Viewers of the penultimate race of the 2011 Formula 1 season were treated to a one-of-a-kind spectacle. And no, it’s not that Sebastian Vettel didn’t make it to the top spot of the podium, as this has already happened four more times this year.
The novelty in Abu Dabhi wasn’t even the fact that the world champion, who up to this point had finished no lower than fourth in any race, didn’t score a single point.
It was that he actually retired! Yes, you read correctly: despite holding the pole position, F1’s “golden-boy” retired in the first lap. Admittedly, neither the German nor any other driver was to blame. Instead, his rear right tire inexplicably was torn to pieces in the second corner after the start of the race – something that Pirelli is already looking into.
It was a very unusual incident: “To be honest, at the exit of the first corner everything seemed fine”, said Vettel. “As soon as I started turning for the second corner, I could feel that something was odd on the rear right. I had a puncture and spun off.”
Vettel managed to keep his RB7 from hitting the tire wall and slowly got into the pits, where his mechanics tried to fix the car. It was in vain as the right rear suspension was beyond repair and as a result, Vettel, after hitting the steering wheel in anger, had to climb out of the cockpit and watch the rest of the race from the TV monitors.
This gave McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton the opportunity to score his third victory of the year. His teammate, Jenson Button, diced with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso for second, but a problem with his car’s KERS system meant he had to be content with third place.
Behind the top three, Mark Webber brought the remaining Red Bull home in fourth place and recorded the fastest lap of the race. Felipe Massa, despite a spin, was fifth in the second Ferrari ahead of the two Mercedes’ of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher.
The 2011 F1 season’s final race will take place on November 27 at the Interlagos circuit in Brazil.
Race classification provided by FIA
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