2010 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

[Alex p.]

Results of the third practice:

1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:40,696 Min.
2 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1:40,829 Min. + 0,133
3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:41,280 Min. + 0,584
4 Fernando Alonso Scuderia Ferrari 1:41,490 Min. + 0,794
5 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:41,578 Min. + 0,882
6 Vitali Petrov Renault F1 1:41,689 Min. + 0,993
7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes Grand Prix 1:41,690 Min. + 0,994
8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes Grand Prix 1:41,729 Min. + 1,033
9 Robert Kubica Renault F1 1:41,877 Min. + 1,181
10 Nick Heidfeld Sauber F1 1:41,893 Min. + 1,197
11 Nico Hülkenberg Williams F1 1:41,934 Min. + 1,238
12 Felipe Massa Scuderia Ferrari 1:41,978 Min. + 1,282
13 Rubens Barrichello Williams F1 1:42,316 Min. + 1,620
14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber F1 1:42,566 Min. + 1,870
15 Adrian Sutil Force India F1 Team 1:42,587 Min. + 1,891
16 Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India F1 Team 1:42,858 Min. + 2,162
17 Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:42,993 Min. + 2,297
18 Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:43,344 Min. + 2,648
19 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus F1 Racing 1:44,876 Min. + 4,180
20 Jarno Trulli Lotus F1 Racing 1:45,048 Min. + 4,352
21 Timo Glock Virgin Racing 1:45,050 Min. + 4,354
22 Bruno Senna Hispania Racing 1:45,490 Min. + 4,794
23 Lucas di Grassi Virgin Racing 1:45,629 Min. + 4,933
24 Christian Klien Hispania Racing 1:46,464 Min. + 5,768

 

[Akmuq]

A nice rip off of x factor at the start.
Hamilton is looking really fast. I think he'll get pole.

 

[Alex p.]

Vettel pole for now.

Edit: Vettel faster again.

Yep, Vettel pole, Alonso 3, Webber 5!

 

[Antti-san]

Well, that was a disappointing drive from Webber...

 

[Alex p.]

Here's the top ten:

1
Sebastian Vettel
Red Bull Racing
1:39,394



2
Lewis Hamilton
McLaren-Mercedes
1:39,425

+ 0,031

3
Fernando Alonso
Scuderia Ferrari
1:39,792

+ 0,398

4
Jenson Button
McLaren-Mercedes
1:39,823

+ 0,429

5
Mark Webber
Red Bull Racing
1:39,925

+ 0,531

6
Felipe Massa
Scuderia Ferrari
1:40,202

+ 0,808

7
Rubens Barrichello
Williams F1
1:40,203

+ 0,809

8
Michael Schumacher
Mercedes Grand Prix
1:40,516

+ 1,122

9
Nico Rosberg
Mercedes Grand Prix
1:40,589

+ 1,195

10
Vitali Petrov
Renault F1
1:40,901

+ 1,507

 

[Peter]

If Alonso doesn't hit anyone, or have an engine failure, the title is all his.

 

[Louie_Schumii]

What's Marks record on Singapore and Abu Dhabi quali? I have a feeling the twilight just added more pressure to whatever pressure he already had 💡

 

[Matti_Dude]

Hamilton for the win!

 

[Joie de vivre!]

I think Webber totally blew all his chances for winning this years title.

 

[Prince.M5]

It's getting tougher and tougher for Webber... I think the best is Vettel and Alonso fighting for it.

Expect some desperate moves.

 

[Louie_Schumii]

It's getting tougher and tougher for Webber... I think the best is Vettel and Alonso fighting for it.

Expect some desperate moves.

Not unless the McLarens have something to say about it

 

[Rossticles]

Wow. Things were looking up for Vettel before Alonso hopped up to 3rd. Hamilton still needs a miracle for the championship. Alonso is going to have some trouble with Webber behind him. Webber is quite the aggressive driver. We're in for a good race tomorrow no matter what happens. I don't think Hamilton will be able to keep up with Vettel if he doesn't pass him on the first lap.

I can't believe Hamilton set the fastest lap of the weekend on his first Q3 lap. Incredible.

 

[Alex.]

It's getting tougher and tougher for Webber... I think the best is Vettel and Alonso fighting for it.

