SimplyAbuDhabi XII

5 1 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I Both Red Bull drivers Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel on the front row of the grid at the start of the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit onNovember 3, 2013 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Rainer W. Schlegelmilch/Getty Images) This year, the action was feverish both on and off the track. ON TRACK Vettel was to continue an unbroken reign as world champion, a reign that began just three years ago here in Abu Dhabi with the shock defeat of his teammate Fernando Alonso. He’s remained dominant ever since, racking up chequered flag after chequered flag. At the Yas Marina circuit his superiority remained decisive. Abu Dhabi was his seventh consecutive victory, tying himwith Alberto Ascari andMichael Schumacher for the most wins in consecutive races. Webber began on pole but after a shaky start on his “little babies” – the Pirelli tyres – he slipped immediately back into third, outstripped by both Vettel and Nico Rosberg. Lewis Hamilton attempted an undertake in his Mercedes but had to pull back, a move that allowed plucky Romain Grosjean – once the bold lunatic of the circuit, now a consistent driving performer – through in his Lotus. Where his luck was up, teammate Kimi Raikkonen’s was down. After starting at the back of the grid he made wheel- to-wheel contact with Geido van der Garde and snapped his suspension, ending his race at the first corner. Meanwhile, back up at the front, Vettel was busy establishing a convincing lead, one that wasn’t threatened for the entire race. Other drivers grappled with pit tactics, tyres and contact in his wake but the podium was his for the taking. Webber made an attempt on the run down to the first corner by deploying his Kers power boost system but pressed the button 0.5 kph short of the requisite 100 kph needed to operate the system, rendering it useless. The most dramatic moment came when Fernando Alonso came off the track at 150 mph and striking kerbs as he exited the pit lane alongside Jean-Eric Vergne from Toro Rosso. Such was the force of the madcap bounce that Alonso had to head to hospital for precautionary tests to his back, but the controversy lay in the lack of penalty. Alonso passed Vergne in the incident but went off the track