Hamilton's Hot in F1 Qualifying for 2012 Season Finale in Brazil

Photo source: Pirelli Photo Service

The 19th and final event on the 2012 Formula 1 tour, a climatic end to the season has a 71-lap event at Brazil's Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace circuit serving as the last chance for drivers and teams to make their mark on this year's competition. Entering with a points lead of 13 points, Sebastian Vettel's effort to claim a third-straight Formula 1 World Driver's Title can still be spoiled by Fernando Alonso. For other competitors, Sunday's 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix will be a potentially career-shaping moment where prospects for 2013 could be enhanced.

While early afternoon rain and the chance of further showers threatened to throw an interesting variable into Saturday's qualifying, teams were able to remain on slick Pirelli race tires throughout the time trials. Making the most of the Pirelli tires was the McLaren-Mercedes All-British driving duo. Recording a lap less than half a tenth of a second faster than teammate Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton took the Brazilian Grand Prix pole with a 1-minute, 12.458-second lap time.

Riding high after the United States Grand Prix victory in Austin, Texas, the McLaren team's qualifying effort is another flash of brilliance that could not be widespread through the 2012 Formula 1 tour. After starting the season strong in Australia, McLaren team as well as pilots Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button was slowly eliminated from the 2012 manufacturer and driver championships as the year progressed. A number of follies contributed to fact the team is now competing mainly for grand prix victories. When the lights go out to start the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, the race will be the final event for Hamilton in a McLaren-Mercedes. Leaving the only team he drove for during his Formula 1 career, Lewis Hamilton made a high-profile commitment to take over Michael Schumacher's seat at Mercedes GP in 2013 and beyond.

As for how qualifying shaped the driver championship fight between Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, the pair will start three positions apart on the grid Sunday. Amusingly, both Vettel and Alonso were beaten by their teammates in Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying. Red Bull Racing driver Mark Webber will be placed third on the grid beside Vettel. Felipe Massa flew to fifth starting spot at his home grand prix while Ferrari teammate Alonso is seventh. Splitting the Ferraris in qualifying was the Force India-Mercedes wheeled by Nico Hulkenberg.

Rounding out the top-10 on the grid for the Brazilian Grand Prix is Kimi Raikkonen for Lotus F1 Team, the Mercedes GP car piloted by Nico Rosberg and the Force India vehicle driven by Paul di Resta. Pastor Maldonado qualified 6th with his Williams-Renault but was penalized by the FIA for avoiding the weigh bridge. Maldonado was dropped 10 grid positions based on that and other actions of disregard for the rules over the course of the 2012 Formula 1 season.

Photo source: Pirelli Photo Service

Running in what is billed as his final grand prix, Michael Schumacher will conclude his Formula 1 career with Mercedes GP in Brazil. Placing himself 13th on the grid, the Brazilian circuit has served as a venue of four victories for the German driver in the past (lasting coming in 2002).

A race set for 11:00 AM Eastern Time, the Brazilian Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace track has been known as an unpredictable race for the Formula 1 runners in the past. In prelude to the final grand prix, weather forecasts call for a high probability of rain falling on Sunday.


2012 Formula 1
Brazilian Grand Prix
Starting Grid

Pos #	Car #/ Driver/ Constructor
1	4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
2	3 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
3	2 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
4	1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
5	6 Felipe Massa Ferrari
6	12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes
7	5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari
8	9 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault
9	8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
10	11 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes
11	19 Bruno Senna Williams-Renault
12	15 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari
13	7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
14	14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari
15	16 Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
16	18 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault
17	17 Jean-Eric Vergne Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
18	10 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault
19	21 Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault
20	20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault
21	24 Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth
22	25 Charlie Pic Marussia-Cosworth
23	23 Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1
24	22 Pedro de la Rosa HRT F1

Hamilton Hogties US Grand Prix Win at New Austin Track

Photo source: Pirelli Photo Service

Back after a five-year absence, the United States Grand Prix returns to the Formula 1 schedule in 2012 as a fixture on a brand new track in Austin. Called the Circuit of the Americas, the 5.516-kilometer, 20-turn race course would be inaugurated by an important penultimate round for the 2012 Formula 1 tour. Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso approach the second-to-last race of the season has the drivers separated by 10 points in what has shaped up to be a fierce fight to the end for the driver's championship.

