As predicted by a number of people in our predictions league, Sebastian Vettel has put the Red Bull RB6 on pole position going into today’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. This was Vettel’s 10th pole position of the season; a feat that puts him alongside legends like four-times champion Alain Prost and three-times champion Ayrton Senna. Vettel said that the pressure is not on him going into today’s Grand Prix:

“It is not dependent on me, all I can do is maximise my performance and then others have to deliver.

“Pressure-wise, we are not leading the championship so maybe there is more pressure on Fernando (Alonso) and Mark.

“Tomorrow we will do our maximum and then we will see what happens. It looks tight here, tighter than other places with Ferrari strong and McLaren very strong.

“After the race there are screens around the track and there is time to see where others have finished, and see if there is something to celebrate or not.”

Vettel is right in thinking the pressure is off him. It’s not on the man sat alongside him on the front row Lewis Hamilton either, given that both drivers know that all they can do to have any chance of winning the title is win the race; everything else is out of their hands. The pressure is all on Fernando Alonso who will start 3rd and Mark Webber who will start 5th, both of whom will be battling hard to try and win the title.

The title battle explained

Put simply, if Fernando Alonso wins or is 2nd, he is champion. If Webber wins, Fernando Alonso needs to finish 3rd or worse for the Australian to collect his first title. If Vettel wins and Alonso is 5th or worse, Vettel wins the title. If Hamilton wins, Alonso must fail to score, Webber to be 6th or worse and Vettel 3rd or worse for the Brit to take his second championship title. Phew!

The start

Sebastian Vettel will start on the racing line with Lewis Hamilton being up the inside into turn 1. Hamilton has already warned that he may be more aggressive than at any other point this season, so we could see some fireworks into the first corner – Sergio Perez started in that position in yesterday’s GP2 race and ended up winning the race by a country mile, so don’t be surprised if Lewis Hamilton wins his second Abu Dhabi Grand Prix today. The sheer straight line speed of the MP4-25 means that if he gets the jump in the first sector, he can enjoy the long straights of sector two to pull away from the rest of the field.

Mark Webber will start in 5th behind Jenson Button, and will have to go around the outside of the reigning champion if he wants to pass him into turn 1. Not qualifying ahead of Button is disastrous for Webber, with the Brit no doubt on blocking duty while his teammate Lewis Hamilton will be battling it out up front.

“On the grid tomorrow, I don’t have to worry about who’s around me – they all have to worry about who’s around them! I’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. It’s the other drivers who’ll have to worry; I don’t have to be cautious at all in the race. Perhaps they need to think about that… Both Jenson and I qualified well today, so this is good news for us in the battle for second place in the constructors’ world championship. I’d love for us to finish one-two tomorrow – that would be a real high for the whole team. I’m not focusing on winning the drivers’ title; I’m just focusing on winning this race.”
Lewis Hamilton

“I’m not rapt to be fifth on the grid, it’s disappointing, but there’s still a long way to go tomorrow – the fat lady hasn’t sung yet. I would like to have been further up, but I couldn’t get the pace. We need to be there at the end of tomorrow’s race and a lot can still happen; I haven’t helped things today, but the championship’s not decided today. I didn’t seem to have the grip the other guys had and I need to have a look where I was losing time. We will just have to do the best job we can tomorrow, it’s a long race – we’re still in the hunt and that’s the main thing.”
Mark Webber

“The start? We will see what happens in first ten or twenty metres and then decide if it will be best to attack or wiser to defend. We have to keep in the mind that the world championship definitely does not get won at the first corner, but there is a chance of losing it there. We knew we could expect a difficult weekend, with Red Bull being strong as ever and McLaren at a very high level. Having only Vettel ahead of me, rather than both Red Bulls is positive.”
Fernando Alonso

The strategy

There is around a 25% rain chance in Abu Dhabi believe it or not – wouldn’t that make for an amazing end to what has been an amazing season!?

Presuming it stays dry, we shouldn’t see any of the championship favourites pitting too early so they come back in lots of traffic, due to the strange pit lane exit costing a massive 20.5 seconds, not including the 3 or so seconds the car spends in the pit box.

Mark Webber certainly has a big job to do if he doesn’t overtake Jenson Button early on in the race given the Abu Dhabi circuit is quite narrow in sections, making it difficult to overtake, with only 6 passes being made in the race last year. Let’s compare that with other races so far this season:

Today is Bridgestone’s last ever Grand Prix after 242 races. As per usual everyone in the top 10 will be starting on super-softs, with Robert Kubica in 11th having the choice on which tyres he is going to start on. Keep an eye on him in tomorrow’s race, as it is quite likely that he will take the gamble on running the medium, harder compound.

Qualifying timesheet

Photos (C) Red Bull/LAT

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

• Enigma becomes the predictions champion by just 10 points!
• Stubborn Renaults decide the championship: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix analysis
• Sebastian Vettel seals the championship (Pictures)
• Red Bull do the double! (driver and constructor standings)
• Vettel wins to become Formula 1's youngest champion!
• Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Live blog
• Grand Prixdiction – What will happen off the start line at Yas Marina?
• 'Crazy' Hamilton's slim hopes still alive after escaping Massa penalty
• Mixed emotions for Red Bull in Abu Dhabi with Vettel pole
• Vettel and Hamilton fastest in Friday Practice (Timesheet)
• Predictions league: Current standings and Abu Dhabi entry form