Expect some desperate moves.

Alternatively expect a boring race where Vettel runs away with it and the order stays more or less the same, giving Alonso the championship.

 

[Feschka]

Very worried about Webber right behind the 1st Ferrari. He could well do a mess right from the start.

 

[Peter]

If Alonso, Vettel and Webber fail to score, and Lewis wins, the title is his. And with Vettel and Webber close together, and Alonso between them, a collision isn't impossible.

 

[niky]

Webber isn't anywhere near close... damn... fifth? Rotten luck? Bad driving? Bad setup? Nerves? Whatever it is... his championship hopes are looking dimmer and dimmer.

Look for a first corner lunge on Vettel by Hamilton... or a lunge anywhere in the first lap... he'll have to take the Red Bull on before it builds a head of steam if he's to win this race. After that, if any of the three guys behind him at that point actually score, he still doesn't win the season, but at least he'll have another race victory under his belt.

Vettel's job, on the other hand is to put his head down and win... he's got to hope for Alonso to lose places (though it doesn't seem likely)... but he's got to win. Red Bull's dream season rests on his shoulders.

Alonso is right where he wants to be. Button behind him can hold up Webber, and Alonso has the race-length pace to stay ahead of Button without straining the car too much. He won't have to tangle with Hamilton... he can let Lewis and Sebastian fight it out amongst themselves. If one of them makes a big mistake, even less pressure on Alonso.

Looks like the Spaniard might be on his way to a third championship, but anything can happen tomorrow. Ferrari supposedly has a new engine for him, but you still have to wonder...

This being the last race... we might see a lot of mechanical casualties as teams push the edge of durability to score their final points of the season.

Have a full day's driving tomorrow at the track (yay! New Camaro! Finally!)... but I should get home in time to watch the race.

It's his attitude towards it all, mostly. Like saying he supports Red Bull's decision to be sporting this wekeend. We all know he's saying it because it will make his championship bid easier, but he pretends like he supports them because they're being good sports.

So is that an opinion stated as a fact? Because I don't know that he's saying that to make his championship bid easier.... and neither do you. I do believe that he's saying that because he's probably sick of Red Bull apparently using every single available sound bite to take poke at Ferrari for using team orders so transparently.

But then... that's an opinion, because I can't read Alonso's mind. And neither can you.

 

[Anes]

I would say Webber's title hopes are over now. Chin up.

Prediction: Alsonso gets taken out by Schumacher, Vettel wins the title.

 

[Sureboss]

I'm going to make a stupid prediction for tomorrows race.

Vettel will win, Button will pass Alonso due to the McLaren's pace on the straights, then Webber will fight Alonso and either overtake him leaving Alonso in fifth, or take him out whilst trying to overtake him.

This isn't over despite Alonso sitting 3rd.

 

[Peter]

I think Hamilton will be sneaking up Vettel's backside on lap 1, with Alonso close behind. Ferrari are god on the straights too. Button may give him trouble, and Webber's gonna sit around in 5th all race, or worse, as he's not famous for good starts.

 

[Rossticles]

I think if no one can pass Vettel on the 1st lap it's over. He may not win the championship, but he will win the race which is all you can really ask of him. When Vettel is in front he quickly makes a gap to 2nd place. All the turns here suit the Red Bull chassis well just because it's not the best in a straight line. Vettel was .2s quicker than anyone in S3 on his qualifying lap and he did it consistently the lap before. I'm giddy with anticipation. I'm just hoping for a good race, I don't prefer the luck of one driver or the disluck of another.

 

[niky]

Alonso's not winning the championship, bar mechanical incidents, hinges on Button overtaking him.

While there is precedent... I just don't see it happening... not when Button will be trying to fend off Webber behind him.

But who cares about that? I'm interested to see the fight for first... Hamilton versus Vettel on a clear track... that should make for some nice fireworks.

 

[Bram Turismo]

This is it then, Alonso is the 2010 champion 👍

You can always argue about something happening, but judging by his performance throughout the season I'm expecting Alonso to keep calm and sail towards the title. If anything he'll end up even higher than 3rd.

