Carella goes 16 points clear in F1 H20 series
Victory in China sets Team Abu Dhabi up for team and individual honours
Team Abu Dhabi’s Alex Carella extended his UIM F1 H20 World Championship lead to 16 points after winning China’s Grand Prix of Liuzhou yesterday.
The three-time World Champion finished 4.47 seconds clear of Team Sweden’s Erik Stark and 10.74 seconds clear of defending champion Philippe Chiappe.
The Victory team duo of Ahmad Al Hameli and Shaun Torrente finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
With Carella’s teammate Thani Al Qamzi finishing sixth, Team Abu Dhabi are now 29 points clear of Team Sweden in the team standings.
Carella’s 14th F1 career win also moved him into a tie with Welshman Jonathan Jones in the Hall of Fame.
Rashid Al Qemzi looked set for his first ever points haul but slipped to 11th.
“This was such an important victory for me and puts the team in a great position heading to the last two races in the Middle East in the winter,” said Carella.
“The new boat was fantastic. I felt confident all weekend and all the hard work has been rewarded. Now we head back to Abu Dhabi in a very strong position and have the opportunity to win the title with victory at our own Grand Prix.”
Three-way tie for second
Elsewhere, Team Abu Dhabi’s Mohammad Al Mehairbi moved into a three-way tie for second place in the UIM F4-S Trophy standings, courtesy of his second position in race two in Liuzhou.
Aussie rookie Louise Vella is tied with the Emirati and Frenchman Jeremy Brisset on 58 points — two behind series leader Mansour Al Mansouri of the Emirates Racing Team — after claiming her second victory of the season.