Qualifying in Abu Dhabi for Sebastian Vettel was very successful, but not necessarily easy as the German was forced to avoid a build-up of cars in sector three during his final lap attempt in Q1.
The retiring German found himself sat in P16 and on the verge of elimination coming towards the end of Q1.
Vettel only had time for one more lap attempt, and had to make it count if he wanted to have any chance of making it through to the next round of qualifying, which he looked to be doing following and impressive first two sectors where he improved on his previous lap time.
Coming into the final two turns of the Yas Marina circuit the 35-year-old was forced to put his trust in other drivers getting out of his way, as multiple drivers were slowly making their way towards the start/finish straight to begin their final flying lap.
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Vettel was forced to avoid both Alpines, an AlphaTauri, a Red Bull and a McLaren as he made his way to the end of his lap, with all drivers doing a very good job to keep out of the racing line and stop the four-time world champion from losing any time.
“How is that possible, three times in a row I get these people,” he said over the team radio, clearly frustrated by the traffic.
Sky Sport’s David Croft described Vettel’s evasive action as “like an arcade game,” as he was forced to slalom between a quarter of the grid.
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Vettel flew up the timing screens to fifth fastest following the completion of his lap, possibly helped by a slipstream that he may have picked up by following some of the cars in question, as he comfortably advanced on to Q2.
Aston Martin team principal Mike Crack confirmed that Vettel is not putting his feet up just yet, claiming that his driver is more determined than ever to help the team finish the year on a high and beat Alfa Romeo in the constructors’ championship.
Vettel’s P9 start for the main race will give him a good chance of helping his team overhaul the five point gap to their rivals, and Valtteri Bottas starting in the bottom five after a poor qualifying for the Finn with add further confidence to the Aston Martin team.