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McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton returned to form to win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as Sebastian Vettel retired.
Hamilton was gifted the lead when Red Bull’s world champion retired on the opening lap because of a puncture going through the second corner.
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso pushed hard and tried to take the lead at the final pit stop but Hamilton was too strong.
McLaren’s Jenson Button took third from Red Bull’s Mark Webber.
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Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton Wins Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Formula 1: Sebastian Vettel Takes 14th Pole Position of The Season
Formula 1: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Race Line Up
It was Vettel’s first retirement since last year’s Korean Grand Prix - more than a year ago - and ended his run as the only driver to finish every race so far in 2011.
“I don’t know what happened,” Vettel said. “We lost pressure all of a sudden out of the exit of Turn One. I don’t why. There is nothing that I did differently to any of the other laps.
“We need to find out why, maybe I cut the kerb at a funny angle. It is tough, but I used the opportunity to learn a bit on the pit wall.”
Hamilton dedicated the win to his mother Carmen, who was there to greet him with a hug when he got out of the car. BBC Sport
Hamilton described himself as “ecstatic” and “fantastic”, adding: “That was one of my best drives of my career.
“I looked after my tyres, I managed the gap, and the team did a great job, so I’m happy to be back up here. I can now get on my flight tonight and smile.”
Asked if he was back on track after all his troubles, he said: “I don’t know. It’s early days.
“We’ve a great race in Brazil coming up, so I just need to try and keep the momentum.”
Behind the leading quartet, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was fifth, followed by Mercedes duo Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher.
Force India pairing Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta were eighth and ninth, with Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi claiming 10th. Telegraph.co.uk
Pos No Driver Team Time/Retired 1 3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes Winner 2 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari +8.4 secs 3 4 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes +25.8 secs 4 2 Mark Webber RBR-Renault +35.7 secs 5 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari +50.5 secs 6 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes +52.3 secs 7 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes +75.9 secs 8 14 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes +77.1 secs 9 15 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes + secs 10 16 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari +1 Lap 11 17 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari +1 Lap 12 11 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth +1 Lap 13 10 Vitaly Petrov Renault +1 Lap 14 12 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth +1 Lap 15 19 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari +1 Lap 16 9 Bruno Senna Renault +1 Lap 17 20 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault +1 Lap 18 21 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault +2 Laps 19 24 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth +2 Laps 20 23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth +2 Laps Ret 22 Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth +7 Laps Ret 18 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari +36 Laps Ret 25 Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth +37 Laps Ret 1 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault Puncture damage
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