Both Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton expressed their frustration after technical problems affected their running ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Bianchi qualified in 20th place but will drop to the back of the grid after sustaining a penalty for a gearbox change. The replacement was necessary after the Frenchman spun off track in final practice. "It has not been a good day on my side, so to work hard together to come back from that is a big plus and I am happy […]

Valtteri Bottas expressed his disappointment at missing out on a spot in Q3 during qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Bottas will start the race from 16th place but felt that Williams could have fought for a top 10 grid slot. "I was expecting that we would be fighting for a place in Q3 so I'm a little disappointed," he said. "As the track conditions were improving other car's times were dropping but we were not able to benefit from that extra grip as […]

Lewis Hamilton believes a mechanical failure during Q3 cost him a shot at a front row start for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Hamilton was on a hot lap when his Mercedes snapped sideways exiting turn 13 and pitched him into a spin. Hamilton had set the fourth fastest time prior to the mechanical problem. "Fourth place feels pretty good this evening considering the time was set on my first Q3 lap," he said. "Unfortunately on my second lap it looks like something gave way […]

Nico Hulkenberg described his effort during qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as a 'perfect lap'. Hulkenberg will start the race from sixth place on the grid in his Sauber C32. "It was a perfect lap and I could really get the maximum out of the car," he said. "Overtaking won’t be easy on this track. There are the two DRS zones, and in the past there have been a few overtaking manoeuvres, but I think we have a good top-speed. We were able […]

Giedo van der Garde believes that a Force India cost him time during his qualifying lap at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. Van der Garde set the 19th fastest time in Q1 but reckons he could have set a quicker lap time without being impeded. "In qualifying we went for two runs on the options," he said. "On the first run everything went to plan and I was up in tenth until the cars ahead went from primes to options. On the second […]

Mark Webber secured pole position for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after a last gasp effort at the Yas Marina Circuit. Webber's time of 1:39.957 was 0.118s faster than team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who made a mistake at the first corner on his final flying lap. Mercedes share the second row of the grid, with Nico Rosberg ahead of Lewis Hamilton after the Brit spun off at turn 14 on his second attempt. Hamilton informed his team that something failed on the back of the W04 […]

Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time during final practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Vettel's time of 1:41.349 was 0.222s faster than team-mate Mark Webber Lewis Hamilton was third, ahead of Nico Rosberg in fourth, with Romain Grosjean in fifth. Jenson Button set the sixth fastest time, with Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Gutierrez in seventh and eighth. Kimi Raikkonen and Jean-Eric Vergne rounded out the top 10. It was another difficult session for Ferrari as Fernando Alonso set only the 11th quickest time, […]

Jenson Button believes that McLaren is in a reasonable shape ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Button was seventh quickest in second practice under the lights at the Yas Marina Circuit. "It was a pretty good day in terms of understanding the car. Our direction with the set-up looks reasonably good, too." "I also think both tyres are working reasonably well around here. I got my fastest lap on my first attempt on the Option tyre, which most people didn’t, so I’m quite happy […]

Fernando Alonso says that Ferrari needs to make changes in order to be competitive at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Alonso, who has not won a race since May, was eighth quickest in second practice at the Yas Marina circuit. "Compared to other Fridays, today we were a bit less competitive than usual and now we need to work out if that is down to the fact that the track characteristics do not suit our car, or if it’s a question of set-up," he said. […]

Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost says that 2014 driver Daniil Kvyat will receive his super licence next week. Kvyat, who is in contention for the GP3 title this weekend, will replace Red Bull bound Daniel Ricciardo next season. "We will have a test with him next week to get the Super Licence," said Tost. "Afterwards, he will go out on Friday in American and in Sao Paulo and of course we will have winter time, where he has to do a lot of work […]

Reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time during second practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Vettel's time of 1:41.335 was a tenth of a second faster than team-mate Mark Webber. "It’s difficult to say today how we compare to the others, we know the Lotus is quick here, but we also had decent pace today," he said. "It’s not always so easy at this circuit with the conditions changing throughout the day; we start in the sun and finish at night and […]

Kimi Raikkonen has not ruled out the possibility of skipping the final two races of the season. Raikkonen has not yet received his salary, with the situation exacerbated by a tense radio exchange during the Indian Grand Prix. Raikkonen revealed that he came close to not racing in Abu Dhabi. "I came here only because hopefully we found an understanding on the certain issues we have been having," he said after practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. "Hopefully it will be fixed and we […]