F1 - 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

[gofast182]

WEEKEND SCHEDULE: Fri 21 November 2014 Practice 1 04:00 - 05:30 Practice 2 08:00 - 09:30 Sat 22 November 2014 Practice 3 05:00 - 06:00 Qualifying 08:00 Sun 23 November 2014 Race 08:00 US TV Schedule: Friday, November 21 - 8:00 a.m. -- Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Practice #2 (NBCSN) Saturday, November 22 - 8:00 a.m. -- Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Qualifying (CNBC) Sunday, November 23 - 7:30 a.m. -- Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Race (NBCSN) CIRCUIT INFO Lap data Lap length 5.554km (3.451 miles) Race laps 55 Race distance 305.355km (189.739 miles) Pole position Right-hand side of the track Lap record* 1’40.279 (199.388 kph) by Sebastian Vettel, 2009 Fastest lap 1’38.434 (203.125 kph) by Lewis Hamilton, 2011 Maximum speed (2011) 322.7 kph (200.516 mph) by Sergio Perez, Sauber DRS zone/s (race) Two straights Car performance Full throttle 73% Downforce level High Gear changes per lap 68 Fuel use per lap 2.8kg Strategy Pit lane time loss 21.4 seconds 2012 prime tyre**: Soft (2011: Medium) 2012 option tyre**: Medium (2011: Soft) *Fastest lap set during a Grand Prix **Pirelli’s soft, medium and hard compounds are softer than those used in 2011

Hat tip to A2 on S2ki for the content.

 

[OneEyeJack]

This season is proof positive that in F1 the car makes the driver. The great champion Vettel is an also ran for not having the best car on the grid.

 

[OneEyeJack]

All Hamilton has to do to win the championship is to run into Rosberg. It would be keeping up an F1 tradition especially in the last race of the season.

 

[weasley]

It would also be payback for Spa.

 

[StrangeBrew]

If Hamilton is close enough to hit Rosburg, he is close enough to pass him.

 

[IndyIan]

I think this is a track that suits Hamilton more than Rosberg, and Hamilton will be in P1 on the grid and drive off for the easy win, barring any mechanical troubles... I can't see any situation where Hamilton would deliberately take out Rosberg, but if Hamilton is behind then I could see him putting his car up the inside or outside and letting Rosberg decide how the pass is going to end up.

 

[OneEyeJack]

Hamilton's job is to win. They've already got the constructors title. So if Hamilton has problems there's always another way. It's a job, not a sport. Hamilton has already had several disappointments in situations where he could have won the championship only to be relegated from a hopeful to an also ran. By now Hamilton has been beaten a few too many times at the end of the season and watched someone else wear the crown he thought would be his.

 

[gofast182]

Hamilton can win if: Rosberg finishes and Hamilton finishes at least: 1st ; 2nd 2nd ; 5th 3rd ; 6th 4th ; 8th 5th ; 9th 6th ; Hamilton is champion.

 

[weasley]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan

...if Hamilton is behind then I could see him putting his car up the inside or outside and letting Rosberg decide how the pass is going to end up.

This. Hamilton wins the championship if they clash. Rosberg doesn't. Hamilton has the high ground and can play it his way. Whereas in the past Rosberg has been happy to barge into Hamilton during a pass, he can't now, so all Hamilton needs to do, if he's behind, is have a go. Or stay where he is (if it's 1-2) - he wins either way.

 

[Patman]

Lewis wins the race and the championship! Yes! Double points didn't even mess things up at all, and hopefully they eliminate that for next year now...

 

[Whitewolf]

Good result. All the same it was a shame that Rosberg had to lose through reliability issues.

 

[weasley]

Lewis won the race in the first 20 metres. Sure, we'll never know if his car would have had problems if he'd had to push it harder to keep Rosberg behind him, but once he had launched he had it under control. It was the right result, but perhaps not the best way of getting it.

 

[A_Harman]

Good ending for a good season, and I believe the better driver won the world championship. Hamilton showed a clear, but slight, advantage over Rosberg in the last 5 or so races of the season. Rosberg's mechanical problem was just the odds catching up with him. Hamilton had some mechanical DNF's early in the season that really put him behind, but he overcame the deficit.

 

[whip]

How boring would this race have been if we didn't have the added excitement of double points?

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted By: Whitewolf

Good result. All the same it was a shame that Rosberg had to lose through reliability issues.

Even though I was obviously rooting for Lewis, I felt very bad for Nico and wish he had been able to finish in 2nd place to end his season off. I love the way he told his team that he wanted to finish the race instead of bringing the car into the pits on the last few laps. And he was a class act in defeat, going up into the media room to congratulate Lewis after the race.