The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Qualifying Highlights Formula 1

COMMENTATOR: Fantastic. You are a four-time World Champion. Yes, yes!

It wasn't just about four World Championships, it was the way he

celebrated. That made it so special. The piece I like most of everything,

the adoration, he was saying, you are a genius. You are fantastic.

Sebastian seemed emotional when he came across the line. I don't know

what to say. So he should be. When you say you love somebody, it's a

big moment, isn't it. I love you guys. I love you. That is why I

think people do believe in their heart this is a very special young

man. COMMENTATOR: He has become a man for

four seasons. It was emotional. He was well touched. Four times World

Champion. It's a matter of joining greats.

COMMENTATOR: Sebastian Vettel is the 2013 World Champion. DC, where on

earth is he? He said he was inspired by Seb and last week's events or

something! COMMENTATOR: , that's what I'm

talking about. Yeah. Yeah! Boys will be boys. How high up were

you? Is 235 meters to that helipad. Weren't you nervous at all? About as

nervous as you are when you have asked Eddie a question and you are

waiting for an an answer. Do you involve me in that story of yours.

You were amazing up there. Thank you. There couldn't be a bigger con

stras from last weekend's chaotic and soulful setting in India to this

Polished giltsy event as we go from dusk until dark in Abu Dhabi no.

Question this is an incredible setting They seem to have added so

many bits on it's like a weekend holiday for people? The tourism are

full force at the moment. They have Ferrari World an water parks. The

Grand Prix and they have lots of other venues. Only this week they

had the world championship football under-17s they are a major sporting

event here. The concerts and so on. The track itself is very pretty.

What do the drivers make of it? It's not one of the favourites they drive

on. They get lost in the atmosphere of this event. The drivers will

drive any racetrack if it was cobbled stones. That would be fun to

watch. That would be good to watch. It's below average speed. The mean

part of the circuit is the last sector. This whole thing about going

from sunset, pushing the car in those changing conditions, that

gives the drivers the the thrill. Continuously involved. Even though

the Champion shis have been decided there is plenty of time for headline

news to be made. Three to go then as we near the end of the F1 season.

Looking back, count the 10 wins for the four-time World Champion,

Sebastian Vettel. His 10 wins leave the Championship

looking like this: Fernando Alonso says he has been in the form of his

life all season, but he hasn't been able to get close to the Red Bull.

He hopes to keep Kimi Raikkonen behind him in third. The title may

belong to Red Bull but Mercedes and Ferrari have their horns locked with

their eyes on second. It's that time of the season Where

the driver merry-go-round is in full swing. There has been celebrating as

Lee McKenzie found out. Less than a week has passed between Sebastian

Vettel winning his fourth consecutive Championship and

arriving here in Abu Dhabi. He choose not to have too big a party,

just a few drinks. I don't remember how many, to be honest. Yeah, after

that I felt horrible. I think I felt pretty sick. I had two nice days at

thoem recover and get back into shape, now I'm here. The only

drivers willing to say where they hope to be were Luis Perez-Sala and

chit chit chit who say they will stay with they're current teams. I

would like the chance to drive a faster car. It let's you show more

of your ability. You don't want to be too greedy. I'd like to get the

deal done soon. You be a McLaren driver next season? Have you to ask

Martin for that. What is the feeling you get, that you will be here? Yes,

I'm sure I will be here. I know where I'm going to be, yeah,

but I can't tell it to you right now. The viewers would love to know.

