The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Highlights Formula 1

Hello. Welcome to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, race 18 of the 2012

formula one season. With a ham ship perfectly poised for a dramatic

Grand Prix. Here is how things were looking going into the race.

Sebastian Vettel having been so far behind a few races ago extending

his lead over Fernando Alonso. It is now a two horse race. Same apply

nos the Constructors Championship. Ferrari might be dreaming of the

fact they can challenge Red Bull but 91.s is a gap too big to bridge.

Right, that is the way things were looking but what about after

qualifying? It was looking oh so norbl normal until late in the

night when we had classic drama. We will take you back to the story.

Long before the late-night drama it looked like it was going to be

another normal qualifying. At Q1 started it was Pastor Maldonado who

put in quick laps. At light turn to dusk the temperatures changed but

the Venezuelan was fast. He qualified fourth in his Williams.

Fernando Alonso had struggled all weekend, despite a raft of new

upgrades. He easily made it through to Q3 but was lucky to escape

Grosjean's Lotus. After putting in almost identical lap times he

qualified seventh. Mark Webber is not in the Championship race, but

he is looking for his first win at this circuit. In qualifying he was

the fastest Red Bull on track, putting his car into second. At the

start of qualifying Lewis Hamilton looked to be finding his car a

handful with front lock ups ruining his chances but he has never

qualified off the front row of the grid and this weekend was no

different. The McLaren driver put in a stunning lap to go quickest,

stopping Red Bull's recent run of dominance in qualifying.

Championship leader vet was under pressure after a brake problem. He

glanced off the wall, he ran wide then put his Red Bull into third

but after the chequered flag his problems got worse. Stop the car,

stop the car. Not great to stop out on track during qualifying but not

on track during qualifying but not a disaster. The team emerged to say

they were sure whatever the reason, it wouldn't lead them to be

penalised by the FIA. Later that evening the sports governing body

decided the take a closer look. You can see the empty garage there,

Christian Horner was called to the stewards who would have to pass

judgment. When he merged it was the end of the wait for the media, but

really no concrete news at this point from Christian. Christian,

second visit, anything come out that you can tell us? There will be

a statement from the FIA which should hopefully be self ex

planetary. What about a statement from Christian Horner? There will

be one of those as well. The media continued to wait. The Red Bull

mechanics continued to wait, so did Fernando Alonso, staying at the

circuit late into the night. Was this the moment that Ferrari got

the news that due to a fuel irregularity Sebastian Vettel would

be sent to the back of the grid. You can see the very bottom line,

the competitor is allowed to start from the back of the grid. That

meant the garage doors went down without the car where it should be.

After qualifying. David Coulthard is with me. Classic Formula One

drama. It is. It is given that Lewis Hamilton had that same

penalty applied in Barcelona, earlier in the season, qualified on

pole, was put back to the back of the grid. It was inevitable once

there was found to be not enough fuel that would be the penalty.

us talk how it affected the race. Sebastian has had a few people

criticising him saying he is not a natural overtaker. A lot of the

comments have been based on most of his Grand Prix at the front, so,

this is an opportunity for him to show his racing ability. He doesn't

need to win this race. He wants to win, they all want to win the Grand

Prixs, but he need to get through and get solid points and it keeps

the Championship title alive. it change Fernando Alonso's

approach? Of course, he will have bigger smile. He was disappointed

after qualifying, he will start sixth and he is in a position to

close that 13 point gap to Sebastian Vettel. I suppose instead

of fighting to guest past him he needs to finish with strong points

and things will look good for him. Sebastian doesn't feature on the

grid but that man does, Lewis Hamilton who dominated qualifying

and starts alongside Mark Webber. Everybody else moves up one place.

Jensen Button will be relieved after a tough qualifying to be

starting in fifth place. You can see Fernando Alonso right in front

of his team-mate Felipe Massa who starts alongside Rosberg and

Hulkenberg is moved up into the top ten. It was a tough qualifying

session for Paul di Resta who starts in 12th. Kobayashi is

alongside the Australian Daniel Ricciardo who has been confirmed at

Red Bull for another season as is Jean-Eric Vergne, who is 17th on

the grid alongside Kovalainen. Charles Pic outqualified Glock.

Kark is at the back of the -- Narain Karthikeyan is at the back

of the grid. Sebastian Vettel starts alone in an unusual position

for the defending World Champion. Let us find out what happens during

the race. David Coulthard was along Hamilton lights it up it is a good

start from rake rack terrible start from Mark Webber. Raikkonen going

into second. Webber fighting on to hold on to fourth. Further back

that is Bruno Senna in trouble, with one of the forces for.

looked like it might be Paul di Resta. As you pointed out there,

Ben, Mark Webber under pressure now from the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso.