Taking pole for the United States Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel achieved an ultimate advantage on Saturday as his championship rival Fernando Alonso could only muster ninth place in his Ferrari. With the McLaren-Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton starting alongside on the front row, Vettel timed the lights effectively to gain the edge of McLaren driver. In fact, Hamilton had to battle early on with Vettel's Red Bull Racing teammate Mark Webber for the second place position.

Deeper in the starting grid, Fernando Alonso was desperate to gain better track position than ninth place. Gaining three spots on the opening lap, Alonso's Ferrari fought knowing a 15 point or more point gain by by Vettel in the United States Grand Prix would hand the Red Bull Racing driver the 2012 championship.

Being the first Formula 1 race on a very new Circuit of the Americas, drivers and teams were fighting to achieve maximum grip on the new pavement that has only prior to the race weekend received the baking from the Texas heat. Despite the tricky conditions on Pirelli slick tires, the 56-lap event presented several overtaking chances on track. An event requiring just one tire stops for most Formula 1 competitors, the first race on the Circuit of the Americas was also notable for having just two competitor retirements.

Photo source: Nissan/ Infiniti

The Toro Rosso-Ferrari of Jean-Eric Vergne suffered a suspension issue the second driver to drop out of the United States Grand Prix was Mark Webber on lap 17. "We had low battery voltage for a few laps before and then I lost gearbox sync and KERS, something was happening on the battery side. It’s frustrating; as we had a reasonable start to the race and a good fight with Lewis. We had issues to manage, but even when I knew we had them we tried to keep going and get something out of it, but we had to stop.”, said Webber. Understandably, the retirement of Mark Webber's Red Bull-Renault created many concerns for the mechanically identical car of Sebastian Vettel.

Though the electrical issue remained on the back of Red Bull Racing engineer's minds, the factor that would deny Sebastian Vettel's United States Grand Prix victory would come from another competitor. On lap 42, the Circuit of the Americas crowd witnessed a dramatic overtake maneuver. Closing to within a second of Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull-Renault, Lewis Hamilton was able to open the DRS element on his McLaren race car after turn 11. Able to make full use of his Mercedes-Benz engine's power with minimized drag, Hamilton sailed around Vettel. While Vettel hovered into DRS range of Lewis Hamilton's McLaren-Mercedes in the late laps, the overcome at the checkered flag was a win for the British driver and constructor.

A fourth victory in 2012, Lewis Hamilton's United States Grand Prix triumph will be one of his final moments with the team the brought him into Formula 1 in 2007. Hamilton is heading to Mercedes GP in 2013 as a replacement for the retiring Michael Schumacher.

In second place, Sebastian Vettel was just six-tenths of a second behind the McLaren crossing the finish line. Unable to celebrate victory, Vettel's Red Bull Racing team was able to claim enough points at the United States Grand Prix for a third-straight constructor's title in Formula 1. Red Bull Racing's team principal Christian Horner expressed the sensation of the team's season-long feat in post-race. “It’s incredible for the whole team to have won a third consecutive World Championship. The Constructors’ is what we use to measure ourselves against our competitors and, for every member of the team, it’s how we gauge our performance. The Drivers’ obviously has the prestige and public following but within the team they carry equal importance. So, to have achieved a consecutive third World Championship, which only three other teams in the history of the sport have achieved, puts us into a very elite group and having done it in such a short space of time is testimony to all the members of the team. That’s all the hard work, the long hours and dedication from every department. It’s a very proud moment for every single member of the team and Red Bull.”, Horner said.