Not even a small hint. It shouldn't last so much longer. We are now in

November almost, so maybe one week, two weeks I can let you know. I

can't guarantee I will stay, I can't guarantee I will move. I will take

the best decision for myself. We'll see. It's not just drivers, the

rumour mill has Ross Brawn retiring at the end of this season. I think

for anyone, any Formula One team Ross has experience and a strong

character as well. I'm surprised they are letting him go. For me,

he's the perfect guy to run a team. Surprised to see him leaving the

sport. Kimi Raikkonen says he may not take part in the final two races

of the season if his Lotus team don't flail promise to serve a

financial dispute. He was still in Europe on Thursday and only decided

to race in Abu Dhabi at the last-minute. He says he has not been

paid a single euro all year. There is no secret that Lotus have been

having cash flow problems and last year as well, Kimi's performance has

dropped off every time he signed for Ferrari, what do you think? I don't

think that Kimi is motivated by the money when he is in the car. It's

about the lack of support and honouring of the contracts. The

teams would be the first to complain if a driver didn't uphold his side

of the bargain. Two things in my mind. One is stress of physical

nature if you have... Then stress financially. This is stress

financially, for sure it is having a massive effect on Raikkonen, it

couldn't but be. The team appears not to be have been honourable. You

find a solution a mechanism of payment, guarantee, any kind of

different financial structure that will give him happiness that it will

be paid at a certain given time in the future. Is it the financial

situation that is causing the blockage in the driver

merry-go-round. Lotus are looking at Pastor Maldonado who comes with a

lot of money and Nico Hulkenberg, two different driving talents. On

top of his game. Maldonado will get this seat is because he is able to

bring with him an amount of support, sponsorship money, call it what you

like, the people of Venezuela put their belief in him. He will come

here with the necessary amount of money to make it happen. Will it

balance the books inside Lotus, I don't know the answer to. That they

have a duty to make sure it does. We are talking about tens of millions

of pounds. If they were looking at the championship and getting an

extra place in the championship what money would they look at there? That

is in the future. The bank manager wants the cash on the desk. You need

certainty or as much, if you like, take the risk out of the event if

you can. As much of that risk. That is what they will do. They will take

Maldonado, money in the bank always wins. Do you see this as a problem,

do you think will are more drivers who have natural talent that aren't

getting a seat? Unquestionably there are always drivers who had great

talent and didn't have the support. We are talking about a the great

deal right now because it used to be the back of the grid struggled for

money. It has marched its way up to going top four teams are struggling

to balance the books. Lee was talking there about Ross Brawn and

perhaps ta he would be leaving the Championship at the end of this

year. David, what does he bring to a team as a manager, as a team

principal? No question, from a technical point of view, leadership

point of view Ross Brawn has presence, experience and respect of

the paddock. When he walks into a team environment people are looking

for the direction. They are looking for leadership. That is the key

thing. It's not being about able toll design the overall package

thoeshgs days are gone. A team principal's role people have to have

no misunderstanding as to who is calling the shots. It remains to be

seen who will take up that role within Mercedes. I'm sure they are a

big enough organisation to fill the hole. He is an asset to any team. We

will miss talking to him as well, won't we? We look at the history, I

will have to go back over the records, I believe winning a

Championship with his own name Brawn, he has won World

Championships with Benetton and with Ferrari, sthaes sets him apart as

being pretty unique. Time for qualifying. Lee and Tom are in the

pit lane for you. Gary, David and Ben are your commentators.

COMMENTATOR: Qualifying here in Abu Dhabi has always resulted in either

Sebastian Vettel or Lewis Hamilton taking pole position. This will be

the decider for the V8 era as they stand as two appease. Their glory

may be stolen by another, whatever happens the first task for both of

them is to make the top 16 in this first session. They have to get the

tyre use right. Pirelli have brought the soft and medium compound tyres

to this racetrack. The same pounds they brought to the last race in

India. The track is different here, you don't have quite the same

loadings on those tyres, will that affect how the teams use them in

qualifying? No, there is such a big stem between medium and soft they

have to have that soft tyre to do a reasonably good lap time. It looks

like 1-and-a-half seconds. It's about traction here. Basically, it

blitz the rear tyres, the front tyres are OK. The same sort of

problems, slightly different, you will have to use them to get the lap

time. We expecting everyone to use the soft tyre throughout this part

of qualifying? What did you think of the cutoff time? People will have to

use it. There is a big difference in-lap time the cutoff time will be

1: (Inaudible) You will have to be pretty alert with pit lane. You

can't just do that lap time and sit there. You have to be ready to go

again. Saw the mistakes from Lotus last time out, didn't we? Thank you

very much. We are overhearing that the

engineering said he could see his DRS being activated and deactivated

clearly it was outside the zone. Is that the driver who is pushing the

button or is there a fault in that system? We will follow that.

Jean-Eric Vergne was going well this morning, tenth quickest. That lap

isn't faster than his best at this point. He is on the medium tyre.

Chilton has already gone out on the soft tyre.

Last couple of tricky corners coming up. Watch for track limit,

particularly coming out of this last corner. The drivers have been warned

if they run all four wheels over the edge here, which he just does, they

are in danger of losing the lap time. We experienced some confusion

as to the track limits in India having discussed it with the drivers

I know it was discussed in the meeting with the race director where

he felt if you went beyond the white line, which is how I would always

have defined what the track limit was, he felt in areas where there

was artificial grass you wouldn't have gone faster. He thinks you

would lose time. It does beg the question, if a racing driver goes

there and goes there systemically he is going there for a good reason,

because he thinks he is gaining time not for the mileage bonus points.

They are fighting over track position there. Trying to make sure

in the Lotus he has a clean run through that final sector. It's

where all the corners are. Clearly, there are some corners in the first

two sectors. The majority of the lap time is about straight line speed

and big stopping down into the hair pin and the chicane.

We are on board with Fernando Alonso. This is the chicane

separating the longest straights in Abu Dhabi. It passes the secondary

pits. Whether you is the main starting grid. Another crucial

breaking area. -- where they use. A lot of the time is spent on the

brakes, so it is a high energy breaking circuit, particularly in

this part. The sun is setting and it is difficult for the driver

approaching the corner. Flat through here and the next part, so the car

is unloaded as they run into the braking zone for 17. Look out for

guys breaking. They pass into 19 and this is an amazing shot. Not of this

existed a couple of years ago, it was a sandy island close to the main

capital. As he comes out, an opening gambit. Fastest for Alonso on the

harder tyre, but slower than the Mercedes cars ahead. We expect the

tyres to be very close, they were very close this morning. Not much

between the Red Bull, Mercedes and Lotus, Ferrari while lower down.

