Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing) won the final round of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship season in emphatic fashion after using a medium-medium-soft Bridgestone Potenza tyre strategy in a thrilling first-ever Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina. Vettel led team-mate Mark Webber across the line, with newly crowned champion Jenson Button battling Webber hard and taking third.
All podium finishers used the same tyre strategy.
Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, says…

The Brawn team eventually lost out in the quest to make 2009 a perfect campaign this weekend as Rubens Barrichello failed to retake the runner-up spot in the Drivers’ Championship, losing out to Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel. The Brazilian, who crossed the finish line fourth in the season finale, finishes the season seven points behind the German.

With race-winning Vettel proving too quick for any of his rivals in Abu Dhabi’s first ever Formula One race, the Red Bull finished the middle eastern event a comfortable 23 seconds ahead of the …

Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali said he was sorry his team missed out on third place in the Constructors’ Championship by a single point following a difficult Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Although Ferrari’s chances of taking third back from McLaren were boosted when Lewis Hamilton retired from the Yas Marina race, neither Kimi Raikkonen nor Giancarlo Fisichella managed to score any points.
Raikkonen finished in 11th, with Fisichella down in 17th and so McLaren secured third place in the standings.

Lewis Hamilton believes that he and McLaren were unable to show their true pace in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after battling brake problems that ultimately forced his retirement.
Pre-race favourite Hamilton led from the start, but a problem with the right-rear brake pad began to show up on the team’s data on lap three.
He retired as a precaution after losing top spot to Sebastian Vettel in the first round of pitstops, with the team’s preliminary investigation suggesting a one-off faulty brake pad.

Nick Heidfeld admitted he had to do his best to stay focussed during an emotional final laps for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The German completed one of his strongest performances of the season to secure fifth place in the Yas Marina race, which was also the last for BMW, who is leaving Formula 1.
It could also be the last race for the team, who still has no place on the 2010 grid.
An emotional Heidfeld said he found it hard to keep his concentration during the final moments of the race.

Nico Rosberg is disappointed that he was unable to secure sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship in his final race for Williams after only managing ninth place in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The German qualified ninth and and took advantage of Robert Kubica’s spin to move ahead of the Pole, but was jumped by one-stoppers Kamui Kobayashi and Sebastien Buemi and finished the race outside the points.
“I would have liked to help the team hold on to sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship,” said Rosberg. “From a personal perspective, my …

Kamui Kobayashi admitted he did not expect to achieve such a strong result at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Toyota driver, in only his second Formula 1 race, finished in sixth position after a superb performance from 12th on the grid.
The Japanese rookie even beat team-mate Jarno Trulli, seventh today.
“It was a really good race for me,” said Kobayashi. “At the start I overtook (Kimi) Raikkonen and that was important in the end because it would have been difficult to finish in the top six if I had …

Force India boss Vijay Mallya praised the performance of his team during the season despite a disappointing end to it at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Silverstone-based squad managed 13 points this year, finishing in ninth position out of ten teams.
Force India also scored its maiden podium.
The team, however, endured a difficult race at Yas Marina, where Tonio Liuzzi finished down in 15th and Adrian Sutil in 18th.

Mark Webber admitted that second was the best he could have achieved in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after rounding out a Red Bull Racing one-two.
The Australian held off the challenge of Jenson Button in the closing stages, but reckoned that he never had the pace to challenge team-mate Sebastian Vettel.
“Second place was as good as I was going to get today,” said Webber. “From the start we had a pretty good launch. I had a look on the outside of Sebastian, but the main aim was to get inside …

McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh has paid homage to Donington owner Tom Wheatcroft, after the 87-year-old died on Saturday.
Wheatcroft, the man who revived Donington Park as a racing venue, passed away yesterday after a long illness.
Whitmarsh hailed Wheatcroft as a ‘larger-than-life character’ and a legend.
“The term ‘legend’ is maybe used a little too liberally in the world of sport, but without doubt it is justified in the case of Tom Wheatcroft,” said Whitmarsh.

Sebastian Vettel led Mark Webber in a Red Bull one-two as the team completed its domination of the final part of the 2009 season by winning the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The result also confirmed Vettel as championship runner-up behind Jenson Button (Brawn), who took only his second podium of the second half of the year in third, right behind Webber after a fraught late battle.

Fernando Alonso sees no reason why his new Ferrari team will not be fighting at the front of the grid again next year – even though the Italian team has failed to match the surge up the grid of rivals McLaren.
Ferrari opted to stop development of its 2009 car earlier this year in a bid to focus its efforts on 2010 – which hurt its chances of making much progress up the order in the second half of this season.
And although McLaren has ended the year as the team to …