Abu DhabiGP/Fernando Collects £800 & can pass go Thread - Contains Quali & Race spoilers

[Fernando]

First topic message reminder :

Yas Marina wants for nothing in terms of facilities. If only the same could be said of its track.

Track data: Yas Marina

Lap length 5.554km (3.451 miles)
Grand prix distance 305.355km (189.739 miles)
Lap record (race) 1’40.279 (Sebastian Vettel, 2009)
Fastest lap (any session) 1’38.434 (Lewis Hamilton, 2011, qualifying two)
Tyre compounds See drivers’ choices
2015 Rate the Race 5.25 out of 10
2015 Driver of the Weekend Sergio Perez
Yas Marina track data in full

But the circuit which has the honour of holding this year’s title-deciding race leaves everything to be desired when it comes to challenging the world’s best drivers and cars.

It’s wide, smooth, flat and – aside from a pair of lengthy straights – slow. Whatever brief the track designer was given, showcasing F1 at its best was not it.

“It’s not the most thrilling of tracks,” says master of understatement Daniil Kvyat, “as many of the corners are very similar”. Other drivers have been similarly dismissive of its untaxing, stop-start nature.

The track has produced few riveting races since it first appeared on the calendar in 2009. The surprise outcome of the 2010 title-decider and Sebastian Vettel’s race through the field two years later stick in the mind. But last year’s forgettable finale was more typical of what we’ve come to expect from this venue.

Abu Dhabi’s stable climate means we can discount the possibility of surprising weather changes playing a role in Sunday’s championship finale. But Pirelli’s decision to bring its most aggressive tyre selection could offer the drivers new strategic options this year.

A lap of Yas Marina


From the start line the drivers arrive quickly at turn one. This is the first of many 90-degree corners but is quicker than the rest, typically taken in fourth gear. Accelerating out of the left-hander the drivers approach what passes for the most interesting section on the track – the flat-out sweep through turns two, three and four.
The pit lane entrance joins the track at this point and we have seen some near-misses as drivers blend in with traffic. Fernando Alonso took a punishing ride over the kerbs here in 2013.

As the drivers leave turn four at speed they are quickly upon the next sequence of corners: a slow chicane followed by a hairpin. “You go down the hill, braking into six – very tricky braking turning into six, then straight away into seven,” explains Romain Grosjean. “You need to be well positioned for the hairpin going down the back straight. It’s tricky to get the car to turn.”

Two long straights separated by the turn eight/nine chicane follow. “Again you need to be well positioned between the left and right-hand side corners,” says Grosjean. “Then it’s another straight line on to 11, 12 and 13. It’s a triple chicane and as soon as you exit that part you go flat out then brake for turn 14, which is a 90-degree left-hand side corner.”


Following the tricky curved approach to turn 17 the final sector of the lap involves a sequence of slow bends, most of which are right-angles. “As soon as you go out of 17 you have to brake again for 18,” says Grosjean. Two left-handers lead them beneath the Yas Viceroy hotel, with a “tricky exit” as the cars straighten up ahead of the final pair of bends.
“The second to last corner is good,” comments Grosjean. “It’s high speed in fourth or fifth gear.”

After that the run-off area at the final corner invites drivers to run wide. “The last corner is very tricky,” Grosjean explains. “It’s very wide on the entry phase with the pit lane on the right-hand side. It’s not easy to find a line.”

[Guest]

Whiting said the honeymoon period was over & they would clamp down. Rosberg is being used as a statement, being the first to be investigated since the new stance. Not surprised & now Rosberg after having a 43 lead, now leads by just a point.

[nathan]

Will Rosberg now crumble or will he hold it together

[Fernando]

Mercedes have announced their intention to appeal.

[Guest]

Will Rosberg now crumble or will he hold it together

To me, I actually think Rosberg is now reliant upon Hamilton to implode himself or seriously get bogged down with these engine penalties. Nico has no answer to Hamilton's race craft or speed, so unless Lewis starts enduring issues, I can't really see any other result, than what has eventually unfolded over the past two seasons. If anything, Nico cracks under the pressure, so conceding the championship lead, might actually work in his favour & relieve himself of the stress & pressure of being hunted down. The pressure & expectation would then be on Hamilton to win the title being in the lead, so a momentum shift could happen.

[nathan]

You make a great point in that Hamilton will likely see engine issues at the end of the seasons

[banbrotam]

Nicos ability in changeable conditions cost us a decent race at the front, hes been well on the pace in settled conditions this race.

Nico's inability to race in anything other than perfect conditions or with stabilisers, meant we had a non race as he allowed Hamilton to gain five seconds in the first couple of non safety car laps

Significantly he was arguably the best in the safe conditions. 