McLaren feeling better after the good performance from Perez last

week and he is third. Alonso has already been squeezed out by several

cars, on board now with Kimi Raikkonen. Let's keep an eye on the

Lotus driver. Kimi Raikkonen won this race last year in fine style.

He did take advantage of the fact with Hamilton had a fuel Russia

blood that put him out believed. -- a fuel pressure problem. He goes

fourth fastest. It is the short wheelbase car and it is interesting.

What have you got, Tom? Sergio Perez had a very quiet final session this

morning because he was so happy with the car yesterday. It took place at

the same time of day as we are witnessing now and to see him here,

it suggests the car is coming into its own as the track temperatures

come down. And Jenson Button was sixth fastest in the McLaren. So we

need to keep an eye on the McLaren cars, they may get into the top ten

more comfortably and that would be a boost. Jenson Button said the other

day he thought the smoothness of the track would suit them but not having

so many high-speed corners might count against them, the car usually

works well with that, so a mixture. I think they took a step forward in

India. Ahead of that Grand Prix weekend, I said they had taken a

gamble on the setup. They said they were not competing for wins, why not

take a gamble? But does give the impression they have put their hand

in a bag and pulled it back, I am sure there is more science than

that. But I am sure they will look at who has had the fastest car this

season, probably the Red Bull. Last year, it was statistically the

McLaren. It shows what a difference a season makes. They will study the

film and photography to try to get a handle on the visuals and height in

pit lane, everything that can have an influence in the overall balance

of the car. It is all there to exploit the grid that the tyres give

you. Alonso pushing hard and he goes fourth. Gary reckons the cut off

could be faster. He may well have to go for the soft option tyre. This is

Pastor Maldonado, he qualified well last year, but his wheels were over.

That was the penultimate bend. This was Felipe Massa, that was an

oversteer. It will have cost a fraction of a second. Now we are

beginning to see the quick runners go out on the soft tyres, including

Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. They have not done a runner on the

harder tyres yet, we might see what has happened several times in the

past, not quite a 100% up on the soft tyres, and keep this set for

the second part of qualifying. We have seen them do that a couple of

times. Even a used set of the soft tyres has more performance,

especially if you look after them, you will really hit the tyres hard

over five kilometres, which is the lap distance here on the lap you are

trying to qualify on. It will not give you peak performance but it

will give you more performance than running on the prime tyres this

afternoon. On board with Lewis Hamilton, two propositions here, and

he had one win in 2011. Pole position has not always been the

kindest because when he has had it and Sebastian Vettel has had it on

one occasion, the car has broken down, so it has not always been

luckiest. In this first part of qualifying, he has to make sure he

does not grow too wide, and he goes fastest. That may be enough on the

harder compound tyres to go through to the second part of qualifying.

Different tactics for Mercedes and Red Bull, and we are on board with

Sebastian. You are up shifting to early.

-- to early. That was to Romain Grosjean from his race engineer.

Mark Webber, his lap is better than what we are seeing with Sebastian

Vettel. Last corner. I do not think that was a flat-out lap because the

track will be faster. He has done just enough, I think. We will see if

Mark Webber has been doing the same or pushing harder. I think neither

of them really have laid it on the line. Mark took more out of the car

in the first two sectors and in that last sector, which I keep referring

to ask the more technical aspects, he has hung back a bit. But that

should be a bit to see them come to believe through to the next part of

qualifying. -- that should be enough to see them through. Pastor

Maldonado in seventh place, but this will change a great deal. Set

yourself up for another time lap. That is interesting, it is unlikely

we will need to. Kimi Raikkonen has gone faster than the Red Bull

drivers. To my mind coming he has just come into the pits. Pastor

Maldonado is in fifth, just to -- Esteban Gutierrez is in the drop

zone. Still 2.5 minutes to go. Romain Grosjean going very fast.

This is quick, he goes second to Kimi Raikkonen. The Lotus cars are

first and second. Nico Hulkenberg is in fourth race and everybody is

using the soft compound tyres except Lewis Hamilton. He did that time

earlier and we will see what he decides to do. He is back on track

but he is on the harder compound tyre, Valtteri Bottas is in seventh

place. Williams looked stronger in practice and they have reverted to a

non-blown diffuser as a result of testing on Friday. That is a bit of

a surprise. Max Chilton is currently quicker than his team-mate but we

still have the final runs to go and both of the Caterham cars are faster

than Marussia at the moment. He is 21st. He is not using the blown

diffuser, which uses the exhaust energy from the car. Fernando Alonso

has gone quickest in the first sector and he will be relying on the

older technology, the difference in SB is between the floor and the

speed over the rear wing, to generate downforce -- difference in

speed. This is Adrian Sutil in the drop zone, 17th place. Traffic ahead

does not make life easy, this is a difficult area. Hamilton is on soft

tyres. He is not going for a different strategy. They are playing

safe. Kimi Raikkonen has done his fastest lap so far, it in the pits.

Adrian Sutil is in 12th. He will want more to feel comfortable.

