Will They Recover?

With the F1 Championships already decided, it gives everyone else a chance to watch the 'lower' cars. The penultimate race weekend of the season is hosted by Abu Dhabi and Williams were the biggest losers in today's qualifying session, locking out the bottom of the grid.

This has to be the lowest point in what has been a harsh season for he veteran constructor. They currently sit ninth in the Constructors' Championship with a fleeting five points and it will be almost impossible to gain any more on a track with limited overtaking.

There are increasing fears that Rubens Barrichello will be out of Formula One next season, facing a damaging prospect of racing in the final race of the season (his home GP) without knowledge of a seat for next season. He really needs a positive couple of races but his weekend was curtailed early on as an engine leak prevented him from qualifying. But he will not start 24th as that spot is taken by his team mate Pastor Maldonado who received a ten place grid penalty for having a ninth engine, regulations state drivers are only allowed eight during one season.

However, at the other end of the grid, Sebastian Vettel equals Nigel Mansell's record of fourteen Pole positions in a season, preventing a McLaren one-two on the final lap. Hamilton was strong throughout the session and starts second ahead of Button. Webber is ahead of the Ferraris with Alonso placing himself above Massa again in the inter-team battle. The two Mercedes will line-up alongside each other with Schumacher in Rosberg's mirrors. The two Force Indias round off the top ten with Sutil out-qualifying Di Resta.

Q2 saw Perez put a good shift in for Sauber, starting eleventh. Buemi sits between Petrov and Senna in a Renault sandwich in thirteenth with Alguersuari squeezing Senna in fifteenth. Kobayashi will start sixteenth and Maldonado had qualified in seventeenth put his penalty sees Kovalainen promoted to that place.

Trulli joins Kovalainen in eighteenth. But Ricciardo managed to get himself ahead of D'Ambrosio in 21st behind the other Virgin, Timo Glock. Liuzzi will start 22nd with both Williams cars breathing down his neck from the start.