Sebastian Vettel became the youngest ever Formula One world champion as he crossed the line in tears after 55 perfect laps of the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi.
The German made a perfect start to win from pole position, securing the title as Lewis Hamilton came in second, Fernando Alonso in seventh and Mark Webber in eighth.
Jenson Button rounded off the podium celebrations in third.
Race Report:
Jenson Button made the best start to jump from fourth to fifth pushing Fernando Alonso down the order.
Sebastian Vettel maintained his lead ahead of Lewis Hamilton, although the two almost made contact into turn one.
A first lap safety car cemented the order until lap five. An incident between team-mates Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg left the seven-time world champion facing the wrong way.
A nasty accident then ensued as Vitantonio Liuzzi ran into the Mercedes and ended on top of the Silver Arrow.
On the restart the order remained unchanged. Robert Kubica was the first to make a move a lap later on Nick Heidfeld around the outside of turn ten.
Webber’s pit-stop ignited a flurry of activity as Ferrari responded by pitting Alonso. Thankfully for Webber, he came out behind the sister-team Toro Rosso of Alguersuari – whom kindly moved over.
Much of Alonso’s race was then spent behind Vitaly Petrov. The Russian managed to keep the Spaniard behind him, infuriating Alonso over the team radio.
Hamilton made his first stop on lap 24, re-joining behind Kamui Kobayashi whom he quickly dispatched before coming up behind Robert Kubica where he spent much of his race until the Pole pitted for soft tyres.
Button ran until lap 40 on the soft tyres, his stop handed the lead back to Vettel. The Red Bull driver turned his engine to cruise to the end of the race. However some pressure from Hamilton encouraged him to post some quick laps to maintain a ten second lead.
After 55 laps, Vettel becomes the youngest ever world champion!
Abu Dhabi Race Results:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3. | J. Button | McLaren | +11.0 |
| 1. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | WINNER |
| 2. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | +10.1 |
| 5. | R. Kubica | Renault | +39.0 |
| 4. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | +30.7 |
| 8. | M. Webber | Red Bull | +44.2 |
| 24. | V. Liuzzi | Force India | Collision |
| 7. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | +43.7 |
| 10. | F. Massa | Ferrari | +50.8 |
| 23. | M Schumacher | Mercedes | Collision |
| 16. | N. Hulkenberg | Williams | +1:04.7 |
| 13. | A. Sutil | Force India | +58.3 |
| 6. | V. Petrov | Renault | +43.5 |
| 15. | S. Buemi | Toro Rosso | +1:03.1 |
| 11. | N. Heidfeld | Sauber | +51.5 |
| 14. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | +59.5 |
| 9. | J. Alguersuari | Toro Rosso | +50.2 |
| 22. | T. Glock | Virgin | +12 laps |
| 21. | J. Trulli | Lotus | +4 laps |
| 18. | L. di Grassi | Virgin | +2 laps |
| 17. | H. Kovalainen | Lotus | +1 lap |
| 19. | B. Senna | Hispania | +2 laps |
| 12. | R. Barrichello | Williams | +57.6 |
| 20. | C. Klien | Hispania | +2 laps |
Fastest Lap: L. Hamilton – 1:41.274 (lap 47)
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