[Official] Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2017: Grand Prix Weekend Thread

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by peebee2

Merc were always going to instruct for VB to be ahead. The only way they could finish 1-2 in the WDC

However, they didn't finish 1-2, Vettel was the bridesmaid.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Adam43

(To pick up the theme from the other thread)

The only evidence that this happened is that a cynic thinks so. As the cynic doesn’t work for Mercedes F1 in an influential position I suggest that it is no evidence whatsoever.

True, there is no evidence and there is no evidence to the contrary.

[F1Guy]

Originally Posted by peebee2

Merc were always going to instruct for VB to be ahead. The only way they could finish 1-2 in the WDC

I doubt the team had any instructions whatsoever. There was no need to as Vettel had to finish 9th or lower if Bottas wins. Highly unlikely SV was going to finish 9th or lower. VB and LH were free to race.

My thinking is LH was playing mind games with Bottas. Let VB get pole, and make sure his P2. Aim for P1 at the first corner and control the race. That was plan A.

But VB got a very good start this time (unlike Brazil), and was P1 at the first corner. So plan B for LH was to put as much pressure on VB and force a mistake from VB. It almost worked as VB did lock up and/or ran wide a couple of times. A few opportunities to pass were there, but LH seemed to back off. He was trying to force VB to make a big mistake and not risk an 50/50 overtake. I reckon if it was anyone other than VB, LH would have definitely made the pass on them.

[Purist]

I wish Brundle and Croft would get it right about one thing.

It's not just the DRS zones or getting a better exit off the corner. That hairpin before the first back stretch is faster than the apex for the slowest part of that "chicane" between the two stretches. So, going onto the shorter, second stretch, the physical gap between cars actually opens up more than when coming off the hairpin.

Maybe just have the one DRS zone. Open up that left/right chicane. (The whole area is already paved, anyway.) And get rid of that silly chicane leading into the hairpin to give a real chance for something to happen there.

I gotta say, it's kind of a weird feeling watching a race at this track right after watching the Supercars at Newcastle.

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

True, there is no evidence and there is no evidence to the contrary.

True. We could go really silly here...

[F1Guy]

Post race driver comments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBe3rTnWu8w

[Razzzor]

Originally Posted by Purist

I wish Brundle and Croft would get it right about one thing.

It's not just the DRS zones or getting a better exit off the corner. That hairpin before the first back stretch is faster than the apex for the slowest part of that "chicane" between the two stretches. So, going onto the shorter, second stretch, the physical gap between cars actually opens up more than when coming off the hairpin.

Maybe just have the one DRS zone. Open up that left/right chicane. (The whole area is already paved, anyway.) And get rid of that silly chicane leading into the hairpin to give a real chance for something to happen there.

I gotta say, it's kind of a weird feeling watching a race at this track right after watching the Supercars at Newcastle.

Did anyone watch the Ted Kravitz walk after the race? To be honest it was more interesting than the race itself as he interviews Mika Hakkinen, Kovalainen, Carlos Sainz, and the great Hermann Tilke himself who came across like a complete t--t. He refused to admit there was something wrong with the track and that they're only looking at doing a very small change to it. When Ted suggested no one can get close enough pass he turned it around claiming that a slower car following a faster car shouldn't be able to pass anyway. Then just brushed it off with some excuse when Ted said what about when it's a faster car behind a slower car and they still can't even get close.

Instead of changing the logo, perhaps Liberty need to look for a new track designer to work with.

Ted can be irritating at times, he looks like an utter fool always wearing those shorts, Sky Sports should demand he wear appropriate professional attire. But his interviews are decent.

[S griffin]

Not a great way to end the season. Great win by Bottas, at least Hamilton kept him honest, but the cars just can't follow each other. Same with Max and Kimi

Shame for Danny, it doesn't seem right that Kimi finishes above him in the championship considering how underperforming Kimi has been this season, whereas Danny has been on it. And same Sainz had that problem, but at least it meant Felipe ended his F1 career with a point, it was quite a moment before and after the race for him and glad to see him joining the Mercs in post race donuts. And good to see Fred getting a couple of points too, showing he still has it. And well done Hulk getting Renault into 6th in the championship

Also thanks to Grosjean for providing the most action in the race.

[bella]

Originally Posted by Razzzor

Ted can be irritating at times, he looks like an utter fool always wearing those shorts, Sky Sports should demand he wear appropriate professional attire. But his interviews are decent.

he's not my cup of tea either but he kind of represents everyone's inner fanboy in a way

not really a classic was it?

[chillibowl]

Bella you touched on this in the logo thread...but i really liked the donuts and the lining up on the straight line at the end of the race...was expecting to read about some post race penalties for them leaving their cars there but thankfully that didnt happen.

fireworks in the background, smoke from cars doing burnouts and donuts...almost as good as jet planes buzzing the complex pre race tradition you see at a lot of sporting events.

i may not be a kid anymore but i still love that sort of spectacle!

race was still not great though but spectacle wise Abu Dhabi still looks amazing and futuristic and i respect the aesthetics of the venue.

missed the interview with Tilke though...i wonder if he was just being defensive/trying to justify his position to the new owners in the post BE era?