Didn't make a great start himself, but another tardy get away for the

Red Bull. Button passed by Alonso so Jensen Button, not a great get

away. Mark Webber, the straight line speed of the Red Bull is not

as high as the Ferrari, so, can they make use of that? The DRS is

not operative. He has to do it in normal race trim. Webber goes into

turn eight. Alonso doesn't have space to do anything. He might try

and do the switch back. He is in a tighter line to straighten the

carton exit of that cornerment he probably won't have any curves. He

is in the slip stream of the Red Bull. It is close as Alonso gets

alongside the remember. He is trying the take the place, but the

Red Bull will come back. A little lock up from Alonso. What a move.

He has got past the Red Bull. So crucial in the early lap of this

race. Great strategic driving from Fernando Alonso. Mark Webber has to

go defensive in turn eight. That left his vulnerable on the second

of the two straights. Rosberg getting past Perez. It is up from

where Alonso once again is making vital ground on the opening lap.

What is going on, Grosjean, he has a puncture. Hulkenberg that was in

that contact. We miss called it. He must have made a tardy get away,

and yes, that will be a slow run back to the pits for Grosjean.

Michael Schumacher is up to 12th. The yellow flag is down there as

well. This is the area we saw that incident, Senna and Hulkenberg we

think were involved in that, and the cars still being cleared away

there. The grabbers in to try and get them out of the way. You can

see that is the car of hubg, the contact is terminal, coming

together -- Hulkenberg. With the Williams of Senna. We have mersdis

in the pits having a nose change, that is Rosberg. The better of the

Mercedes qualifier, he dragged the time out of that car, yesterday.

That will put him down to the back of the group, as Michael Schumacher

has made progress. Di Resta was involved. He has a rear puncture,

right rear. Here we see Sebastian Vettel making his way up the inside

of an HRT, he is up into 20th place. This will take him into 19th. There

we have Lewis Hamilton, he has run very wide. He is under pressure for

the lead from Kimi Raikkonen, Kimi Raikkonen is on the attack for the

race lead here, and he is trying to get the slip stream behind the

McLaren. We have yellow flags in some places but not all the way

round. Lewis is defensive and Kimi can't get past.. That is the same

place Alonso tried and passed and succeeded on Webber. Tyres are

really cold. They are not coming up to temperature quickly. The track

temperature 33 degrees. It is similar to what they had in

qualifying. Suddenly he makes a break. That was a prime opportunity

for Raikkonen. I have to say, despite the fact he has had a

fantastic come back to Formula One, very consistent, he is deservedly

in the top three, he seems just a bit tentative when it comes to

instinctive racing, that rewarded him with a lot of reliable race

result, but in terms of getting that victory, sometimes he has to

go for it. Damaged front wing. He has had contact. Always the danger

from starting towards the back. Vettel is in 20th place. It's the

front right. I can see the flap on the right of the wing. We can see

the Red Bull mechanics coming out, so a difficult afternoon, looking

like it is going to get worse for Sebastian Vettel. The World

Championship leader. So Hamilton leads. The Red Bull guys have gone

back in, so they are not going to change it on the lap. Maldonado is

in third place. Let us not forget the Williams is running third.

Alonso is chasing that, trying to get on to a podium place, DRS is

now enabled so we will be seeing that rear flap coming into

operation, next time round. As Kimi Raikkonen, in this lap in fact,

coming down through the chicane, Kimi Raikkonen in second. Maldonado,

Button in sixth. Massa is chasing him ch the Saubers, Kobayashi had a

good first lap. He is up to eighth. Sebastian Vettel goes on the attack.

There is the Marussia of Charles Pic to his right. And Charles Pic

qualified well yesterday. No way he can hold him back. TEAM RADIO:

There is damage on your right hand side. We can see it. It is up to

you if you want to pit, we areed arey for you. That was a moment ago.

He decided not to come in. David, here is a look at the start. Lights

out and Red Bull of Mark Webber seemed to bog down, and that

allowed him to get swamped by Raikkonen, who went down the inside

of Maldonado. The forces for, coming in contact with each other,

and that was a straight case of four into one will not happen. --

Force India. And just see it at the back of the shot. Look to me like

Hulkenberg was just being a bit greed wri there, trying to squeeze

in between the two car, clipped the right rear of Paul di Resta. That

is where Paul ended up with the puncture. This is interesting. Kimi

made a good start but Webber didn't. There you go. Instinctive reaction,

Webber slowed off the lines. He pulled to the left of you have to

say that was probably the best start on the grid when you look at

his relative position to Lewis Hamilton. I think we see Alonso

getting up the inside of Jensen Button, in turn two, they go side

by side through three. As Felipe Massa, sorry, Fernando Alonso was

already in front of the McLaren. Having to go defensive for mas sa,

as they come down to the end of the lap. And this is a replay of how

Alonso went on the attack with Mark Webber. -- Massa. Very close as

they make their way down, approaching 190mph as they run down

into turn 11. And then a lock up, as they run into the apex but text

book overtake. This is view from onboard Mark Webber's car. Scary

enough for the camera, as you can see how close these cars are. It

looked like they touched from that angle. How the camera can lie at

time we, know from the overhead there was plenty of space.

Hamilton make a mistake? That is when Raikkonen got close behind him.