Jenson Button is on a good lap. And Fernando Alonso is fastest in the

first sector and he has put together a better middle sector than he has

done so far. As Jenson Button got more pace? A good lap so far. He is

in seventh place and I think you will be relatively happy. Sergio

Perez first. He goes a bit quicker, he is in sixth place. Nico Rosberg

is second-fastest. That will split the Lotus cars. And that is Fernando

Alonso. How does this compare? Out of nowhere, Marie showing no pace

early on and now he goes second-fastest. He is about four

tenths down in that last set. We are in the last corner here.

Incredible, the downforce they generate at low speed. Felipe Massa

goes fastest of all. It means in the dropzone, Adrian Sutil, Lewis

Hamilton, Giedo van der Garde, Charles pick and Jules Bianchi. --

Charles Pic. Fernando -- pantomime -- Pastor Maldonado comes around to

complete his lap. His team-mate Valtteri Bottas is already in 12th

place and Pastor Maldonado does improve. The track is getting

quicker as the temperature dropped, a 35 degrees temperature, and that

will be making a difference to everybody. And the cut-off time has

got quicker than we expected. Lewis Hamilton is getting out of the drop

zone and he does it in style! He goes fastest. It means Gutierrez and

Adrian Sutil or out, they have seen the chequered flag. It is one Sauber

and one Force India to join the two Caterham cars and the two Marussia

cars. Giedo van der Garde has qualified everybody out of the young

teams, the Dutch driver has done a good job. Jules Bianchi just behind

him. Jules Bianchi will have a five place penalty for a gearbox change.

Surprise that Adrian Sutil has not made it through, or Esteban

Gutierrez. That is out, Adrian. Those that are out at Esteban

Gutierrez, Adrian Sutil, Giedo van der Garde, Jules Bianchi, Charles

Pic, and Jules Bianchi. So Adrian Sutil was the loser in

that one. Big loser because he had to track position and track time, he

was one of the last cars on the track which meant he should have

been faster. But put it into context, his team, Force India,

needs to finish in front of Sauber and Toro Rosso. It is a big fight

and that is a big mistake. He was four tenths slower than Paul

di Resta so he will not be happy, and were Red Bull holding back a

bit? I was impressed the way Lewis Hamilton dictated. He did it at the

last moment which you would expect, the master craftsman and sporting

character. It has always been a fight here between Sebastian Vettel

and Hamilton, let's hope we have a fight this weekend!

Let's see how it continues, this is Q2. The second part of qualifying is

underway. Paul di Resta is first, interesting

when you consider it it was his team-mate who failed to make it

through. The track is getting quicker as the track temperatures

reduce and we saw fast times. The track is changing so much, one

degree of temperature, next the difference. -- that makes 10% of the

difference. Adrian Sutil. It is incredibly competitive. Lewis

Hamilton took a lot out of his tyres and Red Bull did a gentle lap,

Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, but Hamilton went for it. Red Bull

drive to make sure they are not taking too much of the tyres. -- too

much out of the tyres. The next session will be interesting. This is

the one session that really counts, probably better than the pole

position session. To get into the top ten, 16 cars are battling for

it. It is so close and that one tenth can make a massive difference.

We will see who manages to make it through. Jenson Button is onto a lap

now. He comes down toward the chicane. Heading towards turn seven,

an amphitheatre, a grandstand on the outside. A crucial corner because it

goes on to the long straight. Crucial to get a good launch. And

DRS is available. In qualifying, it is neutralised. It is not there to

help overtaking, it is part of the regulations. But on race day, it is

crucial to stay out of the DRS zone or you get yourselves within that

one second activation window. This is the second DRS own here.

I have had a quick word with some of the guys at Ferrari, they are saying

they are actually quite relieved. After FP3 this morning when neither

of their cars was in the top ten, they thought they were staring down

the barrel of a gun. They seem much happier. Both cars in the top five

in Q1. Importantingly, both rear ends much more stable than they were

either this morning or yesterday. Hopefully they have made progress.

Stable rear end, number one requirement of a racing driver.

Jenson Button making his way round. He has always gone well here, he

finished third on three occasion, second fastest at the moment, Paul

di Resta. The majority of the corn remembers 100 kilometers an hour, or

less. A corner is a corner. You have to tackle it to complete your lap.

It is not the same feeling of reward for the race driver. They like fast

corners, where the car is literally being forced into the track. It

gives an amazing feeling of grip, therefore cornering speed. Webber

has gone second fastest. Everybody is using a used set of the soft

tyre. The soft tyre holding up better than it did last time out in

India. Now Raikkonen goes quickest? We will see those times continue to

drop. That is a little bit shy of what Lewis Hamilton did, it's about

three tenths from Hamilton's lap which was just nudging against the

pole position of last year. Nico Rosberg now. Different style to

Lewis Hamilton. Tends to work the car harder, but still extracts very

similar lap times, fascinating this driver pairing. Just coming under

the bridge. Another shot from the roof of the hotel there from that

grid shell roof. You will see it starting to light up as the lights

come on, as we go into darkness. Rosberg on a good lap. 1: 40.4.

