Carella to start crucial home race from third

Triple world champion Chiappe pips Stromoy to take pole position

Team Abu Dhabi’s Alex Carella qualified in third position for today’s Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi, the penultimate round of the 2017 UIM F1 H2O World Championship.

An outright victory would confirm the Italian’s fourth world title and put him in joint second position alongside former Team Abu Dhabi driver Scott Gillman in the sport’s Hall of Fame.

Carella posted a fastest lap of 43.02 seconds in a nail-biting qualifying session off the capital’s 1. Philippe Chiappe (FRA) CTIC F1 Shenzhen China Team 42.83 sec 2. Marit Stromoy (NOR) Emirates Racing Team 42.89s 3. Alex Carella (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi 43.02s 4. Shaun Torrente (USA) Victory Team 43.28s 5. Erik Stark (SWE) Team Sweden 43.47s 6. Ahmad Al Hameli (UAE) Victory Team 43.53s breakwater, where several drivers battled for fractions of a second to gain a crucial advantage to take into the 25th race to be hosted by the Abu Dhabi International Sports Club (ADIMSC) since the start of the 1993 season.

2017 UIM F1 H2O Pole Position Trophy — latest positions:

1. Alex Carella (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi 59 pts 2. Philippe Chiappe (FRA) CTIC F1 Shenzhen China Team 58 pts 3. Erik Stark (SWE) Team Sweden 54 pts 4. Ahmad Al Hameli (UAE) Victory Team 49 pts 5. Shaun Torrente (USA) Victory Team 38 pts 6. Thani Al Qamzi (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi 24 pts

Triple world champion Philippe Chiappe of the CTIC Shenzhen China Team left it until his last lap to register a winning time of 42.83s and deprived a flying Norwegian Marit Stromoy of a second career pole position.

Eight-tenths of a second separated the top six with Victory Team’s Shaun Torrente finishing fourth, ahead of Carella’s closest title rival Erik Stark and Emirati Ahmad Al Hameli.

“It was not the best qualifying for me. We made some mistakes. I got a bit lost in my rhythm on my best lap. I guess I am ahead of Erik, but I am behind Philippe now. That is not perfect, but it will be a long and difficult race with this water. Marit is a very good driver and I am pleased for her that she delivered such a great performance,” Carella said.

Team Abu Dhabi’s Rashed Al Qamzi belied his lack of F1 experience to set some scintillating lap times and was rewarded with eighth place on the pontoon for today’s race.