Sebastian Vettel hoping for happy return to “classic” Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Joy Chakravarty 18:47 27/11/2015
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  • Vettel (c) last won in Abu Dhabi in 2013.

    Sebastian Vettel considers 2014 – called by many as his annus horibilis – as one of the most important seasons of his career as he and Ferrari prepare to challenge the all-conquering Mercedes in 2016.

    After dominating F1 and winning the world title for four successive years, Vettel finished fifth with 167 points – 217 points behind champion Lewis Hamilton. The German became the first defending champion to fail to win a race in the following season since Jacques Villeneuve in 1998 as his Infiniti Red Bull struggled to come to terms with the changes introduced last year.

    But the move to Ferrari this year has brought back some fight in Vettel, even though he is still third in the standings with 266 points, 97 points adrift of Hamilton.

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    And the 28-year-old German, who won three races this year – in Malaysia, Hungary and Singapore – said of 2014: “It wasn’t a disaster. There were a lot of things that I was able to learn.

    “But it made clear to me that I needed to keep going, keep making progress and wanting something new.

    “After four years at the top, I don’t think l was getting lazy. It was just a year which started off complicated with very little running and a new generation of cars, l needed time and it was difficult to find a rhythm. It was, let’s say, not a nice season overall.

    “Changing teams has been a huge challenge but I am enjoying it a lot. I liked the car straight away and I found a rhythm straight away. We had a perfect winter and it was a different start altogether.

    “But it was good in 2014 to be reminded of a lot of things and I don’t regret the year I had.”

    Vettel is enjoying his trip back to Abu Dhabi, where he was the champion of the inaugural race in 2009, followed by further victories in 2010 and 2013.

    “I’ve liked the Abu Dhabi track since the beginning. Obviously, the first year, they said that there is a car to be won, so I pushed extra hard to make sure I got it,” said Vettel.

    “It’s a nice place and even though we haven’t had so many races here, it already feels like a classic place to go.

    “I think people here put a lot of efforts in trying to make us comfortable. It’s a bit like Disneyland, in terms of facilities and so on; it couldn’t be any better.

    “I think the track is great, there are a lot of different types of corners, unfortunately not so many high-speed corners, but for the rest you have everything you need and racing at night is always something special.

    “Compared to the opening year, when there was more downforce in the car, now it’s a bit more fun. A bit of a stop-and-go with a lot of 90-degree corners, especially in the last sector, for which you have to make sure to find the rhythm, otherwise you can drop a lot of time.”

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