F1 - 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

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F1 - 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

US TV Times:
Practice 1: Friday November 24th, 4:00AM EST, NBC Sports Live Extra
Practice 2: Friday November 24th, 8:00AM EST, NBCSN
Practice 3: Saturday November 25th, 5:00AM EST, NBC Sports Live Extra
Qualifying: Saturday November 25th, 8:00AM EST, NBCSN
Race: Sunday November 26th, 7:00AM EST, NBCSN

Standings:
Drivers
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG Petronas, 345
2. Sebastian Vettel, Scuderia Ferrari, 302
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes AMG Petronas, 280
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, 200
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Scuderia Ferrari, 193
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 158
7. Sergio Perez, Sahara Force India, 94
8. Esteban Ocon, Sahara Force India, 83
9. Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Toro Rosso, 54
10. Felipe Massa, Williams Martini Racing, 42
Constructors
1. Mercedes AMG Petronas, 625
2. Scuderia Ferrari, 495
3. Red Bull Racing, 358
4. Sahara Force India, 177
5. Williams Martini Racing, 82
6. Scuderia Toro Rosso, 53
7. Renault Sport F1, 49
8. Haas F1 Team, 47
9. McLaren-Honda, 28
10. Sauber, 5

For more, including track data, analysis, and video please check out my full post on TOV Motorsports.

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Should be an interesting qualifying and race with 3 teams pretty close on pace, and no championship worries to make anyone timid about mixing things up.
 
As an aside, it looks like Toro Rosso Honda next year will have XOM as their lubricant partner; Castrol seems to be out with Honda, and Honda back with XOM. I guess the concern over flaming Hondas with Mobil and Esso logos really wasn't assuaged by flaming Renaults (oops, Tags) with the Mobil and Esso logos.
 
Originally Posted By: billt460
That race was the total cure for insomnia.

yeah, it turned out Redbull and Ferrari didn't quite have the pace to make it interesting... And the MB is so bad in the draft that Lewis couldn't really challenge Bottas.
Watching Massa run his race and stomping Stroll yet again, I get the feeling the Massa is still the best driver Williams could get next year. Kubica could be better, but maybe not, although I hope he could be as fast as he was.
 
Well it wasn't a great race but it wasn't a bad one, either. The most striking thing (in a good way) to me was how much the world feed didn't waste time on the big nothingburger that was the top 8. Instead it concentrated on some great battles in the midfield: ALO & MAS, GRO & STR, MAG & WEH. Goes to show it's every bit as much about the quality of racing as it is heritage teams and big name drivers. After Brazil we knew ALO would be utterly determined not to look at the back of that Williams anymore. Someone else pointed out it was refreshing to see GRO battle it out wheel-to-wheel, we usually see his teammate doing more of that. Speaking of, respectable drive for MAG after that first lap spin.

Over the years I have developed not just a familiarity with but an affection for our U.S. NBCSN broadcast crew. Leigh Diffey is a skilled broadcaster who can call numerous sports and make them exciting, though he clearly had a passion for F1. David Hobbs' irreverent and sometimes dry humor coupled with decades of racing experience made him an absolute treat to listen to. Steve Matchett's precise and articulate explanations helped make the complex understandable. Then there's Will Buxton whose energy and passion for F1 is second-to-none. His ability to ask the right questions was uncanny. As a matter of fact, those questions and answers were often recycled by others in the motorsports media and became the headlines we saw on racer.com, motorsport.com, and others. It was with sadness that I watched them sign off yesterday. But it didn't have to be that way. While there are other complications involved, it boils down to this: Liberty Media touts their goal of wanting to enhance the fan experience and grow the sport in the U.S. What they did is allow a respected and proven broadcast team (who has been growing its audience) to slip away while sending coverage to a network on an alarming downward trajectory (ESPN) with no dedicated US broadcast team. Sheer idiocy on Liberty Media's part.
 
This is obviously the end of the Grand Prix discussion threads for 2017. We've had some good discussions this year and I would like to thank everyone who reads and participates.
 
Originally Posted By: gofast182
Instead it concentrated on some great battles in the midfield: ALO & MAS, GRO & STR, MAG & WEH.


In F1 a, "great battle" is following within 3 car lengths of the guy in front of you....

