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27 Nov 2015, 08:47 (Ref:3593612) | #1 | |
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Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2015: Weekend Thread
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is run as a sort of metaphor for the Formula 1 calendar. As the sun sets on the season, so does that on the United Arab Emirates, gradually turning to dusk and transforming the circuit into the stage of Formula 1’s final laps. Of the seven visits to the capital of the UAE (and the largest of the seven emirates), this will, however, be only the fourth time that it has hosted the last chapter, the others being in the inaugural year of 2009, 2010 and last year.
A purpose-built race circuit designed in conjunction with the surrounding buildings, including the symbolic Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi Hotel, whose diamond-shaped colour chaning LED panes show off the opulence of the emirates and which is built over the track, it is characterised by its billiard table-smooth surface and contemporary corner design with a few curious and tricky curves. Drivers can carry quite a lot of speed into the wide Turn 1, but it has to be tempered because it is also quite an angle on the exit. They then vault up towards the apex of the left-hand Turn 2 on the brow of a slight hill before holding on flat through the long right-hand Turn 3. Turn 4 is really just a bit of a curve on the downhill straight. They can brake very late and carry a lot of speed into the left of the chicane at Turn 5 before being more circumspect on the exit at 6. The entry to Turn 7 is long and then comes the apex, so it’s easy to miss it, but whatever they do, drivers need to be carrying plenty of speed onto this straight, as it is by far the longest one on the track; it also has DRS. After braking shortly after the 100-metre board, a quicker chicane follows before they enter the next straight and another DRS zone. They are now into Sector 2. There is another chicane, but this time it’s left, a tiny bit right and then immediately left again. The 90 left of Turn 14 follows, which takes the drivers into Sector 3. Turn 15 and Turn 16 are both right-handers and the braking for Turn 17 is tricky, as drivers are turning slightly and Turn 17 soon follows. It's quite a tight right and then the drivers go left under the hotel, before going left again as the track begins to open up. The final two corners are in a similar vein to Turns 15 and 16, but with the final corner being much more angled. Drivers carry a lot of speed through the penultimate turn but have to be careful to slow down enough for the final corner, which is a tricky angle to aim at following that braking zone. In the first year, Brawn driver Jenson Button arrived in Abu Dhabi for the seventeenth and final race fresh off the back of his world championship, having sealed it last time out in Brazil. This was the final race for refuelling. After leading the early laps, Lewis Hamilton was jumped at the stops by Sebastian Vettel, in his first year with Red Bull. Hamilton went out with brake trouble, while the only other retirement was Jaime Alguersuari who retired after stopping in the Red Bull pit by mistake, instead of that of the junior team, Toro Rosso. Red Bull sent him out (it was the lap when Vettel was due in) and he went out of the race. Kamui Kobayashi finished sixth for Toyota, impressing the team and scoring points in only his second race; he looked set to stay at the team, but they were to withdraw at the end of the year (it was also BMW’s final race). He went to Sauber, which had got back their old team. Vettel held on for his fifth Grand Prix win and his fourth of the season. Team-mate Mark Webber fought off a hard challenge by the new World Champion on the final lap to hang on to the runner-up spot. 2010 was a championship decider with a result few people saw coming, this lack of foresight contributing to the result itself. Four drivers went into the race with a chance of winning the title, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso leading the championship battle on 246 points, with Mark Webber giving chase on 238, and more remote chances for Sebastian Vettel on 231 points and Lewis Hamilton on 222. It was the first year in which 25 points was awarded for a victory and the first time four drivers had entered the final Grand Prix with a chance of the world title. On the opening lap, Michael Schumacher tried to pass team-mate Rosberg and spun, leading to a scary moment when Vitantonio Liuzzi put his car atop the Mercedes. Vettel led away from pole and ended up leading most of the race, apart from a period during the pit stops. Mark Webber struggled for grip on the super-soft tyres