Sebastian Vettel bounced back from demotion to the back of the Yas Marina grid to roar to third place in an Abu Dhabi Grand Prix won by Lotus Kimi Raikkonen.

After recording the third-fastest time in qualifying yesterday, Sebastians car was found to have infringed fuel sample level rules with the result that the Red Bull Racing driver started from pit lane.The penalty left the defending champion with a mountain to climb in the race, but he soon set about working his way to the top and within two laps of the start he had risen to 18th place. He continued his progress through the early stages and by lap nine was approaching the top ten cars.It wasnt without incident, however. He clashed with Bruno Senna at the start, resulting in damage to his front wing. And the damage got worse when the safety car made its first appearance, following an accident involved Nico Rosberg and Narain Karthikeyan.Vettel was following Daniel Ricciardo under the course car when the Toro Rosso driver braked on a straight. The move surprised Seb, who had to swerve right, colliding with a polystyrene barrier in the process. That forced the team to pit the champion and he took on option soft tyres and a new front wing.Dropped down the field once more, Sebastian faced another battle through the order but by lap 38 he had risen to fourth, having again taken on fresh soft tyres. The gap to the top three of Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso and Raikkonen was wide, however, and it looked as if Seb would have to settle for the position.But after another safety car period for an accident that cruelly ended team-mate Mark Webbers race, Sebastian closed up on Button and eventually passed the McLaren driver to take the final podium place behind title rival Alonso and winner Raikkonen.It was a good race for us today, a big chance for Ferrari and Fernando, but we didnt allow it, said Vettel afterwards. I enjoyed it a lot today, more than anything. I damaged the front wing pretty early with Bruno, which was not ideal, but we were able to carry on and not lose too much.Then, during the safety car, maybe I didnt pay enough attention, he added. Daniel was slowing down, just as I was warming the tyres and I got surprised. I had to move to the right and hit the DRS board, which damaged the front wing. It was the worst time to have to pit from P13 and start again at the back of the field, then I had to do it all over again, passing everyone from the back. In the end, to finish third on the podium is just fantastic.It was a less successful afternoon for Mark. The Australian endured a torrid race in which he tangled with Pastor Maldonado in a battle for Sebastian Vettel bounced back from demotion to the back of the Yas Marina grid to roar to third place in an Abu Dhabi Grand Prix won by Lotus Kimi Raikkonen.

After recording the third-fastest time in qualifying yesterday, Sebastians car was found to have infringed fuel sample level rules with the result that the Red Bull Racing driver started from pit lane.The penalty left the defending champion with a mountain to climb in the race, but he soon set about working his way to the top and within two laps of the start he had risen to 18th place. He continued his progress through the early stages and by lap nine was approaching the top ten cars.It wasnt without incident, however. He clashed with Bruno Senna at the start, resulting in damage to his front wing. And the damage got worse when the safety car made its first appearance, following an accident involved Nico Rosberg and Narain Karthikeyan.Vettel was following Daniel Ricciardo under the course car when the Toro Rosso driver braked on a straight. The move surprised Seb, who had to swerve right, colliding with a polystyrene barrier in the process. That forced the team to pit the champion and he took on option soft tyres and a new front wing.Dropped down the field once more, Sebastian faced another battle through the order but by lap 38 he had risen to fourth, having again taken on fresh soft tyres. The gap to the top three of Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso and Raikkonen was wide, however, and it looked as if Seb would have to settle for the position.But after another safety car period for an accident that cruelly ended team-mate Mark Webbers race, Sebastian closed up on Button and eventually passed the McLaren driver to take the final podium place behind title rival Alonso and winner Raikkonen.It was a good race for us today, a big chance for Ferrari and Fernando, but we didnt allow it, said Vettel afterwards. I enjoyed it a lot today, more than anything. I damaged the front wing pretty early with Bruno, which was not ideal, but we were able to carry on and not lose too much.Then, during the safety car, maybe I didnt pay enough attention, he added. Daniel was slowing down, just as I was warming the tyres and I got surprised. I had to move to the right and hit the DRS board, which damaged the front wing. It was the worst time to have to pit from P13 and start again at the back of the field, then I had to do it all over again, passing everyone from the back. In the end, to finish third on the podium is just fantastic.It was a less successful afternoon for Mark. The Australian endured a torrid race in which he tangled with Pastor Maldonado in a battle for fourth and then was knocked out of the race on lap 38 when he collided with Romain Grosjean following a clash in which Sergio Perez tried to pass both the Frenchman and Force Indias Paul Di Resta.Nothing really worked out for us today, said Mark. "I think we were strong, but we never got free air and its difficult here with traffic; we saw quite a few incidents where people were trying to pass.Ultimately, in the incident that ended my race, I tried to go down the inside when the cars ahead made contact, he added. I thought there was an opportunity, but then Grosjean made contact with my car and that was the end for us. Whatever we tried today, it just wasnt working out.Team Principal Christian Horner later hailed Vettels performance as a remarkable comeback.After the problems of yesterday, it was a remarkable comeback from Sebastian to finish on the podium, he said. He drove an unbelievable race today and his final move on Jenson was quite exceptional. To go from pit lane to podium was something we could only dream of before the race.For Mark, unfortunately after not a great start, he got involved in an incident with Maldonado that spun him around and cost him time, just as he was looking to come back at Fernando Alonso. He recovered well and we made our stop, which was the fastest of the day and got him ahead of Maldonado who he was racing at that stage.Then, as he was closing down on the cars ahead, an incident with Perez, Grosjean and Di Resta left him with nowhere to go and unfortunately he was a victim of their actions. Nonetheless we leave with important points for the Constructors and Drivers titles today and everything still to play for in two weeks time.