Kimi Raikkonen claimed his first victory since the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix in a chaotic Abu Dhabi GP this afternoon. The Finn inherited the race lead on lap 19 from Lewis Hamilton who retired due to a fuel pressure on his McLaren.
Raikkonen’s victory is the first for his Enstone-based team since the 2008 Japanese GP, and the first for a Lotus-branded squad since the 1987 United States GP.
Fernando Alonso crossed the finish line in second place ahead of championship rival Sebastian Vettel who came all the way from 24th to finish on the last podium spot, thus retaining a 10-point championship lead.
The race witnessed numerous incidents leading to two safety car periods; the first incident took place on lap nine when Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes was launched over the back of Narain Karthikeyan’s HRT, with the second appearing after an incident involving Sergio Perez and Romain Grosjean.
In the end, Jenson Button settled fourth after losing third place to Vettel in a brave late-race overtaking maneuver from the German. Pastor Maldonado secured fifth for Williams, followed by Kamui Kobayashi and Felipe Massa in sixth and seventh respectively.
Full Championship standings here.
Pos Driver Team Time 1. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1h45:58.667 2. Alonso Ferrari + 0.852 3. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 4.163 4. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 7.787 5. Maldonado Williams-Renault + 13.007 6. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 20.076 7. Massa Ferrari + 22.896 8. Senna Williams-Renault + 23.542 9. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 24.160 10. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 27.463 11. Schumacher Mercedes + 28.075 12. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 34.906 13. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 47.764 14. Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 56.473 15. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 56.768 16. Petrov Caterham-Renault + 1:04.595 17. De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth + 1:11.578