After starting ninth, Fernando Alonso drove his Ferrari with conviction to claim the final podium position. A third place collected with some controversy since Alonso's teammate Felipe Massa held the spot late, the finish minimized the damage in the point standings. Sebastian Vettel gained an additional three points on Fernando Alonso to lead the Ferrari driver by 13 points heading into the final race in Brazil.




Photo source: Pirelli Photo Service

An additional thrill at the podium stand following the 2012 United States Grand Prix was the presence of 1978 Formula 1 World Champion Mario Andretti conducting the 'Question and Answer' session. A winner of 12 grand prix races (including the 1977 United States Grand Prix held on the Long Beach temporary circuit), Andretti's appearance attracted a stirring reception as he interviewed Hamilton, Vettel and Alonso.

The 2012 Formula 1 season is set to conclude at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace (also known as Interlagos) on November 25th.


2012 Formula 1
United States Grand Prix
Race Result

Pos #	Car #/ Driver/ Constructor
1	4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
2	1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
3	5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari
4	6 Felipe Massa Ferrari
5	3 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
6	9 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault
7	10 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault
8	12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes
9	18 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault
10	19 Bruno Senna Williams-Renault
11	15 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari
12	16 Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
13	8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
14	14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari
15	11 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes
16	7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
17	21 Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault
18	20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault
19	24 Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth
20	25 Charlie Pic Marussia-Cosworth
21	22 Pedro de la Rosa HRT F1
22	23 Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1
23	2 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
24	17 Jean-Eric Vergne Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari

Vettel Claims Pole as Prelude to Inaugural Austin USGP

Photo credit: Pirelli Photo Service
 

As a globetrotting sport, the 2012 Formula 1 tour has completed 18 events on the European, Asian and European continents. In the final two races for the current season, visits to the North American and South American regions will present competitors with two additional stamps on their passports for the year.

The second to last event on the 2012 Formula 1 calender was the return of the open wheel series to the United States christening the newly-built Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. The first United States Grand Prix since the 2007 race held on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's road course, the construction of the complex surrounding the 5.515-kilometer track was a major gamble. While there had been strong support for Formula 1 racing in the US, the last venture at Indy occurred as audience dropped and just two years after a controversial incident relating to tires resulted in only grand prix running with just six cars. The Circuit of the Americas was born off empty land specifically to allure the 2012 Formula 1 competitors back.

Photo Credit: Alastair Staley/LAT Photographic for Caterham F1

First hot-lapping the new racetrack outside of a one of the many computer simulators Formula 1 teams utilize, drivers were immediately acquainted to a beautiful but slippery, 20-turn course. Despite the constant fight for grip on the new surface, opinions for the challenging Texas racing complex were generally favourable. Caterham driver Heikki Kovalainen referred to the Circuit of the Americas as "... a proper driver’s track" on Friday after navigating the track's unique corners and the many elevation changes.

With only two sessions of notes from Friday practice and final set on Saturday morning, qualifying saw the familiar front-running Formula 1 teams develop the most effective attack for the top grid positions for the 2012 United States Grand Prix. Taking pole was the Red Bull-Renault handled by the Formula 1 driver title-fighting Sebastian Vettel. Posting a winning time of 1-minute, 35.657 seconds, Vettel bested the top lap he set in Friday by more than two seconds.

Though Sebastian Vettel installed himself into third pole position in the past five grand prix races, the Red Bull Racing driver's margin of success in qualifying at the Circuit of the Americas was narrow. Lewis Hamilton posted a lap time in his McLaren-Mercedes little more than one-tenth of second short of taking Saturday honours. While Hamilton's McLaren found the speed for a front-row starting spot, the second team car driven by Jenson Button encountered a loss of power during the Q2 session. Button will start 12th for Sunday's United States Grand Prix.

