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Double world champion Sebastian Vettel drew level with Nigel Mansell in the Formula 1 record books as he secured pole position for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Vettel steered his Red Bull car round the Yas Marina circuit in a dazzling fashion to create a dramatic finale and steal pole from McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, who will start second on the grid.
It was Vettel’s 14th pole in 2011 and the 29th of his career. Mansell reeled off his record 14 poles in a single season with Williams in his drivers’ title winning year of 1992.
HAMILTON BACK ON FORM?
Hamilton was second quickest ahead of team mate Jenson Button with Red Bull's Mark Webber placing fourth.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso qualified fifth ahead of team mate Felipe Massa.
The two Mercedes of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher were seventh and eighth ahead of the Force India duo of Adrian Sutil and rookie Paul Di Resta.
The first part of qualifying began with track temperatures falling with the sun. The cooler temperature improved tyre durability and performance.
Hamilton, who dominated during the practice sessions, continued reducing his time as he topped the time sheets ahead of Webber, Button and Vettel in fourth.
Veteran driver Rubens Barrichello was unable to clock a lap in his Williams and will start from the back of the F1 grid.
Schumacher scraped through after struggling until he switched to soft tyres for his final laps.
The second mini-session Q2 saw Hamilton continuing his coruscating form, clocking a lap of 1min38.434 before a red flag curtailed the action when the base of a plastic bollard landed on the circuit.
This left Hamilton clear of Vettel in second place with Alonso third as the track’s flood-light system was activated. It also left several teams without a spare set of soft tyres for the remaining qualifying laps.
FINAL LAP THRILLER
Schumacher, using soft tyres again, squeezed into the top ten behind the two Force India drivers. It soon boiled down to a fight between McLaren and Red Bull at the front.
On their first hot laps, Hamilton was again fastest (1min38.704), just four-hundredths of a second quicker than Vettel with Webber third ahead of Button and Alonso.
In the final battle for pole position McLaren took charge with Button clocking 1min38.631 before being outpaced by Hamilton. Ultimately pole position at the Yas Marina circuit was claimed by Vettel.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Qualifying results
1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1min38.481 seconds
2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1min38.622
3 Jenson Button McLaren 1min38.631
4 Mark Webber Red Bull 1min38.858
5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1min39.058
6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1min39.695
7 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1min39.773
8 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1min40.662
9 Adrian Sutil Force India 1min40.768
10 Paul di Resta Force India 1min40.414
11. Sergio Perez Sauber 1min40.874
12 Vitaly Petrov Renault 1min40.919
13 Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 1min41.009
14 Bruno Senna Renault 1min41.079
15 Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso 1min41.162
16 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1min41.240
17 Pastor Maldonado Williams 1min41.760
18 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus 1min42.979
19 Jarno Trulli Lotus 1min43.884
20 Timo Glock Virgin 1min44.515
21 Daniel Ricciardo HRT 1min44.641
22 Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin 1min44.699
23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT 1min45.159
24 Rubens Barrichello Williams N/A
For the Abu Dhabi practice session results click here!
Stay with Wheels24 for the F1 weekend.
Vettel steered his Red Bull car round the Yas Marina circuit in a dazzling fashion to create a dramatic finale and steal pole from McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, who will start second on the grid.
It was Vettel’s 14th pole in 2011 and the 29th of his career. Mansell reeled off his record 14 poles in a single season with Williams in his drivers’ title winning year of 1992.
HAMILTON BACK ON FORM?
Hamilton was second quickest ahead of team mate Jenson Button with Red Bull's Mark Webber placing fourth.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso qualified fifth ahead of team mate Felipe Massa.
The two Mercedes of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher were seventh and eighth ahead of the Force India duo of Adrian Sutil and rookie Paul Di Resta.
The first part of qualifying began with track temperatures falling with the sun. The cooler temperature improved tyre durability and performance.
Hamilton, who dominated during the practice sessions, continued reducing his time as he topped the time sheets ahead of Webber, Button and Vettel in fourth.
Veteran driver Rubens Barrichello was unable to clock a lap in his Williams and will start from the back of the F1 grid.
Schumacher scraped through after struggling until he switched to soft tyres for his final laps.
The second mini-session Q2 saw Hamilton continuing his coruscating form, clocking a lap of 1min38.434 before a red flag curtailed the action when the base of a plastic bollard landed on the circuit.
This left Hamilton clear of Vettel in second place with Alonso third as the track’s flood-light system was activated. It also left several teams without a spare set of soft tyres for the remaining qualifying laps.
FINAL LAP THRILLER
Schumacher, using soft tyres again, squeezed into the top ten behind the two Force India drivers. It soon boiled down to a fight between McLaren and Red Bull at the front.
On their first hot laps, Hamilton was again fastest (1min38.704), just four-hundredths of a second quicker than Vettel with Webber third ahead of Button and Alonso.
In the final battle for pole position McLaren took charge with Button clocking 1min38.631 before being outpaced by Hamilton. Ultimately pole position at the Yas Marina circuit was claimed by Vettel.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Qualifying results
1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1min38.481 seconds
2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1min38.622
3 Jenson Button McLaren 1min38.631
4 Mark Webber Red Bull 1min38.858
5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1min39.058
6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1min39.695
7 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1min39.773
8 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1min40.662
9 Adrian Sutil Force India 1min40.768
10 Paul di Resta Force India 1min40.414
11. Sergio Perez Sauber 1min40.874
12 Vitaly Petrov Renault 1min40.919
13 Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 1min41.009
14 Bruno Senna Renault 1min41.079
15 Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso 1min41.162
16 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1min41.240
17 Pastor Maldonado Williams 1min41.760
18 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus 1min42.979
19 Jarno Trulli Lotus 1min43.884
20 Timo Glock Virgin 1min44.515
21 Daniel Ricciardo HRT 1min44.641
22 Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin 1min44.699
23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT 1min45.159
24 Rubens Barrichello Williams N/A
For the Abu Dhabi practice session results click here!
Stay with Wheels24 for the F1 weekend.