He is struggling to get heat in the Thais and very lucky as he came out

of turn eight, he wasn't left vulnerable on the run down to turn

11. He was very defensive. Now this was Vettel with Petrov. A moment

ago with Petrov on the right hand side. Got past and went past Timo

Glock. I am not sure he was thinking about that. He almost

overshot the corner. Rosberg has crashed out of the Abu Dhabi Grand

Prix and safety car has been deployed. We have done eight laps.

There is another car involved. It is the HRT of Narain Karthikeyan.

And Rosberg and a the safety car is out. We could see some pit stops

during this safety car period. But interestingly, the good news is of

course that Nico is walking away. Let us see if we can spot what

happened. I think he vun up the back of Karthikeyan. He has some

smoke out of the back and Rosberg didn't judge the closing speed and

launched over the top of that car. Thankfully, coming down, on to the

wooden plank, and that is a section where a car would normally be flat

out, of course, and if you just look, you can see smoke coming out

the back, and was he in the first part of an issue? With his engine?

And had to lift out, but thankfully, both the drivers walking away from

Rosberg's Park, into turn 16, into the Tech-Pro barrier, the energy

absorbing barrier really doing its job. Still talking to each other.

Wondering how they get back to the pits. They are the wrong side of

the circuit, of course, they may need to see if they can shimmy up a

drainpipe into the hotel and go and take a shower.

TEAM RADIO: What is he doing? He is stopping all the time.

It sounds like... The front windows completely flapping, I think he has

made contact with the back of Ricciardo. -- the front wing. This

has happened to Sebastian before. He didn't actually hit the car.

he swerved to try and avoid the back of the Toro Rosso. He is

surprised by how quickly the Toro Rosso slowed down and that has

definitely damaged his front wing. The other flapper is broken and

they have no choice. You can see the team is in the pit lane and he

will need to come for that knows change. -- nose. Into the pit lane

and this is where we will hopefully see a rapid front nose cone changed,

along with the front wing. Let's see how the boys go. A change of

tyres at the same time. A pretty rapid getting the old one off. A

half turn and off goes Sebastian Vettel. A longer stop than normal

but they are on the safety car and it wouldn't cost him as much as it

would have done. Gary, you think this is really bad news for

Sebastian, despite the fact that they are on the safety car? It is

difficult now because he has to go on the soft tyre for the rest of

the race and it'll be a struggle to get 41 laps on that soft tyre.

safety car is coming in on his lap. He will find himself running behind

Paul di Resta in 22nd place. Lewis Hamilton beginning to bunch

them all up. Kimi Raikkonen still in second place. And how the cast

respond on the restart is going to be crucial. They are on the softer

tyre, which is so sensitive to temperature. A Lewis Hamilton

allowing the safety car to pull away so that when he decides to go,

and it is his choice, he will have a clean run to the last corner.

Fernando Alonso trying to stay as close as he can to Pastor Maldonado.

Hamilton has bolted. Alonso having to defend from Webber. It shows you

how difficult it is on the restart. Webber has a real chance of getting

back past Fernando Alonso. What a tussle this is. Just enough room

for Webber to work with. Alonso still under pressure from the Red

Bull and eventually, where there has to lift off a little bit. --

Webber. A scary moment for Fernando as he tried to go with the top

three group, clearly not having the rear of his car performing. He

turned in and lost it and had to go defensive. You can see how that has

broken the gap to Maldonado already and bunched up the group behind

them. Hamilton has once again make the break. Kimi Raikkonen is not

able to challenge on this restart in the Lotus on second -- in second

place. And then a big gap back from Maldonado to Alonso. Those tyres

were not a happy temperature. Michael Schumacher is still in

there. We had a tussle between Timo Glock and Vitaly Petrov, chased by

Charles Pic. There is Vettel are doing it all over again, coming

from the very back of the field. has got two places already and next

in his side, he has Grosjean. -- in his sights. Will he get his

slipstream? No DRS at this stage. It is not quite enough. Grosjean

does indeed, there may be an opportunity. Grosjean had his own

problems, there was contact between Grosjean and Nico Rosberg on the

opening lap and he has had an hour -- extra pit stop. He will probably

still have Atir in the eye from the first-lap incidents -- ATF. He will

be well aware that he has the championship leader behind him, he

has no reason to make things easy for him. A in a way, it is the

worst thing possible for Vettel, to be caught up behind a fast car.

Lotus has good straight-line speed but it has to be noted that because

Vettel had the chance to change his ratios, in qualifying his top speed

was around 193 mph and in the race, he has already done 198 mph, so

showing the benefits of taking the car out of the in the Aksa and

setting it up for racing from the back. -- out of the limiter. Alonso

is still in front of Webber but the Ferrari has struggled from the

restart. Webber will try and get past the Ferrari. Red Bull need

this crucially with Vettel even further back. We are on board with

a Vettel. This could well work. Grosjean in the middle of the road.

They are both trying to pass the Marussia as well of Charles Pic.

