Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) emerged as the man to beat, as he grabbed pole position ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, at Yas Marina.
Hamilton showed strong in practice, and asserted his pace when he had to in qualifying. Mark Webber (Red Bull) beat his unusually messy teammate Sebastian Vettel to the one spot left available on the front of the grid.
Championship leader Vettel made a number of costly mistake, which are unlike him. Nevertheless he came out on top in his duel with Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) who, amid the title fight, ended only seventh on the grid.
Williams' Pastor Maldonado (fourth), Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen (fifth), and McLaren's Jenson Button (sixth) all did better than the Spaniard. Although Button bested Alonso, he fell some six tenths adrift his teammate Hamilton.
Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Felipe Massa (Ferrari) and Romain Grosjean (Lotus) complete de top 10. Further down the grid, Michael Schumacher, much like Button, failed to match his teammate's pace. Of his own admittance, a mistake costed him a shot at qualifying in the top 10.
Also, Charles Pic (Marussia) did well to qualify ahead of both Vitaly Petrov (Caterham) and Timo Glock, in the second Marussia, on top of beating both HRT drivers Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan.
Qualifying results* – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Yas Marina circuit)
1.Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 1'40"630 - Q3
2.Mark Webber (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 1'40"978 - Q3
3.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 1'41"073 - Q3
4.Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW34-Renault) - 1'41"226 - Q3
5.Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E20-Renault) - 1'41"260 - Q3
6.Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 1'41"290 - Q3
7.Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F2012) - 1'41"582 - Q3
8.Nico Rosberg (Mercedes MGP W03) - 1'41"603 - Q3
9.Felipe Massa (Ferrari F2012) - 1'41"723 - Q3
10.Romain Grosjean (Lotus E20-Renault) - 1'41"778 - Q3
11.Nico Hulkenberg (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 1'42"019 - Q2
12.Sergio Perez (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 1'42"084 - Q2
13.Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 1'42"218 - Q2
14.Michael Schumacher (Mercedes MGP W03) - 1'42"289 - Q2
15.Bruno Senna (Williams FW34-Renault) - 1'42"331 - Q2
16.Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 1'42"606 - Q2
17.Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 1'42"7765 - Q2
18.Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 1'44"058 - Q1
19.Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1'44"956 - Q1
20.Charles Pic (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1'45"089 - Q1
21.Vitaly Petrov (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1'45"151 - Q1
22.Timo Glock (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1'45"426 - Q1
23.Pedro De La Rosa (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 1'45"766 - Q1
24.Narain Karthikeyan (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 1'46"382 - Q1
*Unofficial results
Hamilton showed strong in practice, and asserted his pace when he had to in qualifying. Mark Webber (Red Bull) beat his unusually messy teammate Sebastian Vettel to the one spot left available on the front of the grid.
Championship leader Vettel made a number of costly mistake, which are unlike him. Nevertheless he came out on top in his duel with Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) who, amid the title fight, ended only seventh on the grid.
Williams' Pastor Maldonado (fourth), Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen (fifth), and McLaren's Jenson Button (sixth) all did better than the Spaniard. Although Button bested Alonso, he fell some six tenths adrift his teammate Hamilton.
Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Felipe Massa (Ferrari) and Romain Grosjean (Lotus) complete de top 10. Further down the grid, Michael Schumacher, much like Button, failed to match his teammate's pace. Of his own admittance, a mistake costed him a shot at qualifying in the top 10.
Also, Charles Pic (Marussia) did well to qualify ahead of both Vitaly Petrov (Caterham) and Timo Glock, in the second Marussia, on top of beating both HRT drivers Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan.
Qualifying results* – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Yas Marina circuit)
1.Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 1'40"630 - Q3
2.Mark Webber (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 1'40"978 - Q3
3.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 1'41"073 - Q3
4.Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW34-Renault) - 1'41"226 - Q3
5.Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E20-Renault) - 1'41"260 - Q3
6.Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 1'41"290 - Q3
7.Fernando Alonso (Ferrari F2012) - 1'41"582 - Q3
8.Nico Rosberg (Mercedes MGP W03) - 1'41"603 - Q3
9.Felipe Massa (Ferrari F2012) - 1'41"723 - Q3
10.Romain Grosjean (Lotus E20-Renault) - 1'41"778 - Q3
11.Nico Hulkenberg (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 1'42"019 - Q2
12.Sergio Perez (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 1'42"084 - Q2
13.Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 1'42"218 - Q2
14.Michael Schumacher (Mercedes MGP W03) - 1'42"289 - Q2
15.Bruno Senna (Williams FW34-Renault) - 1'42"331 - Q2
16.Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 1'42"606 - Q2
17.Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 1'42"7765 - Q2
18.Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 1'44"058 - Q1
19.Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1'44"956 - Q1
20.Charles Pic (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1'45"089 - Q1
21.Vitaly Petrov (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1'45"151 - Q1
22.Timo Glock (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1'45"426 - Q1
23.Pedro De La Rosa (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 1'45"766 - Q1
24.Narain Karthikeyan (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 1'46"382 - Q1
*Unofficial results