Qualifying - Vettel takes vital Yas Marina pole

Sebastian Vettel will start the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix just where he wants, on pole position after lapping his Red Bull in 1m 39.394s. But the most important qualifying session of the year was a major disappointment for the team mate Mark Webber who managed only fifth place in 1m 39.925s and will be separated from Vettel by McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and McLaren’s Jenson Button.

Earlier, Hamilton had been fortunate to avoid the contact with Felipe Massa when, after a big slide on his first lap in Q2, he’d had to back off the pace and resumed just as the Ferrari was alongside. The former champion walloped a camera pole, but his McLaren did not sustain any damage and he recovered his momentum brilliantly to lap second quickest before his time eventually left him fifth in that session.

He already held second place as Q3 drew to its close, but trimmed his time down to 1m 39.425s to demonstrate to Vettel that he may yet have a race on his hands on Sunday. Alonso’s late improvement was bad news for Webber. The Spaniard lapped in 1m 39.792s to jump to third, ahead of Button on 1m 39.823s.

Webber will share row three with Massa, who lapped his F10 in 1m 40.202s, while Williams’ Rubens Barrichello’s 1m 40.203s left him seventh ahead of the Mercedes of Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg on 1m 40.516s and 1m 40.589s respectively. Like Massa, both suffered in late-session traffic. Vitaly Petrov was 10th for Renault, with 1m 40.901s.

Vettel redefined the ante in Q2 with the fastest lap of the weekend thus far in 1m 39.874s, ahead of the revitalised Button, Rosberg, Webber and Hamilton. Further back, Robert Kubica surprisingly failed to make Q3, taking 11th place behind team mate Petrov with 1m 40.780s in a Renault that still seemed not to be running as well as it did on Friday.

Fernando Alonso has F1 title in his own hands

Fernando Alonso has the championship lead on his side as he aims to clinch the Formula One (F1) world title in a historic finale Sunday in Abu Dhabi.

But in a season of roller-coaster rides for all the stars, Red Bull drivers Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton are also in the frame.

It is the first time in F1 history that four drivers are in the title race ahead of the season-ender.

A simple engine failure in Alonso's Ferrari could for instance open the door for the others, he may be shunted off the track by another driver, make a mistake himself or have yet another negative experience with the safety car as has happened already three times this season.

However, Alonso has a third career title in his own hands as championship leader. He has amassed 246 points from 18 of 19 races, with Webber on 238, Vettel on 231 and Hamilton on 222.

Under the current system, the top 10 drivers get points in a 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1 format.

Alonso has done his maths and says 'I just need to finish second. It does not matter who wins in Abu Dhabi if I finish second'.

The Spaniard can also afford third place if Webber does not win, and fourth or fifth if Webber and Vettel do not win.

Webber will secure the trophy if he wins and Alonso comes no better than third. A team order of sorts may be used if Vettel leads from Webber and Alonso in the final lap, as Ferrari also ordered Felipe Massa to let Alonso pass for victory at the German GP.

Race - Alonso wins in Korea, double DNF for Red Bull

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso scored one of the biggest wins of his career in a rain-affected Korean Grand Prix on the Sunday afternoon, and a day of total disaster saw neither Red Bull driver finish. Mark Webber crashed out early while running second, and Sebastian Vettel’s engine blew up as he was leading on the 46th lap.

The result puts Alonso into an 11-point championship lead over Webber, 231 to 220, with just two races left.

As dusk fell and the race was just completed before the two-hour cut-off point, what had begun as impending disaster for the Korean race organisers turned instead into a brilliant triumph. But it was edgy. After the rain got heavier just before the start, the race was red-flagged after just two laps had been run behind the safety car. That led to a lengthy delay until it was resumed as conditions got marginally better, but after the restart at 16.05 the safety car continued to lead the field for another 15 laps before racing finally began on the 18th.

Vettel sprinted into the lead from Webber with Alonso third and Mercedes GP’s Nico Rosberg deposing McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton for fourth. But then Webber spun and hit the wall in Turn 13 on the 19th lap, collecting Rosberg. Out came the safety car again until Lap 24, whereupon Vettel resumed control ahead of Alonso and Hamilton.