Side-by-side into turn eight. Vettel gets the line but Grosjean

holds on. Vettel will have to try and do it on the next straight as

they all get past Charles Pic. Here comes Vettel, he has a much better

run out of the corner, gets in front. Grosjean is not giving up.

He goes one way, then the other. Vettel eventually get sick. Let's

just see the repay as they run down into turn eight -- the replay.

Grosjean affecting have passed on the Marussia and it all comes down

to braking. Sebastian has the corner but Grosjean comes back and

this is what they will look at here. Sebastian dives to the right hand

side, which line constitutes the limit of the track? I have never

seen two white lines. Andy Hamilton problem. Lewis Hamilton is in

trouble, the race leader -- and a Hamilton problem. What is going on

this year with McLaren and the Lewis Hamilton? He was in this

position in Singapore. No engine. It has happened again. He was

totally in command. Kimi Raikkonen leads the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton withdraws once again and you just can't believe that

Lewis Hamilton is suffering another non- finish, his fifth of the

season. He pulls off onto the grass, it is all over, and the opportunity

of taking his 21st Korea went has ended. And Alonso goes up into

second place, he goes past Maldonado. What a break for

Fernando Alonso. Not only has Hamilton withdrawn but in the same

lap, virtually, he is up into second position. As that is

happening, we can see from the commentary position that Vettel has

made a pass on Bruno Senna, so he is up to 11th place. He is to get

into the points this afternoon. Fernando is in a position where if

they stay in this order, he will lead the world championship if he

is able to finish in second place. This is through 8 and 9. Per-second

DRS zone. Ashby second DRS zone. the end, Maldonado was defenceless

as they went down into turn 11. You can see the join in the Ferrari

garage. TEAM RADIO: Kimi, the next car

behind you is Alonso, five seconds behind you. I'll keep you updated

on the gap and the pace. Leave me alone, I know! Brilliant,

absolutely brilliant! "Leave me alone, I know what I'm doing". He

is such a character. He is leading the race and he feels totally at

home doing that, it is what it was built to do. 5 points seven seconds

is the gap. -- 5.7 seconds. Alonso est simply not as fast as the Lotus

at this stage and we saw a great race on Friday from Kimi Raikkonen.

On board with Webber again. Gary, it does look as though Maldonado is

struggling. Are you surprised they haven't brought him in? Not really,

they are looking to get the hard tyre working. As for Kimi, he has

just said what he is, he is a racing driver, just leave me alone

and let me get on with it! It is certainly good to hear. Look how

close Webber is once again, Maldonado will go to the left.

Webber is going to go around the outside and there is contact!

Webber spins, Red Bull's day goes from that -- bad to worse, but he

does rejoin. Webber has lost several places as a result of

trying to get past Maldonado. had to have a go but in the end,

you can't just go around the outside and expect the car on the

inside to disappear. He doesn't look to have picked up any damage,

it looks like it was wheel-to-wheel. He has got to do it all again now.

He lost three or four places there with the half spin. That is really

not good news. Gary, you were watching, you are not too impressed.

Really not. You can see it again here. He comes up the outside, he

goes aggressive. He puts himself in the most vulnerable position and

racing driver can be. What a big mistake he has just made. I think

that is fair comment. He put himself in a situation, when you

are on the outside, it is like basically leaving yourself open to

that and he's been Sim around. And, well, I am sure he will see it

differently. Luckily it was a wheel-to-wheel contact. These cars

are on such a limit when you go into the turn that in that context

-- enough contact sense in pirouetting. It will damage his

potential to get on the podium this afternoon. There is a long way to

go, but if Raikkonen does go on to win this race, he will find himself

on 47 points -- find himself 47 points behind the leaders in the

race for the championship and there will be 50 available in the last

two races. Webber outside again in turn 11. They do touch and Webber

is off! And Massa is off! Webber had to allow Felipe Massa to

overtake him again but then to Felipe Massa or spun, and I don't

think that Ms Webber has to let him overtake again. Mark again trying

the outside line and they run side- by-side. There is contact and you

can see that Felipe Massa takes the APACS -- apex and when Mark Webber

rejoins, he keeps the kerb, and whether he was scared into avoiding

action. Here we can see it from the cockpit. Turn 11, Mark Webber is

well ahead as they enter the break- in but as they go through the apex,

he gets a hearty cloud -- braking. And you can see Mark was back on

the circuit and scared him into a spin. He has bailed out and gone

for his prime tyres. It is a good move because if they penalise the

other guy, he now cannot let him through and might end up with the

drive-through penalty, which is what Ferrari will be pushing for.

But whether they get that, or Felipe Massa or's spin was caused

by Webber going off... We expect here the set of primes will be

coming on for Alonso. No further action on the Webber-Massa incident.

That was tidy and we will see where Alonso rejoins the field as he can

out of this unique pit lane. Unique and another thing you may call it

is pointless. He is going to be behind Vettel. Battle has gone

through an Sebastian Vettel will be ahead -- Vettel has gone through.

