Formula 1 - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2013

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by Bruno Fleckenstein

The Yas Marina Circuit is located on an island in the Persian Gulf off Abu Dhabi. The very beautiful 5.55 km long race track stands out with its very special own design. Light blue colored side lines and run-off zones, along with the white tent roofs over the track grandstands and the five-star Viceroy Hotel in white, emphasize this magical desert flair, which alone is worth a trip. After turn 18 along the specially built marina, the drivers drive through the hotel and every spectator becomes aware of this extravagant luxury, which nevertheless remains discreet and does not impose itself. Due to the temperatures, the race starts at dusk and from a certain level of darkness, the track lighting has an almost intoxicating effect on the senses and makes this race a unique experience.

In 2 DRS zones in sector 2, the cars are pushed to their limits. The first DRS zone starts after hairpin turn 7, where the drivers shift down into second gear and pass the "North Grandstand" grandstand at around 70 km/h and accelerate up to 315 km/h to slow down to 80 km/h before the left-right combination of turns 8 and 9 past the "West Grandstand" grandstand, only to heat it up again to 300 km/h immediately afterwards in the following DRS zone 2. It's a hot track in the truest sense of the word.

Shadow before the start of the race
In the run-up to the race, there were a number of statements in the media about Formula 1 events that made the unsuspecting spectator and fan sit up and take notice. For example, it was said that Lotus had not paid its driver Kimi Räikkönen any salary at all and that he was difficult to persuade to compete in Abu Dhabi at all. Charles Pic, with $10 million from his parents, and Maldonado, with $40 million from his sponsors, were supporting his team with sponsorship money and in this way securing a place in Formula 1 for next year. Furthermore, he said, serious changes are in store for Formula 1. For example, fuel consumption is to be reduced for next season and the teams will have no more than 100 kg of gasoline available for the races instead of the current 170 kg.

In view of this "turbulence" in the paddock, the poor performance of the Ferraris in qualifying was still a lesser evil. Fernando Alonso didn't even make it into Q3 this time and dropped back to 11th on the grid. Kimi Raikkonen was penalized to the rearmost grid position due to a too flexible underbody in qualifying. That moved Alonso up one place and back into the top ten on the grid.

The race was unspectacular and unsurprisingly
As many expected, Sebastian Vettel clawed his way into the lead at the start and overtook his Australian stablemate Mark Webber. Hamilton tried to sneak past Webber, but Grosjean took advantage and moved into 4th place behind Nico Rosberg, who got away well. The two Ferraris registered a good start and made up a few places. The unlucky one was Kimi Räikkönen, who touched Giedo Van der Gardes Caterham in this starting phase and dropped out afterwards.

Vettel opened up a lead of almost two seconds over his pursuers on the first lap, as usual you might say. In the midfield, there were some duels worth watching. But from the 20th lap onwards, Red Bull drove towards a one-two when Webber passed Rosberg. At this point, Vettel had opened up a lead of more than 26 seconds over his first pursuers. And so, unsurprisingly, he took the win ahead of Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg. World championship runner-up Fernando Alonso decided the Ferrari driver duel in his favor and finished fifth, but he was still awaiting an investigation for exceeding the track limits.

In the interview after the trophy presentation with Mark Brandl, the German dedicated this victory to his parents and was pleased with the support of the fans in the audience. Nico Rosberg, who with his third place, once again considered himself on the podium, stressed that the most important thing is the classification of his team Mercedes ahead of Ferrari, because it is still about the Constructors' Championship and they have gained valuable points again today.

Ranking List Abu Dhabi Grand Prix2013

1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 55 laps in 1.38.06.106 hrs.
2 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing +30.8 sec
3 Nico Rosberg Mercedes +33.6 sec
4 Romain Grosjean Lotus +34.8 sec
5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari +67.1 sec
6 Paul di Resta Force India +78.1 sec.
7 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +79.2 sec.
8 Felipe Massa Ferrari +82.8 sec.
9 Sergio Perez McLaren +91.1 sec.
10 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes +93.2 sec.
11 Pastor Maldonado Williams +95.9 sec.
12 Jenson Button McLaren +103.7 sec.
13 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber +104.2 sec.
14 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber 54 laps
15 Valtteri Bottas Williams 54 laps
16 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 54 laps
17 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 54 laps
18 Giedo van der Garde Caterham 54 laps
19 Charles Pic Caterham 54 laps
20 Jules Bianchi Marussia 53 laps
21 Max Chilton Marussia 53 laps
Out of service
Kimi Raikkonen Lotus lap 0 accident