F1: Sebastian Vettel wins the first and the last one

Sebastian Vettel was the first winner of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the last race of this 2009 season Sunday at Yas Marina Circuit. It was a fourth victory for the young German driver who takes the second place in the championship.

His teammate Mark Webber struggled with his tires at the very end  and had to deal with constant pressure from Jenson Button. The Australian had the last word in lap 55, holding Button behind to complete a fourth 1-2 finish for Red Bull Racing in 2009, and a third victory for the team in as many races.

This podium happily completes Button's Championship season. He was pleased to be part of celebrations at this last Grand Prix especially since his last podium seemed far away in his mind.

Vettel hopes that next season will be as exciting as this one and hopefully a victorious one for him. As for Button, he said he was "looking forward" to coming back to Abu Dhabi's unique event where the race starts on daylight and finishes under artificial ones.

Button’s teammate Rubens Barrichello and BMW-Sauber driver Nick Heidfeld completed the top-five of this last Grand Prix of the season. The Formula 1 Championship will return in March 2010.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix:

1 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB5-Renault) - 55 laps 1.34'03"314
2 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB5-Renault) - 17"857
3 - Jenson Button (Brawn BGP001-Mercedes) - 18"467
4 - Rubens Barrichello (Brawn BGP001-Mercedes) - 22"735
5 - Nick Heidfeld (BMW F1.09) - 26"253
6 - Kamui Kobayashi (Toyota TF109) - 28"343
7 - Jarno Trulli (Toyota TF109) - 34"366
8 - Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso STR4-Ferrari) - 41"294
9 - Nico Rosberg (Williams FW31-Toyota) - 45"941
10 - Robert Kubica (BMW F1.09) - 48"180
11 - Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren MP4/24-Mercedes) - 52"798
12 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari F60) - 54"317
13 - Kazuki Nakajima (Williams FW31-Toyota) - 59"839
14 - Fernando Alonso (Renault R29) - 1'09"687
15 - Vitantonio Liuzzi (Force India VJM02-Mercedes) - 1'34"450
16 - Giancarlo Fisichella (Ferrari F60) - 1 lap
17 - Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM02-Mercedes) - 1 lap
18 - Romain Grosjean (Renault R29) - 1 lap

Fastest Lap: Sebastian Vettel 1'40"279

DNF
21° lap - Lewis Hamilton
19° lap - Jaime Alguersuari

Drivers Championship: 1.Button 95; 2.Vettel 82; 3.Barrichello 79; 4.Webber 69,5; 5.Hamilton 49; 6.Raikkonen 48; 7.Rosberg 34,5; 8.Trulli 32,5; 9.Alonso 26; 10.Glock 24; 11.Massa, Kovalainen 22; 13.Heidfeld 19; 14.Kubica 17; 15.Fisichella 8; 16.Buemi 6; 17.Sutil 5; 18.Kobayashi 3; 19.Bourdais 2.

Team Championship: 1.Brawn-Mercedes 172; 2.Red Bull-Renault 153,5,5; 3.McLaren-Mercedes 71; 4.Ferrari 70; 5.Toyota 59,5; 6.BMW 36; 7.Williams-Toyota 34,5; 8.Renault 26; 10.Force India-Mercedes 13; 10.Toro Rosso-Ferrari 8.