If he manages to go through to the end of the race on this set of

tyres, he is in front of Alonso at the moment, but there is such a

long way to go and he may have very little grip by the end. In Monte

Carlo, there was something similar when Sebastian went further on the

set of tyres that any projection -- than any projection said was

possible. Sergio Perez and Maldonado, Maldonado is there

compromised on the exit of the chicane and Sergio Perez will get

DRS and should pull ahead. Maldonado goes in his slipstream,

he won't have DRS. He wrote -- might have a little go. Webber is

involved in this as well. Trying to get past that it is not quite

happening. Now through the tight and twisty section. Gary, what are

you thinking? We have seen how Vettel is going, could he go to the

end of the race? There is a good chance, because there were 41 laps

to go when he went on to the soft tyres. It is a track that is a bit

more difficult for the tyres here. In its 34 laps -- she went 34

laps... I think there is a good chance he can do it. Jenson Button,

a quick stop for him. The only remaining back Harron in this race.

Where will he come back there? -- rev -- remaining McLaren. Maldonado

can begin in the Williams, he has struggled a bit full pace, but he

still has a chance of scoring some points. He hasn't done that on many

occasions, despite the victory in He is in the right zone. Raid if

Sebastian gets a run, don't fight him. Clear message and a reminder,

they are allowed to give instructions these days. Doesn't

look like he has position properly. Emotions will be running high after

the various incidents. I don't expect he will make it too easy,

and some might say, why should he? They are both battling. What is

interesting, as when Webber responds with the purple first

sector is Raikkonen, he is 23 seconds ahead of this battle here,

and as you rightly say, it is about 19 second, Ben, give or take for a

pit stop. I would have thought the Lotus team, although Raikkonen is

running slightly quicker because Vettel is losing time as he is

running in the dirty air. TEAM RADIO: Box, box, box. They took the

choice away him. That is how the make it happen. Vettel not held up

because Webber is brought into the pits for his one and only stop. He

goes on to the harder compound tyres. He shouldn't have any

problem getting to the end of the race on those tiers. It is more a

question mark over whether Vettel can sustain id. Perez gets out

ahead of Webber. -- it. The losing time for the incidents he's had,

particularly the one with Felipe Massa, the other with Pastor

Maldonado. It has cost Webber dear in this race as he rejoins the fray.

Right, we will see the race leader coming into the pits now, as Lotus

prepare for Kimi Raikkonen, the Button is lighting up the timing

screens on this harder tyre which seems to suit the McLaren better

and Jensen Button's style perhaps. Race leader is in. Kimi Raikkonen,

in charge so far. The pit stop goes OK, not as quick as some, they were

a bit slow letting the back end of car down, now, where is he going to

be coming out with respect to Vettel. He has just passed the

commentary box. Raikkonen is under turn one. He will appear out of

there, into the path and you will see Vettel, in the background,

there he is: Wow. So Kimi Raikkonen retains the lead, but Sebastian

Vettel is now in second place. And look how close he is to the Lotus.

Remarkable when you think that Sebastian Vettel started from the

pit lane. Had to make an early stop for a damaged front wing, and yet

there he is in second place. Alonso won't be able to believe this, I

shouldn't think. Ferrari will say don't worry, we think he has to

make an extra pit stop. He may not. Vettel maybe able to manage this,

all the way to the end of the race, on these yellow softer tyres, so we

will have to see and Button still close. I would love, I don't think

in an tis patience my heart could take it. I would love if Gary can

find a Pirelli man and find out if there is in change in projection,

the information we had is they can expect about 25 laps or so on the

soft yellow tyre, and 30 or so on those white side walled medium tyre,

they have to do more than that this afternoon. Gary, you are with Paul

from Pirelli. Yes. Any better predictions to the tyre life they

can do on the soft tyre? We have got the wear information back, we

have an estimated life of 36 lapse. Red Bull are better than the rest,

so it is right on the limit for them. It will be an interesting end

to this race. TEAM RADIO: Box, box, box. They are not trying to do it

on one-stop. They are going to put in another stop. But this will

bring him out just ahead of Grosjean. This is fascinating. If

they get a good pit stop, it will be right round that battle between

Grosjean, di Resta that maybe in front. They want to line him up to

be able to push all the way to the end of this Grand Prix. They don't

want him to be wounded toward the end, with no rubber left, so you

need a slick stop here. Not ass slick as it should have been but he

gets going. Now where is that group of Grosjean, di Resta? Just out of

the last corn e. I think this will be enough. Think he have the chance

on the soft tyres again. He is under turn one. He will be existing

into turn three. Look on the left hand side of the screen for

Grosjean. He is not there. Good move by Red Bull. They have done

that beautifully. They have put him ahead of Grosjean. He runs wide.

Did he hit the bollard. Did he make contact. The front wing is still in

place. Di Resta locking up as well. Perez, Webber, chasing, great stuff

from Vettel. Despite this slight hiccup on the pit stop. Look at the

left side as we view, it is the right rear. A bit ofs he's Tansey

there with the gun, apparently. hesitation. Grosjean is under

pressure from Paul di Resta. Behind him is Perez, a bit of a cut back

as Grosjean went in deep. Could be an opportunity on the exit of the

coner on to the next D rsm S done, he has got in before they got there.