So Hamilton and Verstappen are busy thrilling us with great laps in the wet and yes, occasional errors. Meanwhile, Rosberg makes Massa's 2008 efforts look almost Senna-esque

[Born Slippy]

Think Hamilton cruised around though - suspect he actually had a comfortable speed advantage even in the dry. It was comedy how he just sailed away from Nico at the start though.

[Jermaine2015]

As a life long Ferrari fan it's so painful to see how clueless the teams direction is at present. Granted Sebastian had a dreadful weekend, more a one off than anything else. But in Sebastian and Kimi they have two world champions and the team is falling apart at an alarming rate. Granted the issues that James Allison's family are going through has hampered the team(nothing is more important that family) but the rest of the technical team are Ferrari clearly don't have much of a clue what they are trying to achieve

[dyrewolfe]

Think Hamilton cruised around though - suspect he actually had a comfortable speed advantage even in the dry. It was comedy how he just sailed away from Nico at the start though.

I believe he said during an interview that he was looking after his engine for much of the race, mindful of the fact he's on his last new one. From here on in he will be using second-hand units when he needs to change them (or else incur penalties).

And yes, he definitely has the measure of Nico in the wet...as did Verstappen.

[Jermaine2015]

Was Hamilton being serious when he said he thinks he can finish the season with just 1 extra engine?

Monza is typical a fresh engine track
Spa isn't somewhere you'd really want to be risking a weakened engine.
Malaysia, Brazil and Singapore are three other tracks heavy on engine wear as well.

I appreciate that modern engines are more durable but it's pressing it about isn't it? 10 races on one engine?

[Guest]

He was joking. He said he's likely to incur two races, whereby he will face penalties. He will easily have to go a a new engine & probably a seventh element on at least one part of his engine towards the rear end of the season.

[Guest]

Mercedes have announced their intention to appeal.

They've now withdrawn their appeal. Nico Rosberg leads the WDC by one point.

[GSC]

Vandoorne giving Dennis all the motivation he needs to punt Button next year.

[dyrewolfe]

Vandoorne giving Dennis all the motivation he needs to punt Button next year.

Why - what's the Stoffler / Stoffly-Woffly / the Stoffmeister been up to?

[GSC]

Saying he needs to be in F1 next year. Ain't gonna risk losing a talent like Vandoorne to keep a driver he doesn't like.

[Fernando]

Imola has signed a contract to come back on the calendar.

Ferrari are trying to sign Ross Brawn in a consultant role so he doesn't have to wrap his life around F1.

[GSC]

At least its a proper track and not another concrete maze like Baku

[dyrewolfe]

Imola has signed a contract to come back on the calendar.

Ferrari are trying to sign Ross Brawn in a consultant role so he doesn't have to wrap his life around F1.

Fantastic news...on both counts!

F1 needs more proper circuits instead of these dull-as-ditchwater street circuits and Tilke-dromes. That said I expect they will demand upgrades to the facilities and some tweaks to the track to comply with latest regulations.

Hopefully Ross can help Ferrari find that missing few percentage points of performance, so they can mount a serious challenge to Mercedes.

[Fernando]

The Sauber team has been sold to Swiss investment firm Longbow Finance, in a deal that will result in founder Peter Sauber retiring from all functions.

[GSC]

Alonso pretty much sums up modern F1, "the secret to being fast is not to attack".

[Guest]

I see his view to an extent, but really he's just using it to vent his frustration at his own careers failings & decision choices, post 2006. F1 has never been totally about pushing it or driving flat out, management has been key throughout the history of the sport.

[Guest]

New radio rules for Hungary. Any message informing a driver of a car problem "must include an irreversible instruction to return to the pits to rectify the problem or to retire''.

Also, Horner has stated that Vettel is so concerned with the ongoing crisis at Ferrari, that he is contemplating a move to Mercedes in 2017. Believe it, when I see it.

[GSC]

Vettels already got his 4 titles in a dominant team, think hes more concerned with what turning around Ferrari will do for his legacy than adding a few cheap ones.

[Fernando]

Rosberg signs new 2 year deal.

[Guest]

two more years of heartbreak

[GSC]

Mercs well clear of the field in P1, McLarens showing well

[GSC]

Hamilton smacks the wall in Q2 after spinning on a kerb. Luckily he's able to crawl it back to the pits, no serious damage seemingly.

[dyrewolfe]

Wonder how long quali will be delayed by the rain?

Will be rather strange as they're expecting a dry race, so will be qualifying in the wet with a dry set-up...

[dyrewolfe]

Alonso pretty much sums up modern F1, "the secret to being fast is not to attack".

