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| Sebastian Vettel in Abu Dhabi: luck, skill or both? |
Red Bull had Ferrari with Vettel's transfer back to the last place on the grid, which was pronounced as a result of insufficient fuel load in qualifying, provides a golden opportunity in the title race to regain the upper hand. But thanks to the two safety car phases succeeded the world champion to start a grand comeback, which was rewarded with a place on the podium. Instead of the hoped-for ten or 15 points Alonso made just three good counter to the competitors.
Expectations before the race
The nomination of the soft and medium tires enabled the teams to tackle the race with a one-stop strategy. The racing teams expect that the driver in two stints can go to the limit without fear of excessive wear must.
Vettel in luck?
Vettel's strategy turned from the outset not to tire choice and the timing of the pit stops. Red Bull took the car of 25-year-s from the parc ferme to make changes to the setup. This should help him to overtake on the track. The setting of the wing has been changed, added a long seventh gear. As a result, the top speed for overtaking the use of DRS increased by around 10 km / h to a maximum speed of 321 km / h
With two DRS zones and an extremely fast car the Yas Marina Circuit for Vettel not put the "overtaking desert" that he was 2012 for Alonso. The strategy of the Red Bull drivers looked like this: In the medium he chose to remain in the first stint out longer than the competition and make up as many places Sun. The second and final stint, so it was planned in any case, he should contest on the soft tires. But things turned out differently. Because of the damage to the front wing, he was forced to go earlier than his opponents into the pits. In retrospect, this turned out to be a blessing.
In the ninth round, when the safety car went out for the first time, Vettel was already down to twelfth forward. At this time, he was 23 seconds behind the race leader, Lewis Hamilton. The pit stop because of the damaged front wing, which resulted from a contact at the start and the evasive maneuvers behind Daniel Ricciardo, as Vettel circumnavigated a Styrofoam plate, threw him back though to number 21. Having started on hard rolls, let the Red Bull driver raise at his first stop, the soft tires that were on Sunday the faster.
Just as Vettel and Romain Grosjean stopped during the safety car period, and also moved to the option tires. The plan of the Lotus-pilot was to finish not to go into the pits. Thus it was in the course of the race barrier, holding Mark Webber, Sergio Perez and Pastor Maldonado on to their stops. So between Grosjean and ahead of him was a large gap Button, Vettel in the inside came after his second tire change. Looking at the World Cup that was compared with a one-stop strategy, the less risky option, because it is so fourth place was guaranteed.
However, there was also the opportunity to drive on worn tires to the finish. The engineers of the other teams could not believe it to Vettel certainly to complete a total of 42 laps on the soft tires. Such a scenario would have resulted in any case to a thrilling finale, Vettel was the time of his last stop in second place, championship rival Alonso, with significantly fewer worn tires, a place behind. But although the Spaniard was to finish the race very fast, Vettel would have possibly due to its high top speeds can stand up. But Red Bull already renounced the gamble.
At the beginning of the first pit stop window on lap 25 Vettel was already in tenth place, 22 seconds behind the leader. So it was about the same distance as before his first unscheduled pit stop. The fact that he had already raised new tires, allowed him to make at this stage, a lot of ground to be good at the competition. Between round 24 and 31 of the Champion drove to second place ahead. The second pitstop assured him that he no more than two two positions - would lose - on Alonso and Button.
So lucky was only the second neutralization stage. Vettel, go on brand new tires, had made up the 15 seconds behind Button from one round to the next, and there were 17 laps to go. The podium he also achieved thanks to the help button, which allowed him to his overtaking enough room because he did not want to interfere in the World Cup decision. Vettel would have tried the same action at the beginning of the season, he probably would have ended up off the track.
Raikkonen's first win
Kimi Raikkonen finally managed the comeback success in Lotus. Even with the long runs in free practice was seen that Lotus was fast enough to have a say a word for victory. The main stumbling block had been in the previous season's qualifying, but thanks to Ferrari and Vettel's performance hit penalty to Raikkonen took fourth place again. The foundation for the victory, he laid his stunning start with which he catapulted himself to second place ahead.
As Lewis Hamilton rolled out, Raikkonen made something of which he had dreamed the whole year: He led the field, just like the previous seven wins so before him. Raikkonen proved how competitive the Lotus this year, and ran twice a lead of ten seconds - only to Alonso, then Vettel - out before he was slowed by the safety car.
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