He has DRS so he flies past Grosjean. Perez down the outside in

the Sauber. Grosjean not able to fight him of. Perez going side by

side with di Resta, they are still side by side. He cuts the grass.

Perez goes wide. Rejoins Grosjean is there. Oh, there is contact.

Webber is out as well. Maldonado cuts his way through, so does

Kobayashi. It has all gone wrong at the back. Will there be another

safety car Ben? He is in a out. The Lotus is parked on the pit of turn

14, and it all just got a bit messy, that started on the way into turn

11. That car ain't going nowhere so safety consider will be deployed.

Perezs into the pit, as does Daniel Ricciardo and the troestroe, did he

get caught up in that? I think he did a bit. I any he has a puncture

on the Toro Rosso, so they will have to whip another set of tiers

on there. -- Toro Rosso, the damage may be worse on the Sauber behind,

still no movement. They are sitting there, waiting, having a good look

round the car, deciding whether to send him on his way, Perez has been

involved in several incidents in a few Grand Prix, that went on for a

long time. Here we see Perez gets the double tow and the DRS, then he

tries to be a bit sneaky round the outside, and then Paul gives him

space but forces Paul wide, and rejoins, tries to defend from

Grosjean, and he gets hit on the rear, and you with wave all you

want, but you can't turn in when a car is there. Yes, I understand the

frustration. You can wave. In is a one line only corner, he gets

pushed over the kerb and that forces Paul across the grass. It

sorts itself out on the exit. But when he rejoins her rejoins into

the path of Grosjean. In fairness to Grosjean he was trying to get

out of it once he realised he was coming across the front of him. He

has gone in there and realised in Mark Webber, getting caught up in

the momentum that he had, running through the corner, took him into

the back of the Lotus of Grosjean. Just clumsy stuff. What a mess and

whether, as you say nowhere he could go, he was trying to keep to

the inside here, the safety car is out for the second time this

evening, Alonso is still in second place, then Jensen Button in third.