[bjohnsonsmith]

I've never liked Yas Marina as a track and as both the WDC and WCC had been decided, I thought I'd watch the first few laps and the end of the race. I haven't done that since the Ferrari/Schumacher days.

Looking at how people voted on the Official Rate the Grand Prix: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2017, with nine giving it 1 and eight giving it 3 and reading the various posts on the poll and this thread, I don't think I missed anything.

It was also interesting to read what Hamilton, http://classic.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/133294 and Raikkonen, http://classic.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/133294, had to say about the race.

[wnut]

How did the stewards think that penalizing Hulkenberg 5 secs for cutting the track and overtaking Perez was fair?

The Mercedes engineers told Hamilton a car would have to be 1.4 secs a lap faster in order to overtake. http://classic.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/133294

Championship manipulation?

There should also be an investigation into the engine Renault supplied STR.

[newlaprecord]

Originally Posted by Razzzor

Instead of changing the logo, perhaps Liberty need to look for a new track designer to work with.

.

Thats a really good point actually. Liberty seem to be listening to classic fan complaints clearly a bit more than the previous management did, so how on earth Tilke is not blacklisted from every event is beyond me. They should literaly revoke his pass, get rid of all his tracks, all of them, and then of course put him in a German prison for what he did with Hockenheim... I mean that should go without saying really

Oh and bring back to only decent race track this guy has ever designed, the turkish gp, even if there are 5 people watching track-side, that circuit is a total gem. Much like "Cant Touch This" , a proper floor filler from anotherwise God-awful artist.

[S griffin]

These new cars don't help either. We should be thankful for Hamilton backing Rosberg up last season, as it at least kept us more on edge

[Purist]

Honestly, it's just the Mercedes that are really THAT bad at following other cars; this track is too much like a point-and-squirt street circuit, and so, it really favors the more powerful and/or less draggy cars.

Watching the pre-race lap comparison, Ricciardo's Red Bull can do the business in Turns 1-3, but the power of the Merc has Hamilton ahead by the approach to Turn 5. And although they talk about Sector 3 being good for the Red Bull, Turns 15-16 are flat-out, so the only high-speed corner in that section that's actually a real corner is Turn 20.

And I suppose Tilke would then need to go into an Austrian prison for what he did to the Osterreichring, and the same with the Japanese and Mexicans for what he did to Fuji and Hermanos Rodriguez.

Anyway, I'd also like to see Istanbul back, and wish Sepang wasn't disappearing for 2018. The one Tilke circuit they haven't visited that I'd be interested to see them have a go at is Buriram; I think the racing there could actually be pretty decent, and it's not just another 20 corners in 3.4 miles circuit.

Singapore came out pretty well, at least, though they should have left the circuit going across the right side of the Anderson Bridge. Baku is also quite good for the racing. Sochi is an odd one; I think a few minor tweaks could certainly help, and I do like the front stretch, Turn 3, and the back stretch. But yeah, parts of it are just too disjointed and point-and-squirt.

I know China's going to have a race one way or another; I just wish a better option existed besides Shanghai. Zhuhai isn't bad, but there's not much in my mind to particularly recommend it either. Ningbo might be decent, but is likely considered too short for F1. And Ordos is too short and too fiddly. Part of me would like to see F1 cas try to make it around Macau, well the hairpin anyway.

So yes, I'd like to see the back side of Yas Marina, Austin, Shanghai, and Bahrain, though the last one doesn't seem quite as bad to me now; I wonder though if Dubai would produce better racing, and I'm curious to see what Kuwait will look like when finished.

I'd love to see F1 have a go at Algarve, and really, I'm not terribly keen on any of the Spanish circuits, given the layouts they'd likely use for F1. I'd find Jerez quite nice, if not for the chicane. Catalunya would be alright also, if not for those two changes in the latter portion of the lap that came in about a decade ago. Heck, I think Aragon could be interesting, especially if they omitted that chicane and let them have the full 1,700+ meters of back stretch to work with.

It's a bit like Germany though, where the better-known options don't seem so great, and so the Sachsenring is looking more appealing, and in Spain, I'm looking more closely at Jarama.

If there's an opening for the track designer slot, I'd gladly throw my hat into the ring.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Purist

Honestly, it's just the Mercedes that are really THAT bad at following other cars; this track is too much like a point-and-squirt street circuit, and so, it really favors the more powerful and/or less draggy cars.

Watching the pre-race lap comparison, Ricciardo's Red Bull can do the business in Turns 1-3, but the power of the Merc has Hamilton ahead by the approach to Turn 5. And although they talk about Sector 3 being good for the Red Bull, Turns 15-16 are flat-out, so the only high-speed corner in that section that's actually a real corner is Turn 20.

