2010 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

[Radracing]

How are the engine conditions of the front runners? Who has the freshest engine and who has the least?

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

Don't forget that the start tomorrow will be very important. If say...Alonso botches the start, the championship could be out of his hands.

 

[Roo]

Alonso's the champion. I can't see Webber beating Alonso, and Fernando won't finish low enough for Vettel or Hamilton to steal it at the last.

 

[The Outlaw]

Don't forget that the start tomorrow will be very important. If say...Alonso botches the start, the championship could be out of his hands.

Well of course, it's a race so just about anything can happen from start to finish, including a botched start (which even has the potential to take out other contenders as well). The Championship can be decided on something as small and out of the drivers hands as a botched pit stop, safety car, reliability issue, etc...so even the seemingly small things are very important. There are always dozens upons dozens of "what if" scenarios...

Regarding the start - Fortunately Alonso is on the clean side with Mark behind him, so I don't think he should be too worried about Mark unless Mark decides to pull a fly over stunt like he did with Heikki at Valencia jk. I think Alonso's bigger worry will be JB who generally gets off the line very well. The Mclaren will also likely be able to get a nice start with the billboard table smooth surface here at Abu Dhabi. Luckily for Alonso, JB is a pretty safe/smart driver to race wheel to wheel with, so I doubt we would see JB pull anything too reckless trying to tango with the Championship leader. I think pace wise Alonso will be able to pull away from Button without too much problem if he manages to keep him behind toward the start of the race though. But yea, it should be especially entertaining watching the first few laps unfold. I really want to see Hamilton take Vettel to school with an impressive/ballsy overtake

Hopefully we something like the battle between them in Formula 3 (note: this was just the last lap of the fight)

 

[Matti_Dude]

I enjoyed that overtake

 

[livemusic]

It should be a good race tomorrow. I think Alonso will get the title too.

 

[Seismica]

I reckon, that unless Alonso crashes, Webber is out of it. Even with the superior pace of the Red Bull over the Ferrari, Webber will not catch Alonso. Not unless he gets lucky with pitstops and a safety car period.

I think both Button and Hamilton have a good chance here. The Mclaren is fast here, the latest updates and suddenly both drivers are right up there (Rather than complaining about grip like Hamilton was in Brazil, and Button the couple of races before that).

I'd love to see a Button win, to throw a spanner in the works and make for a great season finish. Though, that would almost guarantee an Alonso Championship, I think he thoroughly deserves it.

 

[L_Hamilton]

I laughed pretty hard when I saw this.

 

[Wiegert]

Alonso has his face virtually ripped off at the beginning

I can't wait for what should be a great race, although it doesn't look like Webber can do much starting from 5th on the grid, but you never know what can happen on race day.

 

[Peter]

So, how much strength will Christian Horner's foot tapping tomorrow have on the Ricther Scale?

 

[granturismite]

I really hope that Webber can win the championship, but this is unlikely.

The first lap is going to be crucial. If Hamilton can't pass Vettel by the end of sector 2, vettel will run away in Sector 3, leaving Vettel to win the race.

The most interesting battle will be Alonso/Button/Webber. If Webber gets of the line well (Big "if") and passes Button into turn one, Webber will track Alonso like a hound all race, but is unlikely to pass. He may throw a couple of desperate dives on the inside, but Alonso will most likely have Webber covered

If Webber does not pass Button on lap one, Alonso will pull away from Button and have a lonely race in third, avoiding incidents and will secure the championship.

BUT... if Button tries to pass Alonso, and something goes wrong (eg. both go wide, a spin, etc) Webber may be able to sneak past into third reletively quickly

Long story short, barring any mishaps, Alonso will finish no worse than 5th, probably 3rd. due to Qualy, its Alonso's championship to loose. (bugger). Vettel or Hamilton will win the race, depending on who leads after lap 1.

