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Formula 1 Abu Dhabi GP

2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

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Lap 3: Hamilton shakes off Raikkonen by 0.8 seconds as the Lotus man sets the fastest lap, before Alonso takes over the best early time.
Lap 3: Alonso is right with Maldonado as the DRS becomes available.
Lap 3: Vettel is up to 18th place ahead of Karthikeyan, but it seems like he will brave the damage for now, as the Red Bull mechanics go back into the garage.
Lap 3: Vettel passes Pic and is up to 16th position. He race engineer confirms there is slight damage to the front wing.
Lap 4: It's Hamilton from Raikkonen, Maldonado, Alonso, Webber, Button, Massa and a great early few laps for Kobaysahi to run eighth.
Lap 4: Perez is ninth with Schumacher 10th, Ricciardo a great start up to 11th, Vergne 12th and Kovalainen 13th.
Lap 4: Glock is 14th in the Marussia with Petrov 15th and under attack from Vettel.
Lap 4: Hamilton seems to be getting heat in his Pirellis now as he pulls 1.9 seconds clear with the fastest lap.
Lap 5: Replays of the start show Hamilton will be very pleased with his launch, leading clear into Turn 1 as Raikkonen also got away brilliantly.
Lap 5: Replays of the start show that the two Force India drivers and Senna tangled into the first corner. Di Resta escaped with slight damage but Hulkenberg was out on the spot after a secondary impact with the Brazilian.
Lap 5: Webber was slow off the line, allowing Raikkonen through as Button was compromised by the Australian.
Lap 5: Vettel has passed Petrov and Glock. He is up to 14th place now.
Lap 5: Vettel now has some clear space to work with. He is 3.7s behind 13th placed Kovalainen.
Lap 5: Hamilton continues to build his lead with a 1m48.552s fastest lap to move 2.3 seconds clear.
Lap 6: Hamilton's lead is now 2.5s, with the best scrap at the front being Maldonado holding off Alonso by under a second in third and fourth
Lap 7: Perez has moved up ahead of team-mate Kobayashi and into eighth, as Sauber swaps the positions.
Lap 7: Alonso is getting a double bite of the DRS on Maldonado but the Williams is quick down the straights and the Spaniard is yet to get close.
Lap 7: Kobayashi in ninth is losing a lot of pace and Schumacher (10th) is catching the Japanese quickly.
Lap 7: Webber runs fifth, keeping Vettel in sight and under little threat from Button behind him.
Lap 7: Vettel is now just 0.6s behind Kovalainen's Caterham and shaping up to take 13th position.
Lap 8: Vettel has passed the Finn and is up to 13th spot.
Lap 8: Button is told Webber has lost his DRS window on Alonso, allowing the McLaren a chance to close. But he is not close enough.
Lap 8: The stewards announce that Hulkenberg's incident at the start will be investigated after the race.
Lap 8: Hamilton is checking out now up front, pulling 3.5 seconds clear of Raikkonen with a strong 1m48.148s fastest lap.
Lap 8: Senna has passed Glock's Marussia and he takes over 15th.
Lap 9: Vettel has clear space for the moment, as he works on bridging a three second gap to 12th placed Vergne.
Lap 9: The safety car has been deployed.
Lap 9: Rosberg and Karthikeyan have been involved in a huge crash. Rosberg climbs out of the car.
Lap 9: Rosberg is walking away after final contact with the barriers. Karthikeyan is also out of his car.
Lap 9: This is well out of the pitstop window, so drivers are likely to stay out.
Lap 9: The Indian walks across the asphalt run-off area to a safe position.
Lap 9: Replays show that Karthikeyan's car slowed heavily with smoke out the back and Rosberg piled straight into the rear of the HRT.
Lap 10: Not great news for Hamilton as he ends up losing his lead gap. Vettel will however be delighted with the pack closing up.
Lap 10: Rosberg was launched over the Indian's car and was very lucky not to flip. The car landed on its wheels.
Lap 10: Rosberg and Karthikeyan are chatting amicably as they wander back to the pits.
Lap 10: While all this is going on, Vergne pitted and has rejoined down in 15th position.
Lap 10: Raikkonen is now right with Hamilton, whose tyres will cool down again, perhaps giving the Finn another chance to challenge for the lead.
Lap 10: Di Resta is also into the pits from 21st position. Meantime, there is a lot of damage still on track where Rosberg and Karthikeyan made contact.
Lap 10: Vergne's stop has promoted Vettel to 12th position as the safety car period continues.
Lap 11: Further replays show that de la Rosa ran straight through the damage and bits of carbon fibre in the aftermath of the crash.

By: Emlyn Hughes, Geoff Creighton

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