Vettel is in fourth place, now. This closes it all up together and

suddenly, Sebastian Vettel will be with the race leaders n a fast Red

Bull, and who is to say he is not going to be able to challenge for

the podium, maybe for victory. TEAM RADIO: We need to keep working all

four tiers. Yes, yes, yes, I am doing all the tievers. I don't need

reminding. I love that! I love that. -- tyres. He is on a good set of

tyres. A clear lap is about two tenths, so Sebastian Vettel needs

to get himself past these guy, that is the big problem. Slightly slow

stop there. I said that muem is seventh. He isn't any longer, that

will drop him to the back of the queue. I don't know what the

problem was for Schumacher, whether it was tyre wear. The safety car is

coming in. Kimi Raikkonen, he is building up to the restart then, of

this Abu Dhabi Grand Prix which has been packed with incident. Are we

going to see some more in the latter part of it? Raikkonen

looking for his first win since 2009. He is chased by Fernando

Alonso and behind him we have Jensen Button looking very fast in

McLaren, then Sebastian Vettel on a relatively fresh set of the soft

Thais. Away we go. Good restart by Raikkonen. Immediately fast out of

that last corner, opening up the gap over Fernando Alonso. Behind

there you have Massa chasing Kobayashi in the Sauber, so

Kobayashi now in sixth place, look at Raikkonen go. Alonso we saw him

struggle on the restart earlier on, David. I looks as though the

Ferrari does struggle a bit with tyre temperature after a safety car

period. That is fair comment. What I can't understand why Fernando was

not right up the gearbox as they came through the last sequence of

corner, they may be able to get the tyres working better than the turns,

in terms of straight line speed and acceleration they should be evenly

matched. Raikkonen has faulted. He will have broken the DRS zone. They

are entering that zone now to see Bruno Senna, different crash helmet

this weekend, some competition win otherer other. I think it is in

difference to one of his upon source he has that. Sebastian

Vettel, look, just right up behind Jensen Button here, and I can

confirm that Kovalainen is in 13th place. Kovalainen may not be able

to hold on tostth. We are trying to watch every aspect. It is vital to

the smaller teams as well. Vettel chasing Jensen Button. Can he fiend

a way past? That is the big question. This track, which was the

one where Sebastian Vettel took the fist of his two world titles, that

amazing race of 2010. Ten second top to go for Sergio Perez. That is

interesting, because he was, or is sitting by Kovalainen. So Perez has

been blamed for forcing another driver off track. That was the

incident with di Resta and we saw the consequences of that accident

which took out Mark Webber and Grosjean. So Perez does pick up a

penalty, that will visit own bearing on this. Kimi Raikkonen,

first lap after the safety car and he has opened up nearly two seconds

over Alonso. Doing what he needs to do. I think it is interesting, you

know, the reaction that Kimi has on the radio to his engineer, it is

not someone he is working with for the first time. It is a chap called

Mark Slade. They have a very strong close working relationship, we

hence the slightly blunt nature of Kimi's response, but in the heat of

the cockpit and with all the noise, and everything that is going on,

you don't have time for small talk, but it does put a smile on my face,

Kimi there as we can see, Sebastian getting himself into position here,

Jensen feeling the need to go defensive in turn 11. Vettel is on

very good tyres, the softer tyre, whereas Jensen Button is on the

slightly harder compound tyre, so there is is a different in

potential performance, but it evens itself out, the more laps you do,

that little advantage tend to go away, so Vettel trying to take

advantage of it early on and fastest middle sector of anybody in

this race from Vettel, as he tries to find a way past Jensen Button.

This is for a podium position remember. Jensen running third,

where he always finishes in Abu Dhabi, well he has in the past. He

has finished in third position. And right now, he is on target, but

under pressure for that third place from this guy, Sebastian Vettel.

Behind Vettel, the gap opening up slightly to Pastor Maldonado, who

is running in fifth place, in a seesaw yo-yo race. Vergne is in

tenth. Ricciardo in 11th and Perez is doing his drive-through penalty

on this lap, and meanwhile Michael Schumacher has got past Heikki

Kovalainen and that ten use grasp that Kovalainen had on 12th has

gone again. There is Perez, and it is a stop and go rather, not a

drive through. So he has to sit and wait painful time for him, and

there the team principal now of Sauber. Fernando Alonso, with that

fastest lap again. 1:44.2. It does look as though it might be

relatively settled now. But Kimi Raikkonen I wonder how he is

feeling now. It has been a long time since he has had a victory.

Spa 2009. He has sat out two seasons of Formula One when he went

off to compete in the World Rally Championship, but David, he has

looked so at ease, as soon as he has been back in the Formula One

car, this year, he has looked championship because he has

delivered consistent results. When younger, less experienced drivers

have been tripping over others, he has kept out of trouble. You have

had the feeling this year that all he needed was a stronger qualifying

to get track position and then Lotus could have won a Grand Prix

earlier this year. But with four laps remaining, it does look like

the dream could come -- become a reality. I suspect it will put a

smile on Kimi Raikkonen's face. It takes a lot, he keeps his emotions

to himself, but he is a character. He was a team-mate for a couple of

years and they were funny days. He is a conservationist when it comes

to tyres. And when it comes to energy. He was either extremely --

driving extremely quickly or sleeping in the back of the truck.

Coming down a bit on this first sector. But he looks reasonably in

control. Let's watch and listen with Kimi Raikkonen.

And there is Vettel trying to get past Jenson Button! He might have

done it this time! Beautifully done. That will have a bigger effect to

the championship, he gains a few more points, and Red Bull celebrate.

Sebastian Vettel is into third position and it puts him on the

podium, and Jenson Button's run of third position finishes here in Abu

Dhabi looks to be coming to an end. Out of the slipstream. He carries

the momentum crucially around the outside and fair racing from these

two, they managed to do what the other group earlier didn't, get

through to buy two in a corner. Jenson had no choice but to back

out once Vettel had the majority of his car alongside him. And that

feels as good as taking the lead of a Grand Prix, given the

difficulties they had started from the pit lane. Alonso is fired up to

challenge Raikkonen. He knows him well, they get on well these two.

He is within one second, and he is in DRS range if he still wants

second -- if he is still one second. Alonso is charging, in his chase

for the title, can he do it? They Reg Romain Grosjean, out of the wet.

Can Kimi Raikkonen hold on for his first went since his comeback 22

races ago? It is any 22 races since he -- it is only 22 races since he

won, but he has been out for so long. Can we see Lotus at the top

of the podium for the first time since 1987? Can you tell me when

they get to the end, I am covering my eyes! You feel so much for this

team as they try and find their first victory and for the

championship, an amazing story. Heading down towards the end of

this second DRS zone. And of course, we talk about the Lotus name, it is

very much the name in terms of this team. They have had several names

over the years, Tolworth, Renault, and in many ways, not so people

consider it the Renault team, but it has been along time since they

had a win -- a long time. And Fernando Alonso was driving them.

So he is up against a team that he had so much success with, he won

the two world titles with them, but Kimi Raikkonen is leading this race.

Coming around the closing stages of this race. Alonso running out of

time as he tries to close that gap. It looks like he is running out of

tyres as well, a power slide out of the last corner and that gap looks

a bit bigger. It is 1.27 -- 1.2 seconds. Any chance that Alonso

House, he has to get into the first of the DRS zones. It doesn't look

like he is any closer, the car is staking as he tries to position it,

and Raikkonen has done enough to keep that gap. In its perfect

braking then into turn eight. -- he needs perfect braking. We are

getting confirmation that he is delivering on his lap. Mike Hare

holding on for the moment. The final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand

Prix. Jenson Button is going very fast but he is a long way back.