 

[Anghammarad]

Hilarious comment by Hamilton. "Massa tried to take me out". Well the only problem with that Mr Hamilton is that Massa was on a fast lap and you were on an outlap. It's your job to stay off the raceline, not his.

 

[Rossticles]

^ I thought that was very stupid of Hamilton to say as well.

But who cares about that? I'm interested to see the fight for first... Hamilton versus Vettel on a clear track... that should make for some nice fireworks.

True. They are the 2 drivers with so much more to gain than lose.

 

[Robin]

My Prediciton,

Hamilton and Alonso will take each other out at some point in the race leaving Vettel to take the win and the championship.

 

[The Outlaw]

Well as expected qualy has given us an exciting result It will be interesting to see if Hamilton and Alonso can keep up with Vettel during the race. For Alonso it will be key to stay out of trouble and make it to the end, so I doubt he will be pushing the issue too much. Hamilton does look really strong here (my favorite to win) judging from qualy. He only got 1 flying lap in (which was almost good enough for pole) in the closing moments of Q3 so maybe he has what it takes to keep up with Vettel who had a more ideal stint in qualy. I believe Alonso probably has a fair bit more in hand than Q3 suggested as well, as he most likely didn't have the proper amount of heat in the tires and brakes from being jammed up on his outlap, and I also believe he ran a bit wide at the crucial hairpin which cost him a bit more time.

Regardless, Alonso came through with just enough in what was an extremely tense situation, crossing the start/finish line to start his timed lap with only 5 seconds remaining, after frustratingly getting jammed up behind 4 cars toward the end of his outlap Webber straight up flopped for whatever reason and was over .5 off of the achievable pace of the car. Simply put, one put in the performance of a WDC under immense pressure and the other did not - and that could have been the nail in the coffin in regards to who gets the title.

Bring on Sunday Hard to believe the season is already coming to an end though

Button will pass Alonso due to the McLaren's pace on the straights.

I suggest you look up the data before making such an assumption in the future - I've seen countless post on this forum and others where people think Mclaren have some type of magical straight line speed advantage. FYI, both Mclaren's were identical in the speed trap at 312.6km/h in qualy (parc ferme) while Alonso's F10 was a hair faster at 312.9km/h. Just because the Mclaren's have a generally fast car in a straights doesn't mean they'll be the fastest car in the traps time and time again - as the teams run different DF levels relative to the other teams at each given track. Also, IIRC Ferrari are throwing in a different engine in Alonso's car for the race, so this could have an unpredictable affect on performance as well.

 

[Ardius]

Interesting that it has set itself up to be a little like Brazil 2008....Massa could only win the race and wait for Hamilton to screw up. Vettel can only win the race waiting for Alonso to screw up.
However, in this case we have 2 more contenders to mix it up..

I think Alonso can only be favourite, he has the points advantage and sits ahead of his closest rival and very close to the other two. He doesn't need to go for it, he can just sit and watch Vettel and Hamilton go at it into turn 1.

However, anything can happen, engine failures..gearbox failures...crazy overtake dives from Webber....

 

[Matti_Dude]

I hope that Alonso's engine blows tomorrow and that Webber tries an aggressive move on Button which he comes out worst of and ends his chance at being WDC. Then whilst Hamilton and Vettel are fighting for the lead, Vettel gets his front wing taken off, but I would. In reality I think Alonso will take the title and he will finish where he starts as well.

 

[Dan360]

I hope that Alonso's engine blows tomorrow and that Webber tries an aggressive move on Button which he comes out worst of and ends his chance at being WDC. Then whilst Hamilton and Vettel are fighting for the lead, Vettel gets his front wing taken off, but I would. In reality I think Alonso will take the title and he will finish where he starts as well.

I guess that you're a Hamilton fan, because I am one.

I think Webber will win the championship, but Hamilton to win the race.

If Hamilton gets the championship, then it would be one hell of a race.

 

[yeti]

Really looking forward to this one tomorrow...

England pounded the aussies today in the Rugby... hoping the two Macca's will go well tomorrow...

Lewis' best chance will be first lap along the back straight where he is quickest (if he doesn't so him off the lights!)... but Vettel is very quick in the last sector - but there's nowhere to overtake in that bit...

Personally I'd prefer Webber to win the Championship (if Lewis can't!)

C.