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.

Brawn: Schumacher will be back in 2011

Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, reigning constructor’s champions Brawn GP, technical whizz Ross Brawn and the might of German car giant Mercedes-Benz. The ingredients for a stunning 2010 season were all present and correct when the Mercedes GP launched in Stuttgart back in the January.

Nine months later, however, and Mercedes's dream has faltered and Schumacher’s comeback is in tatters. Currently tenth in the standings, with just 46 points, the veteran German's fall from grace has led some to question whether he will last the season, let alone be back in the cockpit competing next year. But Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn is confident Schumacher will race in 2011.

“Michael is disappointed, of course,” Brawn told Formula1.com. “Still he is enjoying the challenge very much. He definitely doesn’t come to a race wishing to be somewhere else. He wants to work with the engineers, wants to find solutions and is extremely motivated. He is enjoying racing.

"Of course he’s also a bit frustrated that his performance isn’t better. But I tell you, Michael is a very ambitious person and he didn’t win seven titles because he’s quick to capitulate. What sense would it make at that stage of his comeback to pack in his job? He’s not going to do it - be sure of that!”

Although previously famed for his ability to get the most out of tyres, one of the major stumbling blocks for Schumacher this season has been Bridgestone’s 2010-spec rubber. Although Brawn admits the 91-time Grand Prix winner’s driving style does not suit this year’s Bridgestones, he believes the change to new tyre supplier, Pirelli, next season could help matters.