On a lighter note, does anyone know who are the Formula 1 broadcasters going to be on ESPN / ABC next year? Are they going to get Hobbs and Machett? I could care less if they lose Buxton and Diffy. But I like the racing experience both Hobbs and Machett bring to the table. The way it sounded when they all signed off after yesterday's race, they were all going away. Drinking champagne from their shoes, and all that nonsense.
 
The ones I pointed out (that the world feed actually followed) were anything but following by 3 car lengths.

From what I understand we're going to be getting generic coverage over the world feed. There will be no US studio or broadcast presence. I will give it a chance but Liberty really bungled this from what I can tell.
 
Originally Posted By: gofast182
From what I understand we're going to be getting generic coverage over the world feed. There will be no US studio or broadcast presence. I will give it a chance but Liberty really bungled this from what I can tell.


I'll give it a chance as well. But thus far I'm not liking any of it.
 
I also will give the world feed a chance. But I really grew to like NBCSN's coverage and team. I liked how that team worked, giving a perspective from differing backgrounds. Let's see what 2018 brings. But I really hope that Liberty gets on top of rules/aero/stewards/power "units", etc. More teams are needed, and ones that can compete for wins or podium's.
 
Originally Posted By: billt460
Originally Posted By: gofast182
From what I understand we're going to be getting generic coverage over the world feed. There will be no US studio or broadcast presence. I will give it a chance but Liberty really bungled this from what I can tell.


I'll give it a chance as well. But thus far I'm not liking any of it.

Have they said who they'll be providing you with? The BBC stuff was okay when we got it. Sky is fine, too. Both have ex-racers on teams, BBC having Coulthard, for sure, and Sky having Martin Brundle, Johnny Herbert, Damon Hill, and Paul di Resta. I've heard Allan McNish on BBC in the day, too, but not sure if he's still there. I know Coulthard is because I can see him wandering around the grid for his grid walk while Martin Brundle is doing his.

If you get either of those coverage feeds, things won't be too bad, although Bernie had criticised them in the past for being highly technical, but I suspect that would be more at your level, anyhow.
 
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Watching Massa run his race and stomping Stroll yet again, I get the feeling the Massa is still the best driver Williams could get next year.

Stroll needs some consistency. When he's fast, he blows a lot of people out of the water, better than even Pastor did. But when he's bad, look out. Maybe Pastor trained him.
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Not much fight left in the top three teams. They seem glad to just get it over with and move on.

Regarding the broadcast team, I echo earlier comments of affection for this production. ESPN parent Disney will probably own SKY next year so I suspect we will get their feed which should be quite good.
 
Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Watching Massa run his race and stomping Stroll yet again, I get the feeling the Massa is still the best driver Williams could get next year.

Stroll needs some consistency. When he's fast, he blows a lot of people out of the water, better than even Pastor did. But when he's bad, look out. Maybe Pastor trained him.
wink.gif


Maybe its a pay driver thing?
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Its too late now, but I think Stroll could eventually beat Massa next year and Massa would be a good benchmark, but if Kubica gets on pace again Stroll may never catch up to him. Stroll is pretty young though he's got time to figure things out.
 
I don't know, maybe a maturity thing or an emotional thing or an experience thing. Even in this last race, he did show some fight with Grosjean. With Paddy Lowe there now, perhaps Williams can get a car that's a little more predictable, which might suit Stroll better.

I suspect there are a couple reasons for wanting to hang onto Stroll. First, he's a pay driver, so that's obviously got some weight to it. Secondly, though, he's young and if he gets his ducks in a row, could provide some stability for the team, maybe hang there for a few years. If he gets more consistent, that's fine.

Give him a good day where the car is behaving like he wants it, and he can do some amazing things. The rest of the time, though, he's trying to brake check the Saubers in an effort to get behind them.
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The long term driver thing is what Williams has to wonder about. They are in a bit of a dilemma. They wanted Massa out. They're testing a couple others. Will Kubica be able to handle it? What will run through their minds if Bottas ends up released at the end of next year and is looking for a seat? Is Wehrlein worth considering?

Unfortunately, they don't have the success and money of Ferrari or Mercedes to just throw at the driver problem. Besides, I doubt that would be sensible, anyhow.
 
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