Fastest lap of the day. He did his last shift from first to second.

Whether it was a late decision on his side or whether it is a way of

energising the floor and getting the best out of the engine we will find

out in time. That is interesting to see. Here comes the Ferrari then of

Felipe Massa. He does 1: 41.2. That is what they will have to do. Maybe

that isn't quite enough. Let us see what Alonso is looking like, into

the final turn himself. Across the line 1: 41.5. That might not be

enough. No. He was a long time off the power. As he came through the

second last turn, he clipped the inside kerb a bit too hard. He was

hesitant getting to full power. Again, as he rolled through the apex

of the last turn he was slow to full power. Hamilton just shading his

team-mate Rosberg, Vettel comes up three times short. Lewis Hamilton

has been setting these times in one or two, interestingly enough, sector

three where it hasn't quite worked for him. That is what we will keep

an eye on as we go through the rest of the qualifying. Kimi on the

radio. It is very close for a number of

drivers there, isn't it 41.1. Web we shall does a 41.1. Is that safe

enough? He may have to come out on a soft tyre. Vettel has done it

faster. Rosberg, Hamilton, Vettel and maybe Raikkonen should be safe.

I would think the others may have to go for their second set of the soft

tyre. Well, you mentioned earlier about the track evolution and how

that caught some drivers out, certainly Grosjean, famously in

India. The sun has now firmly set, track temperature will continue to

drop. It's not so much about the tarmac, the air temperature, it goes

away quickly. The engine can breathe more efficiently and unleashes the

horsepower that you lose in the hot conditions. Nico Rosberg's car is

pushed out, it must have been onto the scrutineering bridge for them to

have then picked it up and put it on the trolley and taken it to his

garage. You would get the car fired up and drive it the short distance

to your pit. They have decided not to do that. That could be for heat

soak reasons on the engine. There is no fan on the enI think so. You rely

on the air passing through to cool the engine.

The most difficult time for the driver is when you sit in the

garage. The heat soaks into the cockpit. That is why they have the

cooling fans blowing to try and keep the temperature down. As we watch

Paul di Resta. This needs to be a good lap from Resta who was happy

with his performance in India. Both cars were in the points last time

out. That was the first time for auto while this season. Nice and

tidy through five and six and into, as you mentioned earlier, the

natural Amphitheatre they have created in turn seven, I guess that

means it's not natural, they have created. It this unnatural

Amphitheatre which leaves them off down the main street. Huge amount of

energy as they break into turn eight. A new set of options. One

#250i78 lap. Clicks the front wing, how much is that to a driver? Down

to the individual team to decide how much that is. I would imagine a

minimum click would be about a quarter of a degree. It could be

more, of course. I would suspect he is looking for just over half a

degree of front wing. It puts more load on that front axe sill. --

axel. Back out in a moment. Still in the pits at the moment is Webber. We

are watching Paul di Resta as he tries to break into that top ten.

Best qualifying performance for Resta this year, fifth on the grade

in Bahrain and Belgium in the wet conditions. We thought he might

start the race from pole position, it wasn't quite to be. He hasn't

been in the top ten since that Belgium race. He goes sixth for the

moment 1: 41.1. He will be right on the bubble with that lap time. Here

is Romain Grosjean. Had problems yesterday, a broken break disk, it

hampered his chance to do a quick run on a soft tyre? I don't think he

will be too disappointed by that. The track evolves so much. It's a

question of being in the right place at the right time with that balance

to the drivers' liking at this moment in history. Let us see what

the lap is, good one I think. Across the line, he is fifth 1: 40.9. That

should be enough. What do you have for us? That lap time is identical

to his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen. It amused me that once wit bitten twice

shy, Kimi Raikkonen is the last guy to come out. I thought, Lotus are

going to leave it and hope he will get through. After what happened to

Grosjean when he qualified 17th last week. From Fernando Alonso. He ran

wide on the way in. In frustration he got early on the power and spun

the rear wheels. That continued down into turn out. This -- eight. He is

a second down. He has given up on this lap. He will try and save the

tyres. Looking at our circuit tracker here. Maldonado in the

Williams behind him. He may well need to let him through. Well, his

girlfriend waits in the pits, Fernando Alonso will have to have

another run at it to make sure he got past what we expect to be the

cutoff time. It seems like you can get a couple of laps out of these

tyres other than in India. Maldonado looking fiesty, as you can expect.

Slithers out of the last corner. 1: 41.3. That is not enough. He is

still down in 11th place. This is a more promising performance from

Williams. Let us see how it works out at the end. The time is ticking

away. Alonso is across the line. So it Raikkonen. Bottas following. He

has another lap, Bottas in behind his team-mate there. A lot of

pressure on Fernando Alonso. He has broad shoulders. Claire Williams

watching her team's progress. Let comes out. As they cross the line,

that is their last opportunity then, Jenson Button all the way down in

16th place. Will he break into the top 10? He goes ninth, it's not very

safe, he is in there at the moment. 1: 41.2. Hulkenberg fourth, 1: 40.9.

