Fresh from winning his fourth consecutive Formula One drivers' world championship title, Sebastian Vettel will look to continue his stunning dominance of the 2013 season when the cars move to the Middle East for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Vettel sealed his title at the Indian GP last weekend, becoming the youngest four-time champion of all-time with the 26-year-old looking on course to break several more records.
The German, whose Red Bull has been near unstoppable this season, said his achievements this year are still sinking in. "Slowly but steadily [it's sinking in]. It takes some time until you really understand what happened -- that goes for me and the team," Vettel said. "Up to the Indian Grand Prix we'd worked flat out since the start of the season -- or actually even before, at the winter tests -- and now our ambitions have come true. It is just amazing."
Vettel, expectedly, dominated the timesheets in the second practice session at Yas Marina, with teammate Mark Webber, in his final three races before retirement, rounding off a Red Bull one-two.
"It's difficult to say today [Friday] how we compare to the others, we know the Lotus is quick here, but we also had decent pace today," Vettel said. "It's not always so easy at this circuit with the conditions changing throughout the day; we start in the sun and finish at night and the track temperature changes during that time. But, no big issues, so I'm pretty happy."
Abu Dhabi, of course, holds a special place in Vettel's heart, with the German winning his first Formula One title here at Yas Marina in 2010. "[That victory] seems like light years away! But of course it is a special place -- and always will be for me and the team. If you look at the photos from back then it was laughter and tears and trembles that it might happen," he added.
It will be difficult for the likes of Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen - he also has problems aplenty with his team Lotus -- and Lewis Hamilton to motivate themselves for the final three races of the season, having, during the first half of the season, looked like they could go helmet-to-helmet with Vettel and his Red Bull.
However, those hopes vanished quite quickly with the Vettel's dominance in the second half, with the German completely blowing away the field, leading to his current and massive 115-point lead.
Where to watch
The third practice session is scheduled for 3.30 pm IST, with the qualifying session at 6.30 pm. You can catch the action live online by clicking the official link HERE.
