By AAP
November 2nd 2009 @ 6:32am
Webber closes season with eighth podium finish
Australian Mark Webber rounded out his best Formula One season by finishing second behind Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel at the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Red Bull pair took full advantage of the early retirement of pole-sitting Briton Lewis Hamilton with brake problems on his McLaren Mercedes to claim their fourth one-two result of the season.
Webber endured a tense tussle with world champion Jenson Button over the closing laps but held on to secure his eighth podium finish of the season, which included wins in Germany and Brazil.
It completed a remarkable year for the Australian after his pre-season preparations were hampered by broken leg sustained in cycling accident.
“I just want to congratulate the team for their patience with me at the start of the year coming back from what happened,” Webber said after the race.
“It’s been my best season and we (he and Vettel) have had sixteen podiums together so it’s been good.”
The results confirmed that Vettel finished the season as runner-up in the drivers’ championship behind Button, with Rubens Barrichello third and Webber fourth.
Red Bull also proved they were more than worthy of finishing second to Brawn in the teams’ championship.
In a race that started in late afternoon sunshine, but finished under dazzling floodlights, Barrichello finished fourth in his expected last outing for Brawn.
German Nick Heidfeld marked his last race for the departing Sauber BMW team, which is leaving Formula One, by taking fifth ahead of Japanese Kamui Kobayashi, who secured his first points in Formula One in a Toyota in only his second race after replacing the injured Timo Glock.
Italian veteran Jarno Trulli finished seventh for Toyota and Swiss Sebastien Buemi, who was 21 on Saturday, took the final point in eighth place for Toro Rosso.
Hamilton, who was smartly out of the blocks to establish a solid early lead, retired on lap 20 with McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh indicating his car appeared to have a brake problem.
“I was struggling to stop the car,” said outgoing world champion Hamilton.
“The right rear brake wasn’t working and it was too dangerous to continue,” Hamilton told the BBC.
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© 2008 AFP