Three tenths of a second separating Hulkenberg and Button. They are

separated by five places. Daniel Ricciardo goes fourth. 1: 40.8.

Brilliant effort by him. Webber up to third. Massa pushed down.

Perez-Sala improves, fifth. Button is pushed out. Jenson Button is not

in the top ten, nor is Paul di Resta who is squeezed out by Felipe Massa.

No comeback for Jenson Button. He has seen the flag. Paul di Resta is

able to fight back. Let us see if this is enough for Paul di Resta to

get back inside the top ten, no it's not. We are waiting for a couch

cars. Alonso is the key one, who is down in 16th. Quicker in the middle

sector, not that quick in the first sector. He dropped two tenths. This

has to be mighty if he will make it through. Felipe Massa is in tenth.

He will push his own team-mate out if he does it. He hasn't. He has

failed. For the first time in 2013, Fernando Alonso has failed to get

into the top ten. He has been beaten by his team-mate, Felipe Massa

achieved. It Alonso has not. Paul di Resta, Button, Jean-Eric Vergne and

the two Williams have also failed to make it through. The big story there

is Fernando Alonso is not in the top ten whereas the likes of Daniel

Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg are. That lap from Ricciardo, again

another stunning effort from the Australian who moves to Red Bull

next year. That will put a smile on Red Bull's racing face as they feel

they are being validated in their decision to give him the chance to

move up to the top team. It remains to be seen how he handles the

pressure of expectation. Great performance.

He has not maded it through, his team-mate has. Perez-Sala has got

through in fifth place. Alonso the fourth fastest Ferrari engine car.

Alonso missing out. We have lost Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso.

Two World Champions out then in the battle for the top ten.

Fernando Alonso out. They have had traction problems, what is going on?

A sign of the times. I don't know what is going on with this Ferrari

team. It is not good enough. We heard from Fernando Alonso saying he

is in the form of his life. Yet, he has pathetic qualifying like this.

It's not acceptable. Fan base of Ferrari is massive, particularly

here, Ferrari World is around the corner. It must be embarrassing from

him. Let us hear from Fernando Alonso now. The I'm sure you know

you have not been out in this session so far this season, what was

the difference today, where did it go wrong? We were not quick enough

all weekend and we were not quick enough in qualifying. The laps were

not completely clean. It was enough to be out, but sometimes it helps to

start with new tyres in position 11. Hopefully tomorrow is one of those

days. How ragged was the car feeling out there today? The car has not

been so good all weekend. Both Ferraris were struggling all weekend

in practice and qualifying was no different. Shaping up to be an

interesting final qualifying session. Here is Q3.

COMMENTATOR: We are pretty much in darkness for the final part of

qualifying. We have never seen an accident down there in that tunnel.

It makes we wonder if we will see something during the course of a

Grand Prix. It shouldn't happen in qualifyi I remember when the circuit

manager, who is overseeing the design and development of the track

in the early dayses, told us in great enthusiasm, the Toro Rossso is

dragging its plank, he was telling us with great enthusiasm they had

this unique under pass to rejoin the circuit. Of course, one thing they

forgot to cater for is a racing car under a racetrack in a tunnel isn't

great viewing. I suggested having an over pass might be more of a

spectacle. They do disappear from view somewhat. We are into the final

top ten shoot-out to see who will end up on pole position. Mercedes

looking quick, can they take the fight to Red Bull today? Nico

Rosberg has a new set of softs. Sebastian Vettel as a new set. Lewis

Hamilton has a set that has done one warmup. It will be trolling see who

take what is strategy. If you are going to try and qualify on pole you

need a new set of tyre. I don't know what everybody is up to. It was so

close, as you said earlier on, the level of competition, to get into

that top ten, Fernando Alonso, what was he, he was a fraction slower

than his team-mate it made the difference, Massa in the top ten,

Alonso isn't. It's a very, very close. I would expect Paul to be

nipping into the 39s, just about. Again, maybe people going out there

to qualify on the medium tyre. Yes, maybe we will see a similar story to

what we saw in India. It will be quite a promising shoot-out. We will

keep an eye on this guy, Romain Grosjean, he didn't qualify last

well in India because they got their calculations wrong. He started 17th

but finished in third. This is Lewis Hamilton. Let's watch

this to see how effective it is. We gather that Romain Grosjean does

have a problem with the vibration on the car, he had this problem

yesterday. That is a concern for Lotus. Hamilton is through. He

bounces over a bit, you do not see that often. The car is dragging its

front wing. A lot of role in that Mercedes. Turn seven, and out of

that. What have you got, Tom? An update on Romain Grosjean, he had

that vibration yesterday and they changed the suspension on all four

corners so they will not able to explain why it is back again.

That is a worry and we hope it will not affect his qualifying.

He misses the apex by a fraction and that will not cost too much time. We

are on board with Lewis Hamilton. The front wing camera. Towards

another crucial breaking area, 1011. -- turn 11. They may have an

explanation about Romain Grosjean. He took some concrete paint from the

garage when he did a wheel spin! I did not understand concrete paint,

I have not bought that before. I have never bought paint before! I

guess he has picked it up in the tyres, the paint in the garage.

