Vettel bows out in style to fire warning to Brit rivals
SEBASTIAN VETTEL fired an early warning to his British title rivals in 2010 after producing a faultless drive to win the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – the sport’s first-ever day-night race.
The German driver swept through the magnificent £800m Yas Marina circuit for a fourth victory of the season ahead of Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber, who completed the team’s fourth one-two of the calendar.
New world champion Jenson Button came home in third after just falling short in a thrilling duel with Webber on the final lap, although fellow Brit Lewis Hamilton, starting on pole position, was forced to retire early with a brake problem.
Vettel’s victory ensured him of second place in the drivers’ championship, sandwiching Button and his Brawn GP team-mate Rubens Barrichello, who came home in fourth in what’s expected to be his last race for the team.
And Vettel believes the drive, which capped a third successive victory for the Milton Keynes-based team, will give their rivals something to think about in the closed season.
“It was a powerful performance,” the 22 year-old said. “I stayed close enough early on to Hamilton and knowing I was a little bit heavier, that was the secret, to stay with him.
“I did enough to get past him. Unfortunately he had to retire but it was still a fantastic race. Until the end the car was fantastic and working brilliantly on both sets of tyres. It was a pleasure this evening to sit in the car.”
Despite only finishing fifth in his first defence of his title, Hamilton remains a strong favourite for honours next season having finished the second half of the season with more points than any other driver.
But the McLaren ace was disappointed not to have finished the season on a high. “I was locking and locking and locking it was harder than ever to drive the car,” he added.
“We haven’t had many brake problems this year so there you go, but I still think the team should be really proud of how we have recovered this season.”