I'm just hoping the new regs next year go some way to reversing this awful trend.

[Guest]

Massa crashing in the wet, what a surprise. Another red flag zzzzzz

[Guest]

Hamilton makes q3 by just 1 tenth

[dyrewolfe]

Pretty crazy quali so far.

Mercs looking to have some serious competition from Red Bull.

McLarens looking surprisingly strong - go Nando and Jense!

[Guest]

Rosberg pole. Hamilton had to lift off because of the Alonso incident.

[dyrewolfe]

Oh wow - Hamilton is going to be one unhappy bunny. Forced to slow on his final lap by yellow flags after Alonso spins.

Rosberg takes advantage to bag pole by a tenth.

[GSC]

I feel for Nico if that gets deleted.

[nathan]

I feel for Nico if that gets deleted.

Why?

I don't think he slowed down enough under double yellows. Even if they let it go I think they should change the rule. You can't have drivers doing that speed when there's a potential issue up the road.

[GSC]

Nico keeps pole.

FIA gonna apply the 107% rule, only 11 cars reached within 107% of the fastest Q1 so other 11 to be demoted to P3 order apparently.

[Mad for Chelsea]

FIA gonna apply the 107% rule, only 11 cars reached within 107% of the fastest Q1 so other 11 to be demoted to P3 order apparently.

Seems a little harsh, given the circumstances.

No problem with Nico keeping pole, he got a little lucky with circumstances but as Hamilton said, that's the way it goes sometimes.

Anyone know if rain's forecast for the race tomorrow (or enough to make the track wet before)? Would make things more interesting certainly.

[dyrewolfe]

FIA gonna apply the 107% rule, only 11 cars reached within 107% of the fastest Q1 so other 11 to be demoted to P3 order apparently.

Seems a little harsh, given the circumstances.

No problem with Nico keeping pole, he got a little lucky with circumstances but as Hamilton said, that's the way it goes sometimes.

Anyone know if rain's forecast for the race tomorrow (or enough to make the track wet before)? Would make things more interesting certainly.

I believe they're expecting a dry race tomorrow.

[nathan]

If it's dry I would imagine Hamilton will overtake rosberg

[Guest]

'I'm driving like a grandma'

[dyrewolfe]

Poor old Button...absolutely no luck today.

Very little in the way of action either. Been watching spells of cricket to keep from falling asleep.

Most interesting action has been the duel between Max and Kimi.

Why is Rosberg able close to within a second or so of Hamilton, but no further? I don't think he's made even one serious attempt to overtake.

[Guest]

Hamilton was playing with Rosberg, like China all over again. Very slow race, over 1 hour 42 minutes says it all.

[dyrewolfe]

Hamilton was playing with Rosberg, like China all over again. Very slow race, over 1 hour 42 minutes says it all.

Maybe but even when Hamilton was reporting a "lack of pace", presumably while his tyres were graining, Rosberg still couldn't cause him any real problems. Fairly routine victory for Lewis in the end. Suppose Rosberg won't be too upset with 2nd - his best result in Hungary.

Congrats to Ricciardo on beating Vettel for the last podium place - great result! Scrappy drive by Verstappen to hold off Kimi for 4th.

Ferrari seem to have slipped a little further off the pace. They must be praying Brawn will agree to consult for them.

Good 7th place for Alonso...more points on the board for McLaren. Would probably have been more if Button's brakes hadn't gone (ridiculous time penalty as well for the radio comms).

[GSC]

I didn't watch it, Hungary's usually godawful for any kind of action. It's basically Monaco with run off.

[nathan]

It's a track where's it's hard to get past back markers let alone overtake someone

[GSC]

Max irritating another driver by moving twice on the straights and braking zone?

Still, the stewards are too busy enforcing important things, like stopping teams telling their drivers if the car has terminal issues.

[Jermaine2015]

July 24th 2016, the day Lewis Hamilton crushed Nico Rosberg's last chance to salvage any respectability in their so called 'rivalry'. Hamilton will probably roll off 4/5 straight wins now.

See you in 2017.

[nathan]

Max irritating another driver by moving twice on the straights and braking zone?

Still, the stewards are too busy enforcing important things, like stopping teams telling their drivers if the car has terminal issues.

F1 is a laughing stock at the moment. The rule makers haven't a clue.

I mean giving button a penalty for his team telling him how to rectify faulty breaks isn't a safety issue yet Rosberg setting a purple sector under double yellows is absolutely fine. The drivers are correct in moaning ant the situation.

They seem to be piling rule upon rule in the sport, they need stripping out and going back to basics.

[GSC]

Beyond driving hybrid tech forward, it's hard to think of too many positives around F1 these days.

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