Grand Prix 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

So the F1 roadshow rolls into Abu Dhabi for its end of year party at the Yas Marina circuit. Unlike last year this Grand Prix will not be worth double points and unlike last year this race will not decide the championship. In fact with the top 3 places decided in the Drivers Championship and the top 5 places concluded in the Constructors Championship we are pretty much deciding nothing. Its like that last day at Primary school before the summer holidays where you’re allowed to bring games in, you’ve got to turn up but you don’t really have to do much. Having said that some of those school days were mighty fun and Yas Marina is not that bad a circuit which might lead to a bit of end of year fun.

No doubt the most talked about thing all weekend will be Nico Rosberg’s sudden spell of form right when it doesn’t matter. Lewis looked none too chuffed on the podium in Brazil and I think will be keen to put a stop to that before the year ends. He is in luck as Yas Marina has always been a place he’s excelled at pace wise so I would expect him to have the upper hand. Sebastian Vettel has always been great round here too and, in his current form and the track suiting Ferrari more, I would expect him to very much keep the Mercs honest.

The nature of the track will also lend itself well to the ever re-emerging Red Bull car, which is great news for Danny Ricciardo who trails his team-mate by 10 points in the championship. Ricciardo is famed for his smile but, after losing his title of ‘everyones second favourite driver’ to Max Verstappen, his smile must surely be drooping slightly at the prospect of being beaten to being the top driver in his own team. Kvyat has to be praised for surviving, he started the season with critics suggesting that he’d lose his seat to Verstappen next year and some people (many on this site) saying he wasn’t really good enough for the Red Bull seat anyway. If he completes his end of season form by making sure he beats his highly rated team mate in the championship then he really couldn’t have done much more to prove them wrong.

Speaking of battles, the only close race in the championship worth talking about is between the two Finns of Kimi and Valteri. Lets face it Kimi should be well clear but his awful form this year has left him trailing the Williams driver by one point. He won’t want it to finish like that so I expect a bit fo fireworks in that department with them both fighting over the same piece of track at somepoint. I predict at least one of them in the wall.

It has by no means been a classic season this year (although at least one classic race) so I doubt they’ll be too many sad hearts at it ending. Most of us will already be thinking to next year and trying to read in to the Abu Dhabi proceedings what we can. Lets hope Ferrari give the Mercs a race so we can all have a winter of optimism eh?
 
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Ideal Lap (sum best sectors) in the Qual:
Qual – No – Driver – Qual Result – Ideal Lap – Flaw
1 – 6 – N.ROSBERG – 01:40,237 – 01:40,173 – 00,064
2 – 44 – L.HAMILTON – 01:40,614 – 01:40,562 – 00,052
3 – 7 – K.RAIKKONEN – 01:41,051 – 01:41,051 – 00,000
4 – 11 – S.PEREZ – 01:41,184 – 01:41,163 – 00,021
5 – 3 – D.RICCIARDO – 01:41,444 – 01:41,444 – 00,000
6 – 77 – V.BOTTAS – 01:41,656 – 01:41,656 – 00,000
7 – 27 – N.HULKENBERG – 01:41,686 – 01:41,673 – 00,013
8 – 19 – F.MASSA – 01:41,759 – 01:41,759 – 00,000
9 – 26 – D.KVYAT – 01:41,933 – 01:41,922 – 00,011
10 – 55 – C.SAINZ – 01:42,708 – 01:42,464 – 00,244
 
Sometimes credit where credit is due. That was a stonking lap by rosberg when Lewis retook pole by 1 & bit tenths I thought he had it but as I said what a lap by nico to find half a second + purple last 2 sectors. Shame for the competition tomorrow that vettel cocked up & is now 16th couldve been in contention tomorrow on raxe pace
 
Vettel coming 16th was the only bit worth watching. That was true entertainment.

If Lewis can't get ahead in the first corner I think he should do a banzia Maldonado-esk move on Rosberg. After all. It all doesn't matter now, and it would give us something to talk about for 4 months until the next race. :twisted:
 
I'm very pleased to see a return of form for Rosberg,
he pipped Hamilton on Q3 to take a 6th consecutive pole position.
Here's to hoping he races as hard as Hamilton in the race.

Don't get me wrong, my opinion of Hamilton has gone up immensely since he left McLaren and joined Mercedes.
I just feel like Rosberg was nerfed by the drama and the team management reaction, after the 2014 Belgian G.P. move and has been submissive (and Lewis dominant) ever since.
Great to see him take the fight to Hamilton, that's what the fans need.
 
[QUOTE="erinha, post: 297373, member: 4561 One of classic Ferrari mistakes...[/QUOTE]

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Yeah, it's not exactly the first time they've done that have they. Ferrari have gained something o a reputation over the last few years as a team that don't learn from their mistakes and a team that lack flexibilty when it comes to switching strategies when required during races. They're a bit rigid. For all the talk of Ferrari's improvement this year there are a couple of things that just never seem to change.
 
Yawn.

What an odd strategy for Hamilton - staying out on old tyres losing time lap after lap, only to put on the slower tyres for the final stint.
 
Maybe Hamilton chose his own strategy. Since he seemed to have taken a lot of the speed of the softs before the end what would he have done to the super-softs?
 
I am now convinced that Mercedes is throwing a bone to Rosberg and letting him win the last races because it seems obvious that they will not allow any strategy where Lewis has a chance
 
From what Woolf said on the BBC the pit wall team discussed with Hamilton what his options were and it sounded like Hamilton chose. It was definitely his choice to go so deep into the race before his second pit stop. Apart from one error in the US Rosberg was the better driver on the last four races.

Button finished ahead of Bottas, he held on despite Bottas having had DRS for several laps; he sounded delighted in his interview both for himself and the team.
 
It looks to me like they deliberately nobbled Hamilton's strategy to avoid a kerfuffle. The only thing he could try was go longer on the primes (which he did) and then go shorter on the option at the end. They put him back on the primes for the last stint - why? Completely defeated the object of the longer stint previously.

There were some dodgy radio communications in that race too - Kvyat being told where to deploy boost. Is that allowed?
 
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I really hope Ferrari and Williams have something extra to bring next year not sure I can take another all dominate season by 1 team. If its not red bull its been mercedes. We need a break from all the dullness.
 
Well I enjoyed it. Great drives from Vettel, Verstappen and Button. Well done to Nico for taking the psychological advantage into the closed season, should have driven like that a bit earlier though mate.
 
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