And I suppose Tilke would then need to go into an Austrian prison for what he did to the Osterreichring, and the same with the Japanese and Mexicans for what he did to Fuji and Hermanos Rodriguez.

Anyway, I'd also like to see Istanbul back, and wish Sepang wasn't disappearing for 2018. The one Tilke circuit they haven't visited that I'd be interested to see them have a go at is Buriram; I think the racing there could actually be pretty decent, and it's not just another 20 corners in 3.4 miles circuit.

Singapore came out pretty well, at least, though they should have left the circuit going across the right side of the Anderson Bridge. Baku is also quite good for the racing. Sochi is an odd one; I think a few minor tweaks could certainly help, and I do like the front stretch, Turn 3, and the back stretch. But yeah, parts of it are just too disjointed and point-and-squirt.

I know China's going to have a race one way or another; I just wish a better option existed besides Shanghai. Zhuhai isn't bad, but there's not much in my mind to particularly recommend it either. Ningbo might be decent, but is likely considered too short for F1. And Ordos is too short and too fiddly. Part of me would like to see F1 cas try to make it around Macau, well the hairpin anyway.

So yes, I'd like to see the back side of Yas Marina, Austin, Shanghai, and Bahrain, though the last one doesn't seem quite as bad to me now; I wonder though if Dubai would produce better racing, and I'm curious to see what Kuwait will look like when finished.

I'd love to see F1 have a go at Algarve, and really, I'm not terribly keen on any of the Spanish circuits, given the layouts they'd likely use for F1. I'd find Jerez quite nice, if not for the chicane. Catalunya would be alright also, if not for those two changes in the latter portion of the lap that came in about a decade ago. Heck, I think Aragon could be interesting, especially if they omitted that chicane and let them have the full 1,700+ meters of back stretch to work with.

It's a bit like Germany though, where the better-known options don't seem so great, and so the Sachsenring is looking more appealing, and in Spain, I'm looking more closely at Jarama.

If there's an opening for the track designer slot, I'd gladly throw my hat into the ring.

If there is one person on Ten Tenths, who knows his race tracks, it's Purist. I've been hauled up quite a few times on intros to IndyCar races, about track lengths and layouts.

[Purist]

Thanks for the endorsement.

(Now, if they could just get it sorted whether or not they're having that race in Mexico for 2018. Sheesh.)

[wnut]

Originally Posted by Razzzor

Did anyone watch the Ted Kravitz walk after the race? To be honest it was more interesting than the race itself as he interviews Mika Hakkinen, Kovalainen, Carlos Sainz, and the great Hermann Tilke himself who came across like a complete t--t. He refused to admit there was something wrong with the track and that they're only looking at doing a very small change to it. When Ted suggested no one can get close enough pass he turned it around claiming that a slower car following a faster car shouldn't be able to pass anyway. Then just brushed it off with some excuse when Ted said what about when it's a faster car behind a slower car and they still can't even get close.

Instead of changing the logo, perhaps Liberty need to look for a new track designer to work with.

Ted can be irritating at times, he looks like an utter fool always wearing those shorts, Sky Sports should demand he wear appropriate professional attire. But his interviews are decent.

"Ted can be irritating at times, he looks like an utter fool always wearing those shorts, Sky Sports should demand he wear appropriate professional attire. But his interviews are decent."

I really enjoy Ted, as you say his interviews are good, and his clothing style provides a relief from the stuffy formality that has descended on the rest of the paddock. Ted puts a little fun back into F1, and provides very good insights into what is happening, and who is who in the zoo.

[Greem]

Originally Posted by wnut

I really enjoy Ted, as you say his interviews are good, and his clothing style provides a relief from the stuffy formality that has descended on the rest of the paddock. Ted puts a little fun back into F1, and provides very good insights into what is happening, and who is who in the zoo.

I think there's more than one enthusiast who looks at Ted and wishes they could do that. He's the F1 Nerd's Nerd.

More power to his deck shoes!

[ScotsBrutesFan]

Ted's fashion sense is a massive counter point to the various "uniforms" of the paddock. Not just the sponsor covered teams but the FIA and FOM official shirts and not forgetting many of the TV crews behind the camera, as well as some of the presenters wearing their TV companies logos.

I'd like to hope the same could be said for outfits that Kia Eble wears too.

[Greem]

Originally Posted by ScotsBrutesFan

I'd like to hope the same could be said for outfits that Kia Eble wears too.

At the 2014 British GP I was standing with my two post chiefs at the side of Rosberg's car during the grid walk, being nosey, and Herr Ebel strolled over (wearing the most preposterous trousers) with his crew and ever-so-politely asked if we would move to one side so he could do a piece to camera about his countryman without us looming in the back of shot.

As we moved aside one of us mentioned something about fat blokes in orange suits not being very telegenic and he gave us a tremendously theatrical, camped up 'oooooh' in response.

I know very little about the bloke but he did make us chuckle