After their pit stops between Laps 31 and 32, Hamilton jumped Alonso for second as the Spaniard had a minor delay due to arriving slightly sideways and making it difficult for mechanics to reach the right front wheel, but they were racing under the safety car again after Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi had taken out Virgin’s Timo Glock on the 31st under braking for Turn Three.

As racing resumed on the 35th lap, Hamilton ran wide in Turn One as his front wheels were locking, handing second back to Alonso. And that’s how it seemed likely to stay as Vettel built a lead of 2.7s by Lap 41. But then Alonso and Hamilton began to move in, and going into Turn One on Lap 46 the Ferrari dived inside the Red Bull to take the lead. On the exit to the corner Vettel’s engine blew, and as Mark Webber breathed a sigh of some relief, Red Bull had their head in their hands.

Now it was Alonso’s race to lose, but though Hamilton gave it everything he had, annihilating the Ferrari in the first two sectors, Alonso was able to make it all back in the final one. Towards the end Hamilton dropped back, keeping a badly worn right front intermediate tyre alive, and was 14.9s adrift as a delighted Alonso took his fifth win of the year and his 26th overall.

F1 cars ready for Friday's Korean debut

The F1 Korean Grand Prix starts its three-day event Friday at Yeongam in South Jeolla Province, with 24 drivers from 12 teams and their machines now gathering, along with hundreds of staffers.

The drivers can practice up to three times from Friday to Saturday noon, ahead of a qualifying session to try and take poll position.

Qualifying will take place over three occasions. In the first 20-minute time race the slowest seven drivers will get grid positions 18 to 24 and the second 15-minute race will decide the next order of the next seven drivers.

The remaining 10 drivers will compete for poll position in the final 10-minute session.

As the Korean Grand Prix is holding its inaugural race the drivers have less information on whether the Korean International Circuit is easy to overtake or not.

For that reason, the drivers are likely to focus on the qualifying sessions as the starting positions could have a huge bearing on the end result.

Mark Webber of Red Bull Racing leads the drivers’ championship with 220 points, Spanish hero Fernando Alonso of Scuderia Ferrari-Marlboro and Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull Racing shared second with 206.

The top 10 finishers are awarded points on a sliding scale, with the winner receiving 25, while 10th place gets a solitary point.

While the drivers could add up to 75 points in the last three events, two Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button will need to shine to keep alive their slim hopes of winning the championship.

Hamilton: Now is the time to fight

After three retirements from the last four races, McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton knows he cannot afford another DNF in this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix if he is to keep his title hopes alive. He also knows, however, that an overly cautious approach could cost him the points he needs to close with the championship leader Mark Webber.

Hamilton finished third at the Suzuka last year - his first Formula One race at the legendary circuit - when McLaren were outpaced by the likes of Red Bull and Toyota. This season, the former champion is out to make amends.

“Suzuka is very much unfinished business for me,” he said. “I raced the best I could last year, but our car just wasn’t fast enough. This year, I’m holding nothing back - I need a strong result to get my title hopes back on track, and that will be my complete focus from the moment I first sit in the cockpit on Friday morning.”

Hamilton limped out of the last round in Singapore with suspension damage after contact with Webber’s Red Bull, which stewards deemed a racing incident. The preceding round at Monza ended in similar fashion after he ran into Felipe Massa’s Ferrari; and he knows that Suzuka will punish any further errors.

“It’s a real driver’s circuit - you need to be committed and precise to do well there, and there’s no room for error either: no tarmac run-off, and all the barriers are pretty close, so any mistake is going to hurt your chances big-time,” he added.

Following Singapore, Hamilton dropped from second to third in the drivers' table and now has 182 points to Webber’s 202 and Fernando Alonso’s 191. With just four races remaining, and with McLaren struggling to match the pace of the Red Bulls and Ferraris, he knows he must attack in Japan.

“Now is not the time to hold back; now is the time to fight,” he concluded.