BRING BACK REFUELLING FOR GOD'S SAKE. THERE IS NO STRATEGY TO CONSIDER

 

[Rossticles]

How are the engine conditions of the front runners? Who has the freshest engine and who has the least?

I believe Alonso's is the most used as he put the 8th engine in his car around Singapore so they have been reusing engines since then. I believe the other 3 are still on their 8th engines with this race being the 2nd for the engines. This is what I think. I know I have read what the case actually is, but I can't completely remember.

As far as reliability though the Mercedes engines have been near perfect. I don't expect any trouble with Hamilton's car.

Edit:

The first lap is going to be crucial. If Hamilton can't pass Vettel by the end of sector 2, vettel will run away in Sector 3, leaving Vettel to win the race.

Yes. Vettel is, in my opinion, the most efficient driver in the field at making a gap to 2nd place when leading. The RB6 helps a lot, too.

 

[Radracing]

Alonso can sit back in 3rd and just hope Hamilton can take the win from Vettle and that would still leave Alonso as WC. Best case senario from the pole positions and engine condition. This way he won't have to strain his engine and risk any race incidents.

 

[Louie_Schumii]

I really hope that Webber can win the championship, but this is unlikely.

The first lap is going to be crucial. If Hamilton can't pass Vettel by the end of sector 2, vettel will run away in Sector 3, leaving Vettel to win the race.

The most interesting battle will be Alonso/Button/Webber. If Webber gets of the line well (Big "if") and passes Button into turn one, Webber will track Alonso like a hound all race, but is unlikely to pass. He may throw a couple of desperate dives on the inside, but Alonso will most likely have Webber covered

If Webber does not pass Button on lap one, Alonso will pull away from Button and have a lonely race in third, avoiding incidents and will secure the championship.

BUT... if Button tries to pass Alonso, and something goes wrong (eg. both go wide, a spin, etc) Webber may be able to sneak past into third reletively quickly

Long story short, barring any mishaps, Alonso will finish no worse than 5th, probably 3rd. due to Qualy, its Alonso's championship to loose. (bugger). Vettel or Hamilton will win the race, depending on who leads after lap 1.

BRING BACK REFUELLING FOR GOD'S SAKE. THERE IS NO STRATEGY TO CONSIDER

Plenty of strategy already for the average fan to consider.

It's meant to be a race between the racing drivers that isn't overshawdowed by their respective pit crews. F1 is meant to have a global audience and if someone from Russia doesn't understand why driver (x) finished ahead of driver (y) because of some crazy refuelling strategy then good luck trying to retain that audience.

The FIA are doing a good job on improving the show and I hope they continue to do so 👍.

 

[The Outlaw]

Plenty of strategy already for the average fan to consider.

It's meant to be a race between the racing drivers that isn't overshawdowed by their respective pit crews. F1 is meant to have a global audience and if someone from Russia doesn't understand why driver x finished ahead of driver y because of some crazy refuelling strategy then good luck trying to retain that audience.

The FIA are doing a good job on improving the show and I hope they continue to do so 👍.

I'm of the same opinion. Forget the element of fueling strategies, as this only gives another reason for the teams to overtake one another during the pits sequence, which I personally find rather boring. I think in some cases things could potentially be more interesting (especially if the performance diff. from the prime to option was a bit wider) if they allowed the teams to use any tire they want on race day, and not be forced to come in for a mandatory pit stop to use the other compound.

IMO, the biggest issue in improving the show in the future will be to minimize the aero defficiencies the cars have while following one another, and also to give the cars a bit more power and a higher output KERS. The racing has been great for the most part this year, but the cars atm are just too damn easy to drive with too much aero, meaning we don't see enough mistakes made which of course lead to possible overtakes.

 

[granturismite]

The racing has been great for the most part this year, but the cars atm are just too damn easy to drive with too much aero, meaning we don't see enough mistakes made which of course lead to possible overtakes.

