Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - With the race for the Formula One championship on the line on Sunday, the four drivers in contention ahead of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix played down expectations this week and kept their tactics under wraps.
Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso has the best chance to claim the title, but Red Bull rivals Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel are close behind and McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton holds an outside chance of winning.
After Vettel and Webber finished 1-2 at the Brazilian GP, the attention has been on how the teammates will approach the race in Abu Dhabi. Will Vettel move over and let Webber pass if he is winning, thus handing the title to the Australian?
Vettel, a brash German who publicly feuded with Webber this season, finds himself in an awkward position. Teams are banned from giving “team orders” — telling drivers to let their teammates pass — so it may come down to him voluntarily letting Webber through if the team is to add the Formula One championship to the constructors’ title it has already won.
He wasn’t acting recently like he was ready to give up a victory on Sunday for the sake of the team. To claim the title, Vettel needs to win and hope Alonso is outside the top four. If Vettel is second, both Webber and Alonso need to finish low enough to allow the German to remain at the top.
On Friday, Vettel was fastest in the first practice session, more than a second quicker than his two main championship rivals.
Vettel is third in the overall standings behind Webber and Alonso heading into Sunday’s race.
The German clocked 1 minute, 42.760 seconds around the 5.554-kilometer Yas Marina circuit. Hamilton was second fastest, while defending champion Jenson Button was third and Webber was fourth.
Alonso was sixth fastest in his Ferrari.
“I think the target is clear,” Vettel said. “The speed has been there all season and it hasn’t been the easiest season for myself, but we are still in the hunt and that’s good.
“Try to do my best and it depends where those two guys (Webber and Alonso) are.”
Hamilton’s teammate Button added his voice to the debate, suggesting Vettel should move aside. “I can see, for example, if the two Red Bulls are quick here, first and second, and Vettel’s got the jump on Mark, and Alonso’s in third for example, I would say that Vettel would let Mark past,” Button said.
“That’s not a team order, that’s his decision — if he makes it.”
For his part, Alonso appeared relaxed, insisting tactics were the last thing on his mind.
“I think I will not lose even one second of my energy this weekend thinking of what is going to happen on Sunday afternoon,” the 29-year-old Spaniard said. “There is much more to do Friday, Saturday, preparing the weekend in the right way. And as I said, our only picture at the moment of the race is winning the race.”
A victory for Alonso probably will carry the most controversy of any of the four, since he was the beneficiary of Ferrari using team orders in Germany to allow the Spaniard to pass teammate Felipe Massa, picking up an additional seven points for a win instead of second.
Alonso on Thursday dismissed suggestions that a title would somehow be tainted should he win by seven points or less. “Winning by seven, one, or 25 is the less important thing in my mind right now,” he said. “Being first and second is our only target.”
Associated Press
Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com