F1 News
Date: 2/November/2013
Mark Webber, who has just three more chances to claim a
victory in his final F1 season, will start Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from
pole position.
The Australian, 37, beat Red Bull team-mate and newly
crowned four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel by less than a tenth of a
second around the Yas Marina Circuit.
“I knew I had to work on certain sections of the track. Sebastian
had already been doing a good job there already so I had to try to match him
there and keep the areas where I was still doing a pretty good job,” Webber
said.
“Overall happy with the pole. It was a good lap obviously on
a track which in the past hasn’t been super-invigorating for me in terms of
layout, let’s say, but we certainly enjoyed the quali today and really looking
forward to the race tomorrow because we’ve got a good car for the race in these
conditions.”
Asked about the chances of turning pole into victory, Webber
replied:
“There are no guarantees but we have a good car for the race
I believe. As we’ve shown in the last few events we’ve always been there or
thereabouts, leading some races and challenging for some very good results.
“So we’ll carry that over to tomorrow night, keep my head
down and look for a very good result, there’s no question about that.”
Webber, who has taken five podiums this year, is fifth in
the standings but remains in with a mathematical chance of second place,
currently held by Fernando Alonso and the struggling Ferrari team.
Alonso failed to even make the third and final part of
qualifying, leaving him eleventh on the timesheets.
However the Spaniard will start from tenth as things continue
to go from bad to worse for last year’s Abu Dhabi winner Kimi Raikkonen.
Raikkonen, who cited the main reason for leaving to join
Ferrari next year is that he is owed money by Lotus, was sworn at on the radio
after a close moment with team-mate Romain Grosjean last weekend in India.
The Finn turned up at Abu Dhabi hinting that he may not see
out the season unless he is paid, then claimed a competitive fifth in
qualifying - only to be disqualified and sent to the back of Sunday’s grid when
his car failed a floor deflection test.
The part that prevents the floor from moving, and therefore
potentially gaining an aerodynamic advantage, had been broken when Raikkonen
ran off track.
Lotus Team Principal Eric Boullier said: “No advantage was
sought or gained in the incident and the relevant part has been replaced. We’ve
seen what Kimi can do to work through the field when he needs to and we are
going all out for the strongest result possible.”
Sunday’s twilight race starts in daylight and finishes under
floodlights.
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