Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel stormed to victory in Sunday’s inugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit, after pole sitter Lewis Hamilton was forced to retire.
In a memorable day for the Red Bull team, Vettel’s team-mate Mark Webber followed home in second place despite the best efforts of new world champion Jenson Button who had to settle for the final place on the podium.
For Vettel, victory in Abu Dhabi was his fourth of the season and completed a successful season in which he finished runner up to Button in the championship.
It’s the latest success for the Red Bull racer who became the youngest Formula One driver to drive at a Grand Prix meeting, at 19 years and 53 days at the Turkish Grand Prix in 2006.
Speaking after the race, Vettel paid tribute to the Abu Dhabi track saying it was “amazing” what had been achieved in such a short time.
The race, which was the first ever F1 contest to start in daylight but finish under floodlights, started well for pole position man, McLaren’s Hamilton, but he was forced out of the race on Lap 20.
“There was a problem with the brakes I couldn’t stop the car. I was locking and locking and locking it was harder than ever to drive the car,” he told TV.
“It’s a shame as the car felt so good these last couple of days, but we haven’t had many brake problems this year so there you go. But I still think the whole team should be really proud of how we have recovered this season.”