Photo Credit: Pirelli Photo Service

Starting from the second row of grid in the Formula 1 tour's first visit to the Circuit of the Americas will both be Renault powered race machines. Mark Webber is third in the second Red Bull Racing entry while the Formula 1 series' recent winner of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Kimi Raikkonen will leave the grid in the fourth position Sunday piloting his Lotus F1 Team car.

Wrapping up his final season in Formula 1, Michael Schumacher pulled off a great performance to lead his Mercedes GP effort. Qualifying fifth, Schumacher comes to a country where he won five grand prix races in the past. Michael Schumacher fared much better in Saturday's qualifying than teammate Nico Rosberg how struggled to just a 17th fastest pace under the time trial session.

Photo credit: Mercedes GP

Splitting Nico Hulkenberg's seventh place effort driving for Force India, the Ferrari team cars of Felipe Massa and the championship-contending Fernando Alonso will have to move their red race cars from the bottom half of the top-10 to battle for the United States Grand Prix win. In qualifying, the Brazilian driver Massa bettered teammate Alonso could only muster an eighth fastest time. Running out of opportunities on the 20-race calender this season, Fernando Alonso sits 10 points behind Sebastian Vettel ahead of Sunday's event on the Circuit of the Americas.

Scheduled to start at 2 PM eastern time, the 2012 United States Grand Prix will be a puzzling 56 lap race. While the track is still short on providing grip, low wear to Pirelli racing tires has some driver and teams planning a one-pit stop event Sunday.

Formula 1 competitors and crowds for the inaugural Formula 1 event at the Circuit of the Americas will enjoy a sunny 56-lap feature. The Sunday race in Austin, Texas will take place under comfortable temperatures topping 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius) another the afternoon start time for the United States Grand Prix.


2012 Formula 1
United States Grand Prix
Starting Grid

Pos #	Car #/ Driver/ Constructor
1	1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
2	4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
3	2 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
4	9 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault
5	7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
6	6 Felipe Massa Ferrari
7	12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes
8	5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari
9	10 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault
10	18 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault
11	19 Bruno Senna Williams-Renault
12	3 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
13	11 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes
14	17 Jean-Eric Vergne Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
15	15 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari
16	14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari
17	8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
18	16 Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
19	24 Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth
20	25 Charlie Pic Marussia-Cosworth
21	21 Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault
22	20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault
23	22 Pedro de la Rosa HRT F1
24	23 Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1

Iceman Beats the Heat: Raikkonen Takes Lotus to Abu Dhabi GP Win

Andrew Ferraro/LAT Photographic

Somewhat fitting with a race running into dusk, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is the third-to-last event on the 2012 Formula 1 schedule. For 24 drivers in the series, 55 laps on the 5.554-kilometer Yas Marina Circuit is one of the last remaining moments to take honours in what has been a Formula 1 season that already presented some surprises.

Among several late-season story lines is a driver's championship that still hangs in the balance. In Saturday qualifying, points leader Sebastian Vettel was handed a massive setback when his times were excluded as a result of a low fuel load that violated FIA rules requiring a one-liter sample in post-qualifying technical inspection. Starting from the pit lane Sunday, rival Fernando Alonso sat in 6th place on the starting grid eager to make sure the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix could be the solution to regain his advantage on the Red Bull Racing driver.

Taking pole, Lewis Hamilton driving his McLaren-Mercedes was in prime position to take an early lead in the Abu Dhabi race. Hamilton is also aided by a poor start performed by the front row-mate Red Bull-Renault of Mark Webber. Webber's slow wind-up was so poor that Kimi Raikkonen in a Lotus-Renault and Pastor Maldonado driving for Williams F1 gained track position early.

Spoiled for victory at the Singapore Grand Prix by a mechanical issue, Lewis Hamilton's chance at victory would once again end with a gremlin biting his McLaren-Mercedes. On lap 19, Hamilton slowed for was discovered to be an electrical problem. McLaren F1's race weekend at Abu Dhabi would be salvaged by teammate Jenson Button who finished 4th at the Yas Marina Circuit.