The teams employ drivers who don't make mistakes. Also, any car that has aero is going to make a wake of "dirty air", resulting it loss of downforce for the car behind. this is true for any car racing, not just F1. F1 just has so much down force that it shows this to the extreme.

If you would like to see racing with little to no aero, resulting in more swapping of positions (not overtaking), watch motorbikes, not F1. F1 is all about corner speeds and aerodynamic efficiency. If one of us tried to drive these cars, it would rip our heads off as we spin in every corner because we can't get to grips with the way the car works. These are some of the most difficult cars in the world to drive.

The whole premise of an f1 car is to drive ludicrously fast so that all the properties of the car meet their optimum temrature range, so you can drive quicker

(if this came out condescending, sorry, that was not my objective, just my opinion)

 

[The Outlaw]

The teams employ drivers who don't make mistakes.

So according to that logic, no driver in F1 is even qualified for employment. Of course they employ the most highly qualified driver possible, but in no way does this mean they are resistant to making mistakes, whether large or small. At the end of the day they are still human and they make mistakes all the time, whether it be spinning off in the rain or running a few inches wide of the apex on their qual lap. Even the tiniest of errors are still what I'd consider mistakes, and IMO the current rulesets aren't provoking enough mistakes because the cars are generally too easy to extract the maximum (or near) potential from. The harder it is to extract the absolute most out of the car, the more mistakes and overtakes we would see during a race most likely...and their would be a bigger difference between the absolute top level drivers and those who are only 2nd rate (in comparison).

Also, any car that has aero is going to make a wake of "dirty air", resulting it loss of downforce for the car behind. this is true for any car racing, not just F1. F1 just has so much down force that it shows this to the extreme.)

If you would like to see racing with little to no aero, resulting in more swapping of positions (not overtaking), watch motorbikes, not F1. F1 is all about corner speeds and aerodynamic efficiency. If one of us tried to drive these cars, it would rip our heads off as we spin in every corner because we can't get to grips with the way the car works. These are some of the most difficult cars in the world to drive.

Yes, for the average out of shape Joe Schmoe, good luck even thinking about driving the car to half it's potential for a short period of time...but these guys are pure bred professionals, competing at the highest level who IMO need to be challenged a bit more. And undoubtedly, modern F1 cars are relatively easy to drive compared to a lot of F1 cars from the past, particularly the turbo era cars with basically 1000hp + on/off type powerbands, and overall crude (by modern day standards) engineering where getting within the last 99% (like the top guys do now days) of the car took an absolute alien to achieve - and this was why extremely talented guys like Senna excelled.

Also, I agree aero is a crucial element of F1, especially in order to maintain its spot as being the absolute pinnacle of motorsports. But my problem is with the way they achieve the aerodynamics (which the technical working group is looking to improve upon in the next few years) and performance in general. ATM, their aero regulations create too much disrupted air to the car behind due to unnecessarily large wings and diffusers (devices which create a lot of turbulence). Dramatically minimizing the extreme of the current wings and introducing ground affects would be the ideal way to improve overtaking (who doesn't want that?) and to maintain the aerodynamic performance of a modern day F1 car. Lastly, I feel the current F1 cars are severely underpowered and that there are just too many tracks where you can just take corners flat out (i.e. Eau Rouge) due to the massive downforce and relative lack of power and acceleration. Pushing the cars past 1000hp would dramatically have an affect on how easy the car is to drive, when it comes to importance of throttle modulation getting out of slow corners and when feathering through the high speed stuff. Over the past years F1 cars have only gone downhill in power output and uphill with the insane levels of DF...making the cars easier to drive IMO.

 

[grbmrdj]

Hi, sorry for being such a noob, but is this right? Vettel has 231 points, and if he finishes first, he will be on 256 points right? and if Fernando, who is on 246 points will finish 5th, he will be on 256 points then Vettel will win? and if the result is Vettel, Hamilton, Button, Webber, Alonso, then he will lose?. I know so many questions. sorry.

