[Scarlet_Rider]

Formula 1 is back to Abu Dhabi, the last race of the season, the track where last year's championship was decided on the last lap of the race!

While both championships of this year have already been decided, it will interesting to see who grabs the 2nd and 3rd spots.

Things don't seem all well in the Red Bull garage after Max did not allow Checo to pass him at the last race in Brazil.

















Details of the track from Formula1.com
When was the track built?
In 2006, plans were announced to develop Yas Island, located just to the east of Abu Dhabi, into a new tourist destination, with a major part of the plans centring around a 5.5km race track. The diggers rolled into what would become the Yas Marina Circuit in May 2007, with the project completed by October 2009.

When was its first Grand Prix?
In 2009. The track debuted as that year’s Formula 1 season finale, with Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel winning from team mate Mark Webber and the already-crowned 2009 champion Jenson Button. Vettel would go on to secure his first title in Abu Dhabi a year later, amid much crying.

What’s the circuit like?
The Hermann Tilke-designed track is dominated by its 1.2km straight between Turns 5 and 6 – which, with slow-speed corners marking its beginning and end, makes it a honeypot for overtaking moves. Other highlights include the tricky run through Turns 10 and 11 into 12, which forces the drivers to brake hard with bags of lateral load still on the car. Track modifications ahead of the 2021 race, shortening the lap slightly to 5.28km, have only added to its excitement.

Why go?
Yas Island was a blank canvas for developers to turn into a tourist attraction, and 11 years and $40 billion later, they’ve nearly finished doing just that. Seven hotels, Ferrari’s indoor theme park, a mall, a water park, a golf course, a beach, a concert arena and a nightclub, all framed by perfect Emirati weather. What more could you want?

Where is the best place to watch?
Assuming you can’t get a room with a trackside view in the spectacular whale-shaped Yas Hotel – or a berth in a boat’s cabin in the marina – opt for a spot in the West Grandstand, a great place to watch all the overtaking action into Turn 6. Or if you’re more there for the atmos, stick yourself in the Main Grandstand overlooking the start-finish straight and enjoy Abu Dhabi’s famed pyrotechnics. It might be worth trying to get a seat high up in whatever grandstand you choose, though, if you’re looking to keep out of the sun.

A mash up video of the last lap from 2021!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJjiz8yXf0E

It is a common myth that it was Alex Albon who came on the radio shouting when Max won the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It was infact Max's race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase who was shouting. Albon and Lambiase seem to have similar voices when shouting! There is no way Red Bull would have provided Alex Albon a direct communication line to Max that too at such a critical race. It is the race engineer who speaks to the driver most of the time followed by the team principal.

Sources:
https://www.formula1.com/en/racing/2...s/Circuit.html
https://www.fia.com/news/f1-2022-abu...d-prix-preview
https://www.formula1.com/en/results....2/drivers.html
https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2022/team.html
https://www.essentiallysports.com/f1...abi-gp-moment/

[FuelInjector]

Last year it was a battle for P1, this year its for P2 between Checo and Charles.
Hot weekend with high track temperatures preticted.
With all cars performing well, must be one heck of a final race...
buckity buckity.

[ds.raikkonen]

Final race of the season! It feels like yesterday when LEC and VER battled for the lead at the 2022 Bahrain GP, and now we've reached the end with the WC decided long back and only P2 up for grabs, both in Drivers and Constructors WC. LEC and PER tied on points and the Scuderia only 19 clear of Mercedes, who might just have the pace to edge them out, if either LEC/SