[Official] Round 18: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

[frostie]

I didnt have time for a Grand Prix-view this week but thought it's time to get the race thread started!

After an exceptionally dull Indian GP we move to Abu Dhabi....which is also generally very dull!

The championship battle has fizzled out in the eyes of many with Vettel having been handed the crown already by most fans but dont be too quick to write the obituaries for Fernando Alonso's championship challenge. The Ferrari should have lots of new parts this weekend and the team are confident of them finding a lot of performance.

They wont have the double DRS that is so important for qualifying so Alonso will have to come from behind to win on Sunday but in terms of race pace they only need to find a tenth or so and apparently the new bits and pieces should be providing such an advantage....

For Alonso however the key to his title assault could come in the form of an unlikely ally. Lewis Hamilton and McLaren will have high hopes this weekend the MP4-27 should be very competitive around Yas Marina. If Hamilton and Button can hook the Macca up this weekend they could be in the thick of the fight for the win.

Raikkonen and Lotus have lost a certain amount of their spark of late and Grosjean looks terrified of getting close to anyone on track so I dont expect the Enstone based squad to be too much of a factor in Abu Dhabi.

Sauber were in the news for hiring Nico Hulkenberg earlier in the year and the Swiss squad can make a giant leap towards cementing sixth in the Constructors Championship with a decent finish this weekend. If Perez or Kobayashi can finish in the top eight they will have had a great weekend and would likely leave Force India with an insurmountable gap in the table.

Caterham and Marussia's fight for tenth will run until the end of the season but Abu Dhabi wont give Caterham any opportunity to claim a 12th place finish. Marussia published huge losses in the last year and retaining the tenth spot would give them a huge infusion of cash going forward. For Caterhman the focus is shifted towards Heikki Kovalainen's future and it looks likely to be resolved in the next fortnight with the Finn staying put for at least one more year.

[Mr V]

Originally Posted by frostie

For Alonso however the key to his title assault could come in the form of an unlikely ally. Lewis Hamilton and McLaren will have high hopes this weekend the MP4-27 should be very competitive around Yas Marina. If Hamilton and Button can hook the Macca up this weekend they could be in the thick of the fight for the win.

Fernando had better hope that the McLarens are not fast enough to be ahead of him, but behind the Red Bulls.

[Aysedasi]

Ahead of the Red Bulls, surely?

[Mr V]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

Ahead of the Red Bulls, surely?

Thats assuming that the Ferrari is also faster than the Red Bulls.

The point i was making is, from Fernando's point of view, if the Mac's are faster than him, but maybe not as fast as the Red Bull's then he's in trouble.

[Born Racer]

Originally Posted by frostie

I didnt have time for a Grand Prix-view this week but thought it's time to get the race thread started!

Quite early but possibly better than talking about the Indian Grand Prix.

[frostie]

Originally Posted by Born Racer

Quite early but possibly better than talking about the Indian Grand Prix.

Less said about India the better! I can only think of Barcelona 99 as being as boring in the 24 years I've been watching F1. Still there's always another race on the calendar to get us geared up for!

About Alonso and the McLarens obviously the worst case scenario for Fernando is if the Red Bulls keep winning and McLaren fill third and fourth place but I really think that Abu Dhabi will play to the strengths of the McLaren and it wouldnt surprise me at all to see them win this weekend and leave Vettel and Alonso fighting with each other for a podium spot and keep the title fight close

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Mr V

Thats assuming that the Ferrari is also faster than the Red Bulls.

The point i was making is, from Fernando's point of view, if the Mac's are faster than him, but maybe not as fast as the Red Bull's then he's in trouble.

Ah yes, quite so.

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by frostie

I didnt have time for a Grand Prix-view this week but thought it's time to get the race thread started!

It's still much, much better than nothing.

Not the scene of any great races. And certainly a track that must have been the inspiration for DRS, particularly if you were to ask Fernando Alonso about how difficult it can be to overtake at this track.

[Bononi]

That's great, let's get the ball rolling...

[Born Racer]

I dunno, I'd say 2010 was quite entertaining.

[Razzzor]

Originally Posted by frostie

Less said about India the better! I can only think of Barcelona 99 as being as boring in the 24 years I've been watching F1. Still there's always another race on the calendar to get us geared up for!

About Alonso and the McLarens obviously the worst case scenario for Fernando is if the Red Bulls keep winning and McLaren fill third and fourth place but I really think that Abu Dhabi will play to the strengths of the McLaren and it wouldnt surprise me at all to see them win this weekend and leave Vettel and Alonso fighting with each other for a podium spot and keep the title fight close

I dunno frostie, I think it's just we've been a bit spoilt for much of the season with decent races. But there's been plenty more dull ones in the past I think, we're it's just been following the leader and no passing at all. At least at India there was some action at the start, great first lap, then Alonso passing Button/Webber and Hamilton passing his team mate. And some of the mid-field wasn't too bad, especially Senna's passes. Just thinking back to that year of no tyres changes, that was pretty bad. And Indy 2005, although Schumi won and Barrichello fell off the track in the fight, NOTHING else happened in the entire race.

[Razzzor]

I think media is jumping to conclusions too fast about Vettel taking the title. Sure he's got the points lead, the better car (just) and is odd favourite. But McLaren was also all of those things after the first 3 rounds (and 1-2 in points).

But like Frostie said, the Ferrari is only a tenth or so behind, and that's on RB tracks. But that can change. If Vettel doesn't lead from the start and is forced to sit in the hot air of another car and use his tyres more, especially at this track. If he doesn't get the setup right, which has happened plenty of times this year where he struggled in quali but was one of the fastest in the race (Monaco). If the unreliable RB has issues again which is has much higher chances of happening compared to Ferrari.

Apart from his 5th at Hungary and the 2 retirements, Alonso has been on the podium in every race since Canada in June. He's very consistent at every track, despite always qualifying further back.

Definitely not over. Vettel needs 1 more win before he can feel safe, I think.

[Razzzor]

Oh and the other thing I forgot to mention is if Pirelli spring the super softs on RB, that'll be to Ferrari's advantage.

Vettel cruising for 30 laps at Indy, Alonso apparently doing qualifying laps every lap, and Vettel's tyres, I'm assuming, were still in worse condition at the end when he attempted the fastest lap and failed. Unless he just didn't push too hard on that lap.

[Nicholosophy]

It's probably wrong that I'm looking forward to the V8 Supercar support event more than the F1 this weekend. Wonder if any of the F1 guys will be talked into coming down to the Gold Coast 600 next year?

I presume the usual crowd will be at the front again and this super exciting circuit will bring us the best racing this season. Or not.

[Ultimo]

Originally Posted by Razzzor

Vettel cruising for 30 laps at Indy, Alonso apparently doing qualifying laps every lap, and Vettel's tyres, I'm assuming, were still in worse condition at the end when he attempted the fastest lap and failed. Unless he just didn't push too hard on that lap.

Bernie/Italian conspiracy?!

It ain't over. If someone smacks into the side of Vettel, he bins (I read far too many Britishisms on this forum), has a puncture, Ferrari gain some pace, McLaren get in the way...

23 points in 3 races makes it unlikely for Alonso to win, but not that unlikely.

[Ultimo]

Originally Posted by Razzzor

I dunno frostie, I think it's just we've been a bit spoilt for much of the season with decent races. But there's been plenty more dull ones in the past I think, we're it's just been following the leader and no passing at all. At least at India there was some action at the start, great first lap, then Alonso passing Button/Webber and Hamilton passing his team mate. And some of the mid-field wasn't too bad, especially Senna's passes. Just thinking back to that year of no tyres changes, that was pretty bad. And Indy 2005, although Schumi won and Barrichello fell off the track in the fight, NOTHING else happened in the entire race.

I remember in the mid 2000s some real stinkers at the Hungaroring and Catalunya.

Valencia is utterly terrible.

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[Born Racer]

Originally Posted by Ultimo

I remember in the mid 2000s some real stinkers at the Hungaroring and Catalunya.

Valencia is utterly terrible.

I rated Korea this year worse than India, with a 2.

[Marbot]

If first practice was anything to go by, then this is definitely a McLaren track. Early days, though.

[bella]

Originally Posted by Razzzor

I think media is jumping to conclusions too fast about Vettel taking the title. Sure he's got the points lead, the better car (just) and is odd favourite. But McLaren was also all of those things after the first 3 rounds (and 1-2 in points).

i think i disagree. based on past history involving red bull schooling everyone else, i think the media are right. whatever rule that red bull have bent to make the car suddenly that much faster and better, the fia aren't going to jump on it and ban it until the end of the year. so unless the other teams can work out what it is and reproduce it the title is a bit of a foregone conclusion.

call me cynical, but they've definitely found the best way of exploiting a couple of loopholes during this season, particularly the last few races. either that or their imagination departments deserve a really big bonus...

[chillibowl]

Originally Posted by bella

either that or their imagination departments deserve a really big bonus...

Milton Keynes should be renamed Willy Wonka's Chocolate factory!

in addition to making the best use of the rules they have figured out the tires...something that the other top rivals still seem be struggling with.

[bella]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

in addition to making the best use of the rules they have figured out the tires...something that the other top rivals still seem be struggling with.

good point. it seems like such a long time ago now but at the start of the season did they suffer particularly with tyre wear? all i remember is the car not being especially fast?

[chillibowl]

it was a long time ago but i think one explanation for the number of different winners we had at the beginning of the season is because all the teams struggled with understand their tires. im not sure if it was necessarily about preventing excessive tire wear but just finding out how to extract the most out of them.

certainly though setup and developing parts that could help with that was huge and something that Ferrari has failed with.

[bjohnsonsmith]

I can't say I like this race anymore than the Indian or S. Korean GP. Another GP on another artificial track.

[Mr V]

Originally Posted by Mr V

Fernando had better hope that the McLarens are not fast enough to be ahead of him, but behind the Red Bulls.

Oooops.

Ok, so it was only friday practice, but... !

It looks like Ferrari have ok race pace, but if second practice is indicative of their qualifying pace then they are in trouble.