That makes sense! It sounds like something to send the new boy in the

team to go and buy! Lewis Hamilton goes fastest. Nico

Rosberg, exactly what he did earlier. Mark Webber is not as

quick. Good opening gambit from both Mercedes, but Sebastian Vettel does

it by four tenths! Over three tenths. Another magic lap from

Sebastian Vettel. Romain Grosjean. That'll still has another set of

tyres to use, as does Nico Rosberg -- Sebastian Vettel.

Felipe Massa is making his way down the pit lane, as is Nico Hulkenberg

and Mark Webber. This is a final chance to see what they can do in

qualifying. We are on board with Mark Webber as he comes out of the

tunnel. Nobody else out there except for Nico Hulkenberg ahead of him.

Trying to get clear space. Nico Rosberg coming out onto the circuit.

Kimi Raikkonen has joined in, as has Daniel Ricciardo. And finally,

Sergio Perez. He moved ahead of Adrian Sutil last time out in India.

Romain Grosjean is heading down the pit lane. It looks as though

everybody is heading out, reassuringly. The only option tyres?

-- are they on the option tyres? I think everybody has gone on the soft

tyres. They are not doing what they did in India, it is a different

strategy. The soft tyre is holding up well. They will probably get

maybe 15 lamp -- maps out the soft tyre. Mark Webber tries to bring in

the tyres. How he drives this lap is crucial as to hide the -- as to how

the temperature and balance will be at the start of the lap. They will

have rehearsed this base on information they have had -- based.

They will be monitoring the tyre temperatures and the driver will be

advised. They will want to start the lap with the perfect amount of air

in the tyres so that when he hit the brakes, it does not bottom out and

cause understeer and instability. The lights on the hotel now shown in

-- now shining in their glory and Mark Webber comes out of the final

corner. Nico Hulkenberg ahead of him in the Sauber and another good

opportunity, his seventh time in the top ten. He did not finish last time

out, because of problems with the brakes. Mark Webber is under one

tenth quicker already as he approaches the chicane. That is a

nice feeling, he is now too tense up. That information, he is looking

down, getting confirmation. -- two tenths. He lost on the X it but he

is still up on the lap, and that helps you to build confidence. --

exit. He needs to find eight tenths to get into pole position. Last

year, he was faster than Sebastian Vettel in qualifying who lost his

lap time because they did not have enough fuel for the end of the

session. Sebastian Vettel had to start from the pit lane. Mark Webber

is fastest in the first two sectors. Sebastian Vettel is under two tenths

slower in the first sector than Mark Webber. The final sector is tricky,

Sebastian Vettel is always so fast. And that is where note -- that is

when Nico Rosberg was quick. We will see what Sebastian Vettel can

unleash. Mark Webber has two corners. Is this enough initially to

knock Sebastian Vettel out of its perch? -- off his perch. And that

was a great lap! We have to keep an eye on Nico Rosberg, he is trying to

get the power down, it is not enough, he is only third. Hamilton

has spun! He is not going to improve. The chequered flag is out.

Not looking good, Sebastian Vettel has not been faster in any of the

sect has. What he does here, this could be Mark Webber. Mark Webber

comes across the line, and Mark Webber has taken pole position!

Surely Romain Grosjean is on a lap so we will look at that. I do not

Inc will be enough for Romain Grosjean. What is that time like? He

goes seventh fastest in the background. Perez goes ninth. Good

effort. But Felipe Massa is a fraction quicker, but Mark Webber

has taken his second pole position of the season. And more

significantly, it is his dirty career pole position, it matches the

great Sir Jack Brabham, another Australian motorsport hero. But a

smoky heat for Lewis Hamilton. Excellent job, nice one!

What happens to Hamilton? -- what happened. The car bottomed out and

he lost control. It is not hit anything. He said something failed

on the rear end. That may explain why he was off-line. This was the

beginning of Sebastian 's lap and he was not faster in that sector. We

can see Mark Webber here. Sebastian Vettel, his helmet was shaking, so a

bit of frustration that he did not get the maximum out of that lap.

Mark Webber has taken pole position Mercedes ahead of the new four times

champion Sebastian Vettel. Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton make

Mercedes second, but Kimi Reich in an ahead of Romain Grosjean. A great

effort for Nico Hulkenberg in six. The likes of Jenson Button, Esteban

Gutierrez, Max Chilton in the drop zone. It is Mark Webber who has

taken pole position. It took a while for any pole position is to come his

way through this 2013 season but he took pole position in Japan two

races ago and now he has achieved the same here in Abu Dhabi, a great

effort. Nico Rosberg is pretty happy with third place. But with two on

top, it is Mark Webber who has taken pole position. -- but with Red Bull

on top. Guess who is about to walk into the

shot? Congratulations, Mark Webber, great support, the only driver under

one: 40. Q3 went very well. -- 1:40. The team did a great job and it

worked out well. We are going to join the lap at ternate. You were

already up and you had been strong. -- ternate.

A change in the brake balance, and as you say, the last sector is very

important. It came our way. Took us through the chicane, a lot of low

speed corners. This is like a Monaco Street section. You got taken out

here a year ago, what are the emotions? Very important, corners

are coming thick and fast. This next lap has been a week corner but I got

it right. And watch this here, and now the last double right. To finish

superfast here, it you have to get as far as you can, a bumpy X it, and

dive into the last corner. A scramble to the line. That was

enough. I thought that would be enough and hopefully enough for the

second attempt. Look at these people, your fans, how appropriate

they are here. Behind them is a sign saying, Mark, thank you for those

magical moments. Can you make tomorrow magical? I have been quite

good on the prime-time in the race and I am looking forward to that.

These of Formula 1 fans in general and everybody has a favourite driver

but there are Australians and it is a good Grand Prix and a nice

atmosphere. All the best for tomorrow, thank you very much.

What was the difference between you and Mark today? About a 10th. Did

you get everything out of the car you could? If you ask any driver, he

would say, some would say, yes, of course. That is my job. Others might

tell you there is a bit more. Today, for me, there was a bit more.

Whether it would have been enough, I do not know. Practice. Was pushing

hard and I knew it would be close and I did a mistake so I am not

proud. But life goes on and I am looking forward to tomorrow.

Lewis a disappointing and surprisingly end, what happened?

Through the chicane, I let go of the rear and it broke. It was on the

right side and I was going on the left. I put on the power and I spun

round. Unfortunate because I was up at that point. But at least

tomorrow, we can carry that speed into tomorrow. What does that mean

for the car heading into tomorrow? Can you do the work you need to

start in that same position? The guys do a great job and hopefully we

will not lose position. And overtaking is very difficult. The

Red Bull is quite quick on the straight and they are so fast in

general so to beat them will be tough. Frustration for Lewis

Hamilton, did he realistically have a shot at pole position? I think he

knew he had the upper hand on his team-mates Nico Rosberg and it is

always a fascinating battle between the drivers. Can they take it to Red

Bull tomorrow? I do not Inc so, they do not seem to have the ultimate

speed and it does not give me great confidence -- I do not think so. Red

Bull is in a class of its own. If I was Lewis, he is fighting a

difficult corner. Red Bull seem to be on their own plant this weekend.

Nico Rosberg said they were fighting for the second row and that is where

he will stop from tomorrow, his thoughts now.

Happy with how things went today? I am wheezed with third place and more

was not possible because the Red Bull cars were too quick and in the

last part of qualifying, they turned up performance. Was impressive. That

was the goal before the weekend, to be best of the rest, we have

achieved that and it is a good place to start the race tomorrow.

You sounded puzzled how quickly your car seems to be able to change from

being quite near the front to going out in Q2? Yeah, very puzzled, good

word. This morning it was working really well. Really happy. I have

been happy with the car all weekend. Then in qualifying we struggled

because of the cooler temperatures. We can't get enough front end in the

car I have to take so much rear wing off to try and help the balance of

the car. It was nowhere near the enough. Yeah. Completely different

to what I've experienced all weekend. Understandably frustrating

for Jenson Button there Escude specially with Perez-Sala who will

go from ninth, his team-mate? Perez-Sala outqualified him. He

doesn't know what the problem was. He talks about the heat in the front

tires -- tyres and taking the wing off. No-one wants to disturb their

car when it is going well. It will be dark tomorrow the temperature

will be lower. He has a lot of thinking to do before he decides

what setup he will come out with tomorrow. It's one of those

difficult sir cuts, the change in conditions, drop in temperatures,

your data has to be right and have your wits about you? Consistent sill

of parts that go on cart and correlation what happens at the

factory and what you bring to the track is so important. It's what

McLaren have struggled with all year. Jenson was comfortable with

the car m the practice session and it slipped away. There is usually a

reason for it. It doesn't just mistically disappear. It's all about

tomorrow's race. Let us find out now. Here is the provisional grid

for tomorrow's race with Ben Edwards.

The two Mercedes of Rosberg and Hamilton will be on the second row,

Kimi Raikkonen starts fifth, Nico Hulkenberg has his second best grid

slot of year in sixth. Grosjean and Massa on row four, Perez-Sala made

the top ten as did Ricciardo. Alonso is 11th with Resta in 12th. Jenson

Button and Jean-Eric Vergne. The Williams are together in row eighth.

Gutierrez is in 17th and Sutil in 18th.

That is your provisional grid. The overwhelming surprise today was the

fact that Fernando Alonso didn't make it through to the top ten?

Since the Championship has been won by Sebastian the win has gone --

wind has gone out of his sails. Very poor show. There are rumour he is

struggling for motivation. He has said that in private meetings.

Disappointing for Ferrari. Will have all the highlights tomorrow

afternoon on BBC One at 4.30pm. Earlier than usual. A little

sprinkling of Mark magic today. There are plenty of fanes who would

like to see Mark pull the rabbit out of the hat tomorrow, see you then.

-- fans.