Mark Webber beat Red Bull team-mate and new world champion Sebastian Vettel to pole position at the Abu Dhabi GP. Webber, who has struggled to beat Vettel at the Yas Marina track, was 0.1 seconds quicker than the German.
Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was third as team-mate Lewis Hamilton spun on his final lap and took fourth. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, battling to keep second in the championship, was 11th, out of the top 10 for the first time this year.
The Spaniard was beaten by team-mate Felipe Massa for the fifth time in six races and the eighth occasion in 17 grands prix this season. The Brazilian was eighth quickest in the top 10 shoot-out, behind Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen in fifth, Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg and Lotus’s Romain Grosjean.
McLaren’s Sergio Perez and Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo completed the top 10, while Force India’s Paul Di Resta was 12th, just behind Alonso.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m39.957s 2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m40.075s +0.118s 3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m40.419s +0.462s 4. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m40.501s +0.544s 5. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m40.542s +0.585s 6. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 1m40.576s +0.619s 7. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m40.997s +1.040s 8. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m41.015s +1.058s 9. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 1m41.068s +1.111s 10. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m41.111s +1.154s Q2 cut-off time: 1m40.989s Gap 11. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m41.093s +0.620s 12. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m41.133s +0.660s 13. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m41.200s +0.727s 14. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m41.279s +0.806s 15. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m41.395s +0.922s 16. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 1m41.447s +0.974s Q1 cut-off time: 1m41.884s Gap 17. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m41.999s +1.306s 18. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m42.051s +1.358s 19. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 1m43.252s +2.559s 20. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 1m43.398s +2.705s 21. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 1m43.528s +2.835s 22. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 1m44.198s +3.505s