With Lewis Hamilton's retirement, the lead of the race was turned over to 2007 Formula 1 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen. Missing the 2010 and 2011 season, Raikkonen's return with the Lotus F1 Team was a curious move at the beginning of the 2012 season. Third in points late into the 2012 Formula 1 series calender, Raikkonen revealed terrific consistency on the race track with the Lotus-Renault race car. Despite some great runs, the Finnish driver had been denied victory. Leading the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Kimi Raikkonen would once again fall under attack by the best opponents looking to keep him from the top of the podium.

Photo source: Pirelli Photo Service

Besides the exit of the pole-sitting McLaren-Mercedes from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the race also claimed several other front runners over the course of 55 laps. Nico Hulkenberg's Force India-Mercedes was an early race victim when he collided with Bruno Senna's Williams Renault. The Mercedes GP car of Nico Rosberg also departed from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix early with a frightening impact between him and the HRT-Cosworth driven by Narain Karthikeyan. Both drivers escaped major injury by ended their race after just 7 laps. The incident brought out the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG safety car as efforts took place to clean up the wrecked race cars. Nico Rosberg spoke about the "Narain told me that his steering broke and he needed to brake which I didn’t expect in that high-speed corner. There was no time for me to react, and I’m very thankful that we are both fine. I went to the medical centre for a precautionary check but everything is good. I will look forward now and hope for a better two races to end the season."

Lap 37 into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the safety car would once again be called onto the Yas Marina Circuit when a Sergio Perez pass on Romain Grosjean went wrong. Occurring in turn 13, Mark Webber's Red Bull-Renault was also involved in the mayhem. Grosjean and Webber retired from the race while Sergio Perez brought his damaged Sauber-Ferrari to the pits for repairs.

In the final laps, the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso hunted the Lotus-Renault and was within DRS range. Despite the fight from his former race team's current lead driver, Kimi Raikkonen held off the challenge from Alonso crossing the finish line by just eight-tenths of a second earlier than the Ferrari. Kimi Raikkonen's win is his first Formula 1 victory since the 2009 Belgium Grand Prix. "I’m very happy for the team – and myself – but mainly for the all the crew here and everyone at Enstone. It’s been a hard season and I feel this win is well deserved for everyone and just what we need. It’s also something great for all the fans who have continued to support me and the team." said Raikkonen in post-race comment. For the Lotus name, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was even longer coming since the brand returned to the Formula 1 grid in 2010. The last time a Lotus driver stood at the top of a grand prix podium was in 1987 when Ayrton Senna won on the streets of Detroit.

The win for Lotus F1 Team also comes after what has been months of a rumours on the state of Lotus Group. The ousting of Dany Bahar and hints that their anticipated production car line-up was in peril has also enveloped the support of the Formula 1 team beyond the 2012 season. Lotus' commitment to the sport had been solidified prior to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix victory.




Steven Tee/LAT Photographic

Finishing in second place, Fernando Alonso managed to advance himself in the points against Sebastian Vettel for the first time since the Italian Grand Prix. However, Two safety cars and a valiant drive by the German Red Bull Racing driver minimized the gain. Vettel finished in third place equating to only a three-point loss in the driver's standings after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel is now 10 points ahead of Fernando Alonso with just two races to go.

Behind Jenson Button in fourth place, Pastor Maldonado captured fifth place, his second-best result in the 2012 Formula 1 season, for Williams F1. Kamui Kobayashi climbed from 15th place to finish  sixth with his Sauber-Ferrari narrowly pursued by Felipe Massa, Bruno Senna and Paul di Resta for. Daniel Ricciardo driving for Toro Rosso took the final point in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix crossing the line just sixth-tenths of a second ahead of Michael Schumacher.

Honourable mentions in the conclusion of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix goes to the Caterham-Renault of Heikki Kovalainen and Timo Glock piloting a Marussia-Cosworth.



