Lewis Hamilton has claimed pole position for the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the impressive Yas Marina Circuit as the out-going champion absolutely dominated the hour of evening running, topping the time sheets in each of the three qualifying rounds by a significant margin.

Despite a small error on his first qualifying run that left him tenth on the provisional grid, Hamilton saved his best lap to the end of the ten minute pole shoot out, crossing the line an astonishing six-tenths of a second clear of the field. With his KERS advantage on the long 1.2km back straight, it is hard to see anyone other than Hamilton taking victory in the final race of the season.

Heikki Kovalainen’s woes deepened (*) when it emerged he will drop even further down the grid after suffering a gearbox failure during the ‘Q2′ segment.  The McLaren transmission cannot be repaired and therefore must be replaced for the race, incurring a five-place grid demotion for an unscheduled change. Kovalainen therefore drops from 13th to 18th.

Ever been bored during an F1 race while watching it on TV? How about attending in person? (for the very few of us who can afford it).

At times, it seems like the excitement only happens during qualifying, first laps and pits. There is this long time during a race where cars just run across the track, stuck at their positions until the checkered flag. TV audiences get a bit more, through various cameras (on race cars, helicopter views, track views, etc.) along with replays, colorful commentaries, interviews and technical analysis. What else could be done? Here are a few things that F1 experimented over the years, along with a wish list. If you think of more things, please add them in the comments section.

HD helmet cams. This would offer a great perspective into what the driver sees and experiences in terms of vibrations. We often forget that the cars may look smooth on the track, but are pretty bumpy for the drivers. The challenge of visibility can also be experienced quite dramatically. These could also be used on pit crews.

Lewis Hamilton’s KERS equipped McLaren Mercedes storms from 4th to 1st and holds it to go on to win his first Grand Prix of the season, elsewhere on the track Alonso’s wheel was spinning off.