Formula 1: Abu Dhabi GP Overview

Kimi Raikkonen clinches victory at Yas Marina

Abu Dhabi served up a classic race from start to finish, a true race of Champions that mixed together helpings of action, drama and suspense; Hamilton, Raikkonen, Alonso, Vettel and Button all had a part to play in shaping a race that'll most likely be seen as the best race of 2012. 

Chaos at the start as both Force India's and
Bruno Senna clash

Leading from the outset, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton looked to have his second consecutive Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in the bag. A string of quick laps from the Briton gave him a sizeable lead over second placed Raikkonen, who inherited the lead when Lewis' McLaren ground to a halt just as it had in Singapore.

From there, Kimi controlled the race to clinch his 19th career victory, his first since his comeback and Enstone's first since the 2008 Japanese Grand Prix. It was long overdue for the popular Finn and Kimi reacted in his traditional nonchalant nature.

Kimi's win however was not the main talking point of the afternoon; it was Vettel's storming drive from last to 3rd that was the talk of the town.
After being disqualified from qualifying, Vettel drove like a champ to work his way through the field.

Vettel hounds Button for 3rd in the closing laps

While there is no doubt that he benefited greatly from the misfortune of others, Sebastian pulled off some brilliant moves on his rivals to make it onto the podium. It wasn't plain sailing all the way however; a tangle with Bruno Senna's Williams and a barrier behind the safety car put Seb in the pits and on the back-foot for a front wing change.

From there, Seb made the most of others tripping over each other (Grosjean, Perez, Webber, Massa) to mitigate his teams blunder on Saturday. As a result, Vettel lost a mere three points to rival Fernando Alonso, a major coup given the stark outlook after qualifying.

For Fernando, it was another strong performance from the grittiest and most determined man in Formula 1. From sixth on the grid, Alonso passed Button, Webber and Maldonado to work his way up to third prior to Hamilton's retirement. It once again proved the Spaniard's ability to extract more than the maximum from sub-par equipment, even if he did strike a dejected pose in parc ferme after the race.

It was heartbreaking end to the race for Lewis Hamilton; barely putting a foot wrong all weekend, Lewis was robbed of another dominating win through mechanical failure. Will he fare any better at Mercedes? Too soon to say, but reliability has been a detrimental factor in Lewis' season and has cost him a huge stack of points, as well as a shot at clinching bronze in the Drivers' Championship.

A dejected Fernando Alonso rues a
missed opportunity

Main players aside, it was a chaotic race for those in the mid-field. A first corner tangle involving both Force India's and Bruno Senna broke the Brazillian's front wing and put Nico Hulkenberg on the sidelines. A scary crash between a limping Karthikeyan and an out-of-place Nico Rosberg made the hair on your neck stand on end, but luckily, but drivers walked away unhurt.

Mid-race squabbles between Webber, Massa, Grosjean, di Resta and Perez kept the audience gripped and kept the stewards occupied throughout the race. Marussia's Charles Pic also retired with an engine failure.

Emerging from the chaos were Maldonado, Massa, Senna, di Resta and Ricciardo to finish 5th through to 10th.

With just two rounds to go, the two remaining contenders are separated by a mere ten points. Vettel, the favourite and Alonso, the underdog. Who'll come out on top?