 

[astrosdude91]

I laughed pretty hard when I saw this.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

and IMO the current rulesets aren't provoking enough mistakes because the cars are generally too easy to extract the maximum (or near) potential from.

Tell that to Petrov.

 

[The Outlaw]

Funny, as I thought of him specifically when I was writing that up

With the older turbo era F1 cars they had to be driven with a lot more care and respect - the current F1 cars drive like their on rails which likely leads to a bit of over confidence/over commitment at times (in the case of guys like Petrov) if I were to take a reasonable guess.

 

[MarkWebber]

Go Vettel, Webber has no chance now after his dismall qualifying, absolutely disgraceful performance.

Now all Webber really has is a chance to cause problems for Alonso, make it possible for Vettel to claim the DC, but even that is a long shot considering his ****house starts, dear o dear!

 

[Louie_Schumii]

Hi, sorry for being such a noob, but is this right? Vettel has 231 points, and if he finishes first, he will be on 256 points right? and if Fernando, who is on 246 points will finish 5th, he will be on 256 points then Vettel will win? and if the result is Vettel, Hamilton, Button, Webber, Alonso, then he will lose?. I know so many questions. sorry.

Don't get confused by complicating things. Just enjoy the race as it unfolds . This is the most thrilling final grand prix in the past couple of years and what a place to hold the event in!

 

[Roo]

Hi, sorry for being such a noob, but is this right? Vettel has 231 points, and if he finishes first, he will be on 256 points right? and if Fernando, who is on 246 points will finish 5th, he will be on 256 points then Vettel will win? and if the result is Vettel, Hamilton, Button, Webber, Alonso, then he will lose?. I know so many questions. sorry.

Long answer. Short answer: Yes, if Vettel and Alonso tie on points, Vettel wins.

 

[yeti]

Long answer. Short answer: Yes, if Vettel and Alonso tie on points, Vettel wins.

Only if Vettel wins this race.

C.

 

[Matti_Dude]

I don't think there is a big performance difference between the three sectors as they made out through qualifying. In the first sector the Ferrari, RB and McLaren were all very evenly matched. If i'm right I believe that the Ferrari was the quickest car in a straight line which made the second sector times just as close. Yes the RB was the quickest in the final sector but it was not by much (less than half a tenth) so I don't think we will see any particular car pull away in a specific sector. I'm looking forward to this, anything can happen.

 

[Alex.]

Proper drivers photo coming up soon then, just this so far

 

[spyrrari]

Am counting down the minutes untill racestart...

Can't wait for this race,am really hoping it won't be decided in the first lap,but we get a bizar race with several incidents,safetycars,leadchanges etc etc...


My prediction is this:

1.Hamilton
2.Vettel
3.Alonso

Am sure Alonso will drive somewhat carefully and only attacs when absolutaly necessary....

Hoping for an epic battle between Lewis ans Seb...👍👍👍


spy.

 

[Anghammarad]

I believe Alonso's is the most used as he put the 8th engine in his car around Singapore so they have been reusing engines since then. I believe the other 3 are still on their 8th engines with this race being the 2nd for the engines. This is what I think. I know I have read what the case actually is, but I can't completely remember.

I think that Vettel is in as dire an engine situation as Alonso, possibly even worse. He has lots of km on all engines

Edit. Its going to be a very interesting start. Alonso will no doubt be very cautious but Vettel and Hamilton will probably both go all in. Button will not do anything foolish but Webber might try a desperate move. End result: Hamilton takes Vettel out, Webber takes Alonso out. Button wins race comfortably in _the_ anticlimax of the season.

 

[Alex.]

Everyone is saying that the championship contenders will crash into eachother and take eachother out. They know better than that, it's the last race of the season but it isn't like Lewis/Vettel and Webber/Alonso have been T-boning their rivals all year long. Vettel hit Webber and Button, Webber hit Lewis once in AUS. Alonso and Lewis's retirements this year generally came from driver error or bad luck.