Vettel is flying. No surprises there. Maldonado in fifth.

Kobayashi in sixth. The first one outside the points is Michael

Schumacher. Heikki Kovalainen is in 13th place, how frustrating is that

for Caterham? Kimi Raikkonen has got through the danger area of the

DRS zones. Now it is the tight with Leigh Park beneath the hotel. And

then just the last couple of sections of the Abu Dhabi track.

Kimi Raikkonen returning to Formula One in 2012 after two years away.

The 2007 world champion, but this time, he is the eighth different

winner of 2012! He has done it, Kimi Raikkonen went on his comeback

in Formula One! Alonso in second, Sebastian Vettel in a brilliant

third place to retain the championship lead. Jenson Button in

fourth position. Maldonado, the only other top-six finish this year

apart from his victory in Barcelona. Kobayashi in sixth, Felipe Massa in

seventh. Bruno Senna in eighth, di Resta in nine. But Kimi has done it.

TEAM RADIO: Yeehaw! Nice job, Kimi, brilliant.

The time for the champagne shower. It is not champagne in this country,

of course, it is a rosewater shower taking place here in the United

Arab Emirates. JAKE HUMPHREY: What are completely

amazing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Before we came here this year,

people said this place was a great for overtaking. They have just

proved everybody wrong. That wasn't great. Lotus with their first win

since 2008. The championship contenders on the podium together,

Sebastian Vettel from the back all the way up to third place. And this

is what it means for the championship, just 10 points

between the top two as we head to Austin. Kimi Raikkonen is 57 points

off the lead and is officially out of the championship. Felipe Massa

moves up to seventh ahead of Nico Rosberg and Grosjean. And for the

constructors battle, Red Bull were hoping to wrap it up this weekend

and it wasn't to be, but the chances are for them to do that in

Austin in two weeks. And look at McLaren, now just 30 points ahead

of the Lotus F1 team. Let's hear from the guys who were central to

from the guys who were central to the amazing drama. I think it is

more important for the team and for the people involved, they are the

people who do all our hard work, I just try to deliver on a Sunday. It

is one win for me, but for them, I think it is a much bigger thing.

had yesterday a problem for... Sebastian -- Sebastian and we were

hoping to exit place back with a 20 point deficit and now it is 10, so

it is good for us. They will have the fastest car in the final races,

there is no magic we can come up with four Austin or Brazil but a

couple of races ago, they had the fastest car, we have the best team,

so we will see who wins. We have a very good car at the moment. The

team is switched on, they are sharp, everybody is enjoying the moment

and obviously we didn't have always one of the best cars, but good

enough to finish in the points. 12 points, the reason we are still

here, looking forward to the next two races. We have a fantastic

chance, so it is up to us. It was going really well and the car was a

dream to drive at the time, so I was cruising, really and still

pulling away. A real shame the engine just died, some kind of fuel

problem, but anyway, I got to watch the race and it was an interesting

race. Incredible, actually, to watch. I thought I could find a bit

more pace, because the car is working, because Lewis has been

very quick all weekend, but my race pace is something that is normally

pretty good so I will go and have a look at why that is, but hopefully

we can sort it out for Austin. David, you were in the commentary

box for the whole race, how do you feel? The circuit has not delivered

fantastic Grand Prix in the last few years but today, it was off the

scale, with all sorts of incidents and accidents and an amazing

comeback from Sebastian Vettel. Fernando Alonso got himself up from

six... To battling for victory and when the chequered flag dropped,

Kimi Raikkonen did not look like he was there to celebrate much but the

team certainly were, it is a great victory. It was a great victory for

Kimi which will be overshadowed because of the impact on the

championship today. Fernando Alonso did everything he had to do, he has

just got to keep a cool head. has managed to close the gap, 10

points into the closing two races with 50 points available. With that

sort of championship battle, it is about which car suits the Austin

circuit, which casts its Brazil. We don't know. If you look back to the

Indian Grand Prix, Red Bull were dominant and McLaren were

struggling and Lewis Hamilton was happy with Ford. One week later, no

one could match him with qualifying pace. He was leading the Grand Prix

until the fuel pump failure, so we don't know what Formula One holds

for us, but I sincerely hope it is right there to the last lap of the

last race in Brazil. What of the breast Grand Prix ever? That one of

the best? There are a lot of Grand Prix this can hold that mental but

-- metal, but this is one of the best that we have seen, and I think

the local sheikhs that have invested in this dream, this was an

island just covered in sand five years ago, the whole thing from

design to completion took three years and they have been rewarded

with a great Grand Prix. The most expensive Formula One circuit in

the world, you can see how great it looks at night. Today, Sebastian

Vettel and Fernando Alonso proved their worth to their teams. 10

points between the men fighting for the title as we head to Austin for

the penultimate race of the year. # You've given me more than I can

return. # There is oh so much that you

deserve. # Got nothing to say, got nothing

to do. # I must live without you.

# You know we are heading separate ways.

# And it feels like I am just too close to love you.

# There ain't nothing I can really say.