and pitted early. Ferrari followed suit for Alonso to cover the Red Bull driver, a catastrophic strategic decision as it turned out, which ultimately may have partly led to Aldo Costa’s demotion and perhaps even to his eventual departure from the team. Both drivers struggled to overtake and were well down the order, with Alonso’s race-long frustration behind Renault’s Vitaly Petrov a particularly obvious moment to pick as defining the outcome of the season. Meanwhile, Vettel, blissfully unaware of being in the pound seats for the championship, romped home to victory. With some slight shades of James Hunt in 1976, he had no idea he was world champion on crossing the line and only learned of his success when told by his engineer. His high-pitched crying and subsequent euphoric scream over the radio shall remain a big memory of the 2010 Grand Prix season. It was also the first time since James Hunt in 1976 that a world champion’s first race as points leader was the one in which he took the title. Anyone who doubted it could have been Vettel should have looked no further back than 2007 when Raikkonen snuck up from behind to take away the championship that McLaren drivers Alonso and Hamilton were seen to have a hand on each. Nevertheless, it is unlikely that many people foresaw that being the first of four world championships on the trot for Vettel. ‘Trot’ doesn’t seem to cover it actually, as Sebastian ended up giving the impression that most of those hard-fought titles were won at a canter. At Abu Dhabi the following year, Vettel again got into the first corner first, but a puncture led to his retirement and in a reversal of their 2009 fortunes, it was Lewis Hamilton who took the spoils. Alonso and Button completed the podium. 2012 saw that season’s returnee Kimi Raikkonen return to the top step of the podium for the first time since 2009 in his new Lotus team. He controlled the race well since taking over the lead following Lewis Hamilton’s retirement and told the team and the world just how in control he was with his infamous words “Just leave me alone – I know what I’m doing” and when asked by the team to keep the heat in all four tyres under the safety car, replying “Yes, yes, yes, yes – I’m doing it all the time. You don’t have to remind me every ten seconds”. Kimi was quite big on words that day as both he and Vettel were warned by the stewards about swear words on the podium that day in the new-style more media-friendly podium ceremony. Kimi still had a more typical moment of nonchalance and understatement that day, though, with his placid response to being asked how it felt to be a winner again. In 2013, there was a partial solar eclipse that could be seen during the race, but Sebastian Vettel totally eclipsed the opposition, as he overtook Mark Webber into Turn 1 an led every lap of the race, winning by 30.8 seconds from his Red Bull team-mate. Last year saw the first and probably last time that we will see double championship points in all four tyres. We also saw the super-soft and soft tyres being introduced, instead of the soft and the medium of the previous three seasons. Lewis Hamilton ended up taking his second world title and the win, with Felipe Massa just 2.5 seconds behind at the chequered flag. Valtteri Bottas’s third meant that Williams got their first double podium since Nick Heidfeld and Mark Webber finished 2nd and 3rd at Monaco in 2005. The change of ambient temperature as the race goes on can have its effect on performance. It can also be a little difficult to to avoid wheelspin out of some of the slow corners. The tyres heat up quite a lot in the first sector before then cooling down a bit on the long straight. It is expected to be a two-stop race for most drivers. Lewis Hamilton hasn't had a pole position since Monza, although this will perhaps not unduly concern him, since only once in Abu Dhabi has a driver converted his pole into a win. Constructors’ championship standings: http://www.formula1.com/content/fom-...standings.html Drivers’ championship standings: http://www.formula1.com/content/fom-...standings.html Circuit length: 5.554km Number of laps: 55 Race distance: 305.355km First World Championship Grand Prix: 2009 Dry weather tyre compounds: Super-Soft (Red) and Soft (Yellow) DRS Detection Zone 1: Between Turns 6 and 7 DRS Activation Zone 1: On straight between Turns 7 and 8 DRS Detection Zone 2: After Turn 9 DRS Activation Zone 2: Between Turns 10 and 11 Speed trap: Near end of straight before Turn 8 Lap Record: 1:40.729 – Sebastian Vettel – Red Bull Racing-Renault (2009) |
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27 Nov 2015, 11:29 (Ref:3593644) | #2 | |
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Great introduction Born Racer - fantastic memories!
