One thing is certain from this weekend’s sport; Sunday’s Formula One Grand Prix will reside in the memory of fans for some time to come.
With the season’s end drawing ever closer many anticipated yet few could the drama which was set to unfold on the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi.
In an action-packed thriller, which further added to the track’s infamous reputation, Lewis Hamilton led from pole and was seemingly untroubled.
The McLaren driver survived a brief scare when Kimi Raikkonen threatened to overtake in early laps after Hamilton failed to warm his tyres thoroughly.
However, McLaren’s recent technical issues came back to haunt Hamilton as a fuel pump failure caused his car to fade and slowly die as he was forced to pull onto the grass verge signalling his departure from the race.
The Brit’s exit left Raikkonen in charge of proceedings, who successfully held off challenges from Pastor Maldonado and Championship chaser Fernando Alonso who moved into second position.
Further down the field Sebastian Vettel was looking to force his way into the points having been left to start from the pit lane following qualifying disqualification on technical grounds.
The German had a minor collision with Bruno Senna on his way through the ranks causing some damage to his front wing but it hardly checked his progress.
As Vettel picked off the back-markers lap after lap fortune seemed to start falling his way as the safety car was released following a worrying crash which saw Nico Rosberg fly over the HRT of Narain Karthikeyan.
Despite colliding with the sideboards as he tried to avoid Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo during the safety car period Vettel managed to work the scenario in his favour.
Pitting and returning to the field with fresh tyres Vettel made excellent progress in coming laps making time on the leaders and profiting from some garish accidents between his colleagues.
As fellow drivers made their own pit stops the reigning World Champion found himself in second behind Raikkonen.
A later incident involving Sauber’s Sergio Perez and Lotus’ Romain Grojean which also collected Vettels Red Bull teammate Mark Webber brought the safety car back onto the track.
The race was set underway once again with 13 laps left to race and the deficit eliminated for Vettel paving the way for an electrifying finale.
Raikkonen, known as the ‘Ice Man’, kept his cool throughout and lasted the course to bring home his first Formula One victory since returning to the sport after spell in rally car driving.
Fernando Alonso was a close second having pushed the Finn to the wire while Vettel also secured a podium place in a remarkable comeback from starting in the pit lane.
The climax to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was one of epic proportions and the race can easily be defined as a Formula One classic as it produced a number of key talking points.
Firstly, the progress made by Sebastian Vettel to turn a qualifying nightmare into podium success provided outstanding testament to his driving prowess and the superiority of Red Bull Racing in the Formula One field.
Somewhat contrastingly the performance of Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren, failing yet again, just adds further weight to the his decision to sign for Mercedes next season.
Also, it was a pleasure to see Kimi Raikkonen back where he belongs, on the Formula One podium, as opposed to trying his hand at another form of racing which didn’t quite work out for him.
With two races left on the calendar the World Championship title can only be won by Vettel or Alonso so the stage is set for an exhilarating decider as the teams head to the USA before the culmination of the 2012 season in Brazil on the 25th November.
Ben Hampshire (@BH92)
Through the sports lens 