotus F1 with Group Lotus. I believe Group Lotus still have an option to acquire up to 50% of the team over several tranches. I just hope Proton and DRB can come up with some financial jiggerypockery that can make this happen. Oh, and start producing cars in volume of course....

[andrewp1989]

I intended to wake up and watch the race only to miss out because of the time-change here in Canada. Duh.

[ramjet]

I've gotta ask. What happened with Webber and Grosjean AGAIN? Our media reported it as another coming together between the pair. We should start another F1 board for drivers most likely to get in a punchup by the end of the season.

I don't know how many times that is, but if you looked at the odds, I doubt you could predict the number of times in one season that two particular drivers would keep on contacting each other.

[Iconic Ride]

Unquestionably the most interesting race of the season. Edge of the seat action from start to finish. Several plot twists and a surprise ending to boot. It just doesn't get any better. Kudos to The Iceman and his entertaining straight-to-the-point radio transmissions. Can't wait to see the man and the team in person (even if from a hundred feet away) in two weeks at The Circuit of the Americas in Austin. Hell, I can't wait to see all the drivers and teams. Couldn't ask for a better set of circumstances for the reintroduction of F1 in the U.S.

You heard it here first: There's no way every car is going to make it through the steep uphill, blind hard left-hander turn one intact at COTA. But after that the overtake oportunities are endless. Wouldn't it be great if Kimi can christen the track with a back-to-back win.

[Stirling_Villeneuve]

Edge of the seat stuff right to the last corner. SO good to Kimi on the top step, loved his comments throughout, great drive and a well deserved win... good timing too.

[TLF News]

Victory for Kimi in Abu Dhabi GP | http://www.4lot.us/czcx