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27 Nov 2015, 15:21 (Ref:3593675) | #3 | ||
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yep great intro again BR. i suspect reading it will be the highlight of the weekend for me though.
i had totally forgotten just how close 2010 was. in hindsight only, as i cant recall all the details, but thinking back i still cant believe how Ferrari messed up in terms strategy with Alonso unable to get past Petrov (who, in fairness, probably was having his best drive in F1 that day). also loved that yellow and black Renault livery...if they actually come back i hope they bring that livery back as well. |
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27 Nov 2015, 18:23 (Ref:3593716) | #4 | |
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Great intro BR. I bet Alonso wishes he had DRS back in 2010?
It's not the greatest of tracks. Lewis and Vettel seem to go well there - as well as Kimi. |
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27 Nov 2015, 18:40 (Ref:3593721) | #5 | |
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Good test for Bottas to see if he
can nip Kimi for 4th in the points championship and Finnish bragging rights. |
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27 Nov 2015, 19:05 (Ref:3593728) | #6 | ||
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Watching FP 1 and 2 its amazing how much hammer some people are giving their cars over the kerbs. Some great slow-mo shots.
Perez performing well Mehri on the verge of breaching the 107% level........well behind Stevens. |
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27 Nov 2015, 21:55 (Ref:3593764) | #7 | ||
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And Sainz in engine trouble again! He seems to attract bad luck, doesn't he?
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28 Nov 2015, 08:50 (Ref:3593838) | #8 | ||
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Carlos has used 7 ICE's so far, Max Verstappen has used 8, Daniel and Daniil have also used 8
Last edited by steve nielsen; 28 Nov 2015 at 09:13. |
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28 Nov 2015, 10:45 (Ref:3593851) | #9 | ||
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That's a stunning intro BR, you have surpassed yourself !
Thank you 😊 |
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28 Nov 2015, 12:17 (Ref:3593857) | #10 | ||
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It looks as though there might be more of interest happening in the Stewards' room than on the track.
Mercedes have formally requested the Stewards, who it appears are the competent body to rule on the matter, to basically decide whether Ferrari, who aren't actually named in the request, have been cheating this year by taking advantage of the wind-tunnel work and CFD analysis that they have supposedly been doing for Haas. This has been rumbing on since the Spanish GP, but it would seem as though the FIA have been unable to give any definitive answers top the questions raised by both Red Bull and Mercedes as well as some of the other teams. I hope that the Stewards have a really good lawyer on duty this weekend, as they are going to attempt to give a ruling prior to the start of the race tomorrow. Click here to read full documentation between Mercedes and the FIA stewards |
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28 Nov 2015, 12:27 (Ref:3593859) | #11 | ||
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Quote:
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28 Nov 2015, 13:24 (Ref:3593864) | #12 | |
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Vettel out at the first hurdle! Looks like somebody was asleep at Ferrari.
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28 Nov 2015, 14:40 (Ref:3593873) | #13 | |
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28 Nov 2015, 17:05 (Ref:3593895) | #14 | ||
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Excellent intro.
I almost forgot about this race, what with the WDC being decided plus it being a long season. Anyway, Nico's got his 6th consecutive pole and can he turn this into another win? |
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28 Nov 2015, 17:12 (Ref:3593897) | #15 | |
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The record is not good for pole winners in Abu Dhabi going on to win the race can Rosberg break that jinx?
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29 Nov 2015, 01:05 (Ref:3594043) | #16 | ||
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The big question is - why couldn't he do these sort of performances at the start of the year? Has it got something to do with the new tyre regulations? If he wins - it'll put him on a high for next year - and then that might put Lewis on the backfoot. Remember, winning back-to-back titles can take it out of a driver(look at Häkkinen and Vettel for example). It's a lot of ifs - I accept, and do think that Lewis is an all round better driver than Nico, but it does pose some questions for next year. |
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29 Nov 2015, 11:56 (Ref:3594172) | #17 | |
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About the intro, you're very welcome. I hope it was reasonably informative and gave you some more anticipation for the race weekend.