2012 Formula 1
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Race Results

Pos #	Car #/ Driver/ Constructor
1	9 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault
2	5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari
3	1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
4	3 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
5	18 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault
6	14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari
7	6 Felipe Massa Ferrari
8	19 Bruno Senna Williams-Renault
9	11 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes
10	16 Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
11	7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
12	17 Jean-Eric Vergne Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
13	20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault
14	24 Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth
15	15 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari
16	21 Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault
17	22 Pedro de la Rosa HRT F1
18	25 Charlie Pic Marussia-Cosworth
19	10 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault
20	2 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
21	4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
22	23 Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1
23	8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
24	12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes

Hamilton Fastest in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Qualifying; Vettel Excluded

Photo source: Pirelli Photo Service

Third to final race in the 2012 Formula 1 season, the Yas Marina Curcuit in the United Arab Emirates hosts a pivotal round in the narrowing auto racing series' champion fight. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix consists of a 55-lap main event at the 5.554-kilometer track on Sunday that will have Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso continue there fierce, late season championship title fight.

In Saturday qualifying for the Sunday race, McLaren F1's Lewis Hamilton claimed supremacy by claiming the pole. Last year's winner of the Abu Dbahi Grand Prix, McLaren-Mercedes driver Hamilton clocked a 1-minute, 40.630-second lap time in the Q3 session to beat out the Red Bull-Renault of Mark Webber. The third straight time the Australian driver has secured a front row starting grid spot, Webber was 0.348 seconds off from the pole position. The second time in three Formula 1 events, Mark Webber outran teammate Sebastian Vettel in the time trials of a Formula 1 race weekend.

Despite missing a front row starting spot, Vettel gained a lot of post-qualifying headlines by stopping on the race track at the end of Q3. At the request of his Red Bull Racing crew, the German driver pulled his Renault-powered race car along a corner of the Yas Marina Circuit without immediately indicating knowledge to the reason why. It was eventually revealed that Vettel's Red Bull-Renault RB8 was short on short (most importantly the one liter sample required by the FIA). Since Sebastian Vettel's race car lacked the full one liter onboard his race car, the stewards declared the times set by the #1 Red Bull-Renault in qualifying to be withdrawn from the results. Because of this action, Vettel will be starting from the pit lane for Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix main event.

Photo source: Pirelli Photo Service

Sebastian Vettel's exclusion from the qualifying results promotes fourth place and back up one position. Williams F1 driver Pastor Maldonado will take over the grid position of the penalized Vettel. "We then found a great balance in Q3 and I’m happy that we are back to looking strong again. I think we showed throughout all the weekend that we are competitive and I did my best in qualifying. I’m really happy for the team, for myself and looking forward to the race tomorrow." said Maldonado. Joining the Williams-Renault race car in the second row of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix grid will be the Lotus-Renault of Kimi Raikkonen. Setting a top lap 54/100th than his pole-sitting teammate Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button will start in 5th place.

Perhaps the key benefactor to Sebastian Vettel's misfortunes on Saturday would be 2012 title contender Fernando Alonso. Falling from the points lead to 13 points behind the lead Red Bull Racing runner after the past two Formula 1 races, Alonso will start 6th in his Ferrari eager to regain the points lead heading into the final stretch of the 2012 season.

The 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will commence at 5 pm local time (8 am eastern time).


2012 Formula 1
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Starting Lineup

Pos #	Car #/ Driver/ Constructor
1	4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
2	2 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
3	18 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault
4	9 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault
5	3 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
6	5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari
7	8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
8	6 Felipe Massa Ferrari
9	10 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault
10	12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes
11	15 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari
12	11 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes
13	7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
14	19 Bruno Senna Williams-Renault
15	14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari
16	16 Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
17	17 Jean-Eric Vergne Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
18	20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault
19	25 Charlie Pic Marussia-Cosworth
20	21 Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault
21	24 Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth
22	22 Pedro de la Rosa HRT F1
23	23 Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1
24	1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault	(Penalized for fuel sample issue)