[akash_v12]

Following a pair of dramatic and unpredictable races in Bahrain, the F1 paddock has made the quick hop over to the Yas Marina Circuit for the 2020 finale in Abu Dhabi.

As things stand, Mercedes is waiting to find out if Lewis Hamilton will return to action after being forced to miss the Sakhir GP after testing positive for COVID-19. It also means George Russell's spot remains unconfirmed as he will either step in again if Hamilton is absent or return to his usual place at Williams if the F1 world champion is able to make a comeback.

Pietro Fittipaldi will finish the season as Romain Grosjean's injury replacement in Abu Dhabi at Haas, with the French driver confirming last Sunday the burns he suffered in his horrendous Bahrain GP crash have ruled him out of his own F1 finale.

The Abu Dhabi GP is also set to mark Sergio Perez's final F1 race for the foreseeable future, despite taking a stunning maiden grand prix victory last time out, as he awaits Red Bull's decision on if he or Alexander Albon will partner Max Verstappen in 2021.

The 2020 finale will also decide which team will claim the coveted third place in the F1 world constructors' standings, with Racing Point currently in prime position with a 10-point advantage over McLaren thanks to Perez's win and Lance Stroll's podium in the last race.

Renault remains in contention, 22 points off Racing Point, but will need to replicate the Silverstone-based team's standout results from the Sakhir GP to give itself a realistic shot.

Source

All Times IST

Schedule



The Circuit





2019 Results



Tyre Choices

Again, Pirelli will be testing the 2021 tyres in Abu Dhabi too & Mick Schumacher will do his first FP1 run here.

[kannan666]

Would be nice to get a look here at Mike and see how he goes at this beautiful circuit, Lewis won very easily last year with Verstappen coming in a distant second

[akash_v12]

George Russell will not get the chance for a shot at redemption in Abu Dhabi this weekend after world champion Lewis Hamilton was declared fit to race, following one race off whilst recovering from Covid-19.

Hamilton will thus reclaim his Mercedes seat, with Russell - who'd filled the Briton's seat so well at the Sakhir Grand Prix - returning to Williams and Jack Aitken thrust back into reserve duties for the Grove-based team.

The FIA, Formula 1 and Mercedes confirmed that Hamilton had passed a number of negative Covid-19 tests after completing a 10-day quarantine period in Bahrain. He has already arrived in Abu Dhabi where he has tested negative a further time - a requirement before gaining access to the F1 paddock.

With Hamilton’s situation unclear earlier in the day, Russell and Aitken had gone through pre-race preparations with Mercedes and Williams respectively, with both keen to prolong their temporary positions. However, Hamilton now returns looking to end a historic season for himself on a high, with a 12th victory of the year in his sights at a track he’s won at five times previously.

[abhi3284]

https://youtu.be/fpgv1iN9HR8

Alonso doing a Lap in Abu Dhabi with his Title winning Car Renault R25 with V10 Engine. Music to the Ears. Pure Bliss...

[Darkviper]

Max on pole! Should be an exciting race tomorrow


First non-Mercedes pole at Abu Dhabi since 2013

[shibujp]

Mega lap by Verstappen to clinch the pole. Top three separated by 8 hundredths of a second. That is pretty close. Bottas might have had s chance if his first two sectors were as good as the last.

Honda on pole too. Augurs well for their chances in 2021.

Things don't look good for Racing Point clinching third place as qualifying goes. Both the drivers will have to do some special stuff to beat out Renault and McLaren for third place. Would be a fitting send off to Perez if they nail it.

Drive on,
Shibu

[speedmiester]

Typical Abu Dhabi GP. A snooze fest.
Good hustle by McLaren to take third in the constructors championship.

Riccardio took the fastest lap on the last lap to deny Max his first grand slam.

All in all, a tepid end to an exciting 2020 season.

Another 96days to go for the 2021 season.

[Tojo_GotBhp]

The Perez retirement was such a heartbreak! :(
Had he been in the race, Racing Point could have certainly clinged the 3rd spot in the Constructor Championship.

With Perez out, the added pressure and Vettel holding on to the hard tyres for a long time made Stroll loose some crucial time.

Though, it's been the toughest year for Sebastian Vettel in his career, gotta admit that there's been no driver so passionate about a team like him. Ferrari was a dream for Vettel.

Just after the race finished, Vettel sang a song as a dedication to his team.
Below link contains the video.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CIvfxvuI...d=esyikdy8nm77

[motorworks]

What a boring race! Basically a conservative race by Mercedes, apparently they had their engines turned down a bit due to a MGUK issue. Else this track has been traditionally a Mercedes dominated one, unlike few others like Singapore and Austria where RBR and at times Ferrari have been better.

Ferrari botched up again on their pit stop strategy, they should have at least brought in Leclerc during the VSC, granted they didnt know that the VSC would turn in to a full blown safety car period, but in any case it made no sense to keep both cars out especially when they were running behind one another. Anyway, this race sort of sums up the horrible season Ferrari has had, Leclerc unable to overtake Kimi, and Vettel stuck in just ahead of the Haas and the Williams drivers.

Just hope the worst is over for the red team.

[Darkviper]

Originally Posted by Tojo_GotBhp

.

Though, it's been the toughest year for Sebastian Vettel in his career, gotta admit that there's been no driver so passionate about a team like him. Ferrari was a dream for Vettel.

Just after the race finished, Vettel sang a song as a dedication to his team.
Below link contains the video.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CIvfxvuI...d=esyikdy8nm77

The translation of what Vettel sang :

[shibujp]

Originally Posted by speedmiester

Typical Abu Dhabi GP. A snooze fest.
Good hustle by McLaren to take third in the constructors championship

Looking at the qualifying gaps of the top three you would have thought it would be much closer. But it seems the issues with the Mercedes MGU-K robbed us of a more exciting finish. As displayed by Gasly, Leclerc etc overtaking opportunities were there under DRS.

Also a competitive Racing Point would have given us some fireworks in the middle of the pack.

The season I guess would be remembered most for some great races at venues like Monza, Porimap etc.

Drive on,
Shibu

[turbowhistle]

A total Snoozefest, this was the only GP I watched live this season and there was not a single interesting moment
Kudos to Max to keep everything in check and staying ahead of both Mercs. He clearly had better speed. Also Kudos to FIA for arranging the most entertaining and enjoyable season in years when we thought there won't be a single race in 2020. Netflix must be going crazy with all the stuff went down this season, they don't have to force narratives.

I can't wait to see who fills the remaining seat at RBR and keeping my fingers crossed for Checo. He had the best season of his life and it'd be sad if he doesn’t get a drive next year. It will be fun if he goes to Redbull as Seb essentially promoted Checo by replacing him.

Originally Posted by motorworks

Anyway, this race sort of sums up the horrible season Ferrari has had, Leclerc unable to overtake Kimi, and Vettel stuck in just ahead of the Haas and the Williams drivers.

Just hope the worst is over for the red team.

I am really happy Seb is out of the red. He would love to forget this season as soon as possible. I don't think Ferrari will fix all their niggles in 2021 and 2021 will still be a Mercedes dominated season.