Force India are doing well - what a canny race team they've always been since the Jordan days! I hope we get a meteoric Hamilton and Rosberg battle. Could Perez's tyre-saving skills bring him reward in the form of another podium? |
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29 Nov 2015, 13:25 (Ref:3594182) | #18 | ||
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Well, the Stewards have ruled on the wind-tunnel/CFD queries put up by the teams, and my interpretation of it is that Ferrari, although not named in any of the documents put forward by either the teams or the FIA, were probably bending the rules but not breaking them as they are too loosely written (yet again!).
The rules have now been tightened, but they will probably be impossible to police adequately in my opinion. How on earth can a Ferrari technician working on a Haas aero bit forget what he has learnt whilst using the Ferrari wind-tunnel on behalf of Haas? And I wonder if a similar relationship has existed in the past between the two Red Bull teams? Wouldn't it have been far, far simpler to have just written that each team must use it's own facilities or those of a third party that has no connection whatsoever with any other team in, or about to join, Formula 1? |
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29 Nov 2015, 14:44 (Ref:3594192) | #19 | ||
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29 Nov 2015, 15:01 (Ref:3594194) | #20 | ||
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No doubt that it will come up in the interviews at some point, but the only reason that Rosberg beat Hamilton was because Mercedes have altered the set-ups of the cars and this penalises Hamilton. So, it's the car that won, not Rosberg; and Mercedes have only made the changes to keep Rosberg happy.
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29 Nov 2015, 15:50 (Ref:3594210) | #21 | ||
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What a sphericalobjects-up over Hamilton's last stop. It seems to me they had 4 options:
I feel LH is getting too much of a say in the strategy decisions. It really can't be feasible to drive an F1 car at racing speeds and weigh up all the pros and cons of a strategy decision. Far better to have the race engineer do that and dictate the decision. It seems to me that the relationship between LH and his race engineer just hasn't been solid enough for that in 2015. |
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29 Nov 2015, 15:53 (Ref:3594212) | #22 | |||
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29 Nov 2015, 20:15 (Ref:3594248) | #23 | ||
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Quote; "I feel LH is getting too much of a say in the strategy decisions. It really can't be feasible to drive an F1 car at racing speeds and weigh up all the pros and cons of a strategy decision. Far better to have the race engineer do that and dictate the decision. It seems to me that the relationship between LH and his race engineer just hasn't been solid enough for that in 2015."
Cannot agree. LH knew the only way to try to get ahead of Rosberg was to stay out. If he had, and then ballsed it up, ok, he would have been for the high jump. I don't believe it is the Engineers decision to tell him to put his engine on "10" and Rosberg on "6". All Merc chiefs did was choose another easy 1 2 finish. LH was "given an instruction" to do it. |
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29 Nov 2015, 20:25 (Ref:3594249) | #24 | ||
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Cannot agree. LH knew the only way to try to get ahead of Rosberg was to stay out. If he had, and then ballsed it up, ok, he would have been for the high jump. I don't believe it is the Engineers decision to tell him to put his engine on "10" and Rosberg on "6". All Merc chiefs did was choose another easy 1 2 finish.
LH was "given an instruction" to do it.[/QUOTE] Absolutely right. Lewis deserved better than that from the team, who were only concerned with ensuring yet another 1-2 for the benefit of the visiting bigwigs. They care not a jot about racing, merely Merc's share price. Arrant favouritism towards the 'local boy', cynical disregard for the ethos of the 'sport'. No wonder Toto and Niki are at loggerheads... |
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29 Nov 2015, 20:37 (Ref:3594252) | #25 | ||
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Bet LH isn't happy either. I didn't see the aftermath interviews.
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