The framework for the GP weekend at Abu Dhabi couldn´t be any more spectacular! The atmosphere is visually outstanding! The darkening night of Abu Dhabi brings its own magic to the Formula 1 world... So does definitely the unstoppable German Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel! Once again he stole pole position from Hamilton (and everyone else) and equalled Nigel Mansell´s record of 14 poles in a season!
Q1 held no surprises really. Except for Barrichello in his Williams. He had suffered an oil leak earlier and the mechanics weren´t able to fix his car in time for the qualifying so the Brazilian wasn´t able to set a lap time. His team-mate Maldonado didn´t have a very good day either. He had to take the ninth engine of the season so he was handed a 10-place penalty which means that the Williams duo will start last on the grid. No wonder everyone is expecting Kimi Räikkönen to come back! Maybe the flying Iceman would be the magical driver to improve Williams´pace in a radical way... The team desperately needs significant improvement!
Same old story in Q2, too. The top 5 teams were Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes GP and Force India. The Toro Rossos weren´t able to make their way through to Q3 today. Hamilton topped the standings after Q2 and he seemed extremely fast and dangerous. But when Q3 got underway, the story got a new turn...!
The conditions had changed a bit after Q2. The evening had darkened and the track had cooled down a bit. Hamilton set an impressive lap time at his first attempt, so did his team-mate Button. But when it mattered the most there was no stopping the incredibly fast German! Super Sebastian was able to snatch over a tenth off Hamilton´s lap time and he made it the 14th pole of the season! Even wow sounds too dull a word at the moment... The young German is absolutely mesmerising in his glistening bling-bling helmet, there are no words to describe his performance well enough... Hamilton starts P2 and his team-mate Button P3. The McLaren duo split the Red Bulls. Webber had a tricky session and was left 4th.
Nigel Mansell made his record in 1992 when there were only 16 races in a season. This season there´re 19 races so Vettel might even break Mansell´s record if he´ll be able to take pole in Brazil,too. But the performance of these magnificent two drivers isn´t easy to compare with each other. Racing back in 1992 was very different from what it is nowadays. Back then there was no KERS or DRS which would have made overtaking easier... But I guess the point is that there´s no need to make a conclusion on which one is better or more talented a racer. Statistics tell only one side of the story but they certainly tell something... When we´re talking about Sebastian Vettel, we´re talking about an extraordinary and unique racing driver (which also applies to Nigel Mansell).
I´m eagerly looking forward to tomorrow´s race! I can still remember clearly how Sebastian Vettel won at Abu Dhabi last year and was crowned world champion against all odds! A very magical night for me and feelings so strong I couldn´t ever have expected! I was so extremely overwhelmed by Vettel´s championship that I couldn´t sleep for two nights! Tomorrow won´t be as emotional as that but there certainly is something magical about Yas Marina Circuit... :)
Ei kommentteja:
Lähetä kommentti