- Team Abu Dhabi’s Al-Qamzi takes three-point championship lead to Abu Dhabi
- Cappellini seals victory in round 12 of UIM F1 series in Qatar
- Team Abu Dhabi ‘s Al-Qamzi qualifies fifth; Cappellini takes Pole Position
DOHA
- Team Abu Dhabi’s Thani Al-Qamzi and Ahmed Al-Hameli finished fourth and fifth overall in the Grand Prix of Qatar, round 11 of this year’s UIM F1 World Championship, in Doha Bay on Saturday.
The result means that Al-Qamzi takes a three-point lead in the UIM F1 Drivers’ Championship to his home races in Abu Dhabi next weekend. Al-Hameli holds ninth in the points’ standings and Team Abu Dhabi remains firmly in control of the UIM Teams’ Championship. The second race in two days in Doha was won by Italian Guido Cappellini; the Como driver became Al-Qamzi’s closest challenger for the title, courtesy of his 61
st F1 career victory.
“It was a difficult race in tricky conditions on Doha Bay,” said Al-Hameli. “The priority was to make sure that I put points on the board and I managed to nip back into fourth at the finish and stay ahead in the championship going back to Abu Dhabi.”
Al-Qamzi began the second Doha race with a seven-point lead in the UIM F1 Drivers’ Championship, but he was fifth on the grid at the start of the race in his DAC behind Cappellini, Phillipe Chiappe, Jay Price and Fabio Comparato. Al-Hameli started at the rear of the field after his troubled qualifying session.
Cappellini held a good line through the crucial first turns and pushed Price wide, allowing Al-Qamzi to slip into third position. Al-Hameli launched himself into seventh place, but Francecso Cantando edged Al-Qamzi out of second overall, as Al-Hameli climbed into sixth overall.
Price’s miserable luck continued on lap four when he succumbed to mechanical woes, as Cappellini led from Cantando and Al-Qamzi and Al-Hameli began to pressurise Chiappe for fourth position through lap nine. The top five held station through 14 laps, but Cantando was applying fierce pressure on Cappellini and the gap was less than one second after lap 18, as Chiappe passed Al-Qamzi into third position. Former championship leader Jonas Andersson was struggling down in eighth position.
Cappellini managed to pull away from Cantando as the race progressed and his lead had risen to 4.8s through lap 27, as Chiappe closed in on third place and the Team Abu Dhabi duo consolidated fourth and fifth. Cappellini lost some time in traffic near the end and Cantando closed to within two seconds of the nine-time World Champion. A thrilling finish ensued, but Cappellini held on to take his fourth win of the season and the 61
st of his career and Al-Qamzi and Al-Hameli maintained fourth and fifth positions.
Team Abu Dhabi runs under the auspices of the ADIMSC and the management of Salem Al-Rumaithi and Scott Gillman, with full support from the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), His Excellency Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al-Nahyan and His Royal Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan.
Timed trials and free practice Duarte Benavente and Price were the first pair on to the water for the timed trials and Price laid down the gauntlet with a 51.34s lap, only for Comparato and then Lundin to snatch the advantage after 15 minutes. Al-Hameli was down in 10
th after hitting a buoy and Al-Qamzi was still to enter the fray when Cappellini hit the front with a 49.97s lap after 20m of the 45-minute session.
Al-Qamzi was in superb form and his second lap of 49.94s was sufficient to eclipse Cappellini and take provisional pole amongst the 17 starters. His lap time was then beaten by Price on the half-hour mark and Chiappe also edged inside the Emirati to move to the top of the leader board.
Cappellini, once again, edged in front with a lap of 48.61s as the rest of the field recorded qualifying times and pushed Al-Hameli down to 17
th position, with Al-Qamzi holding fifth heading through to the chequered flag. Team Abu Dhabi duo retained fourth and sixth in the UIM F1 Pole Position Championship.
Far from ideal water conditions were the order of the day at the start of the free practice session and Al-Hameli held the second fastest time through the early exchanges with a 55.89s lap.
But the Team Abu Dhabi duo began to dominate the practice session as the minutes ticked on, with Al-Hameli heading Al-Qamzi at the top of the fastest times. By the end of the practice stint, Phillipe Chiappe had managed to snatch the fastest lap of 52.48s, but the Emirati pairing were content with the third and fourth fastest laps of 53.12s and 53.67s, Al-Qamzi passing his colleague near the end of the session.
