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Lotus Formula 1 driver Kimi Raikkonen has sealed the first victory of his F1 comeback, winning the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi Sunday at the Yas Marina circuit.
Raikkonen, who started fourth on the grid, took the lead following the retirement of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton on lap 19, and did not relinquish it until the finish.
The Finn used a one-stop strategy, stopping on lap 31 to move from the Pirelli soft to the medium tires, on his way to his 19th career victory.
Second place for Ferrari's Fernando Alonso - who used an identical strategy to Raikkonen, stopping three laps earlier - meant that the Spaniard reduced his gap to the lead of the drivers' championship to 10 points with two races to go, pushing the Lotus driver all the way to the chequered flag.
Point standing' leader Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull started the race from the pit lane but managed to slice through traffic to finish third.
Drivers' championship:
1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 255 points
2 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 245
3 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus-Renault 198
4 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing-Renault 167
5 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 165
6 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 153
7 Felipe Massa Ferrari 95
8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 93
9 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 90
10 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 66
11 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 58
12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 49
13 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 46
14 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 43
15 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 43
16 Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 30
17 Jean-Eric Vergne STR-Ferrari 12
18 Daniel Ricciardo STR-Ferrari 10
19 Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 0
20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 0
21 Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 0
22 Jerome D'Ambrosio Lotus-Renault 0
23 Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 0
24 Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 0
25 Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 0
Constructors' championship:
1 Red Bull Racing-Renault 422 points
2 Ferrari 340
3 McLaren-Mercedes 318
4 Lotus-Renault 288
5 Mercedes 136
6 Sauber-Ferrari 124
7 Force India-Mercedes 95
8 Williams-Renault 73
9 STR-Ferrari 22
10 Marussia-Cosworth 0
11 Caterham-Renault 0
12 HRT-Cosworth 0
Raikkonen, who started fourth on the grid, took the lead following the retirement of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton on lap 19, and did not relinquish it until the finish.
The Finn used a one-stop strategy, stopping on lap 31 to move from the Pirelli soft to the medium tires, on his way to his 19th career victory.
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| Photos: WRi2 |
Second place for Ferrari's Fernando Alonso - who used an identical strategy to Raikkonen, stopping three laps earlier - meant that the Spaniard reduced his gap to the lead of the drivers' championship to 10 points with two races to go, pushing the Lotus driver all the way to the chequered flag.
Point standing' leader Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull started the race from the pit lane but managed to slice through traffic to finish third.
Drivers' championship:
1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing-Renault 255 points
2 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 245
3 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus-Renault 198
4 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing-Renault 167
5 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 165
6 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 153
7 Felipe Massa Ferrari 95
8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 93
9 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 90
10 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 66
11 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 58
12 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 49
13 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 46
14 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 43
15 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 43
16 Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 30
17 Jean-Eric Vergne STR-Ferrari 12
18 Daniel Ricciardo STR-Ferrari 10
19 Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 0
20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 0
21 Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 0
22 Jerome D'Ambrosio Lotus-Renault 0
23 Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 0
24 Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 0
25 Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 0
Constructors' championship:
1 Red Bull Racing-Renault 422 points
2 Ferrari 340
3 McLaren-Mercedes 318
4 Lotus-Renault 288
5 Mercedes 136
6 Sauber-Ferrari 124
7 Force India-Mercedes 95
8 Williams-Renault 73
9 STR-Ferrari 22
10 Marussia-Cosworth 0
11 Caterham-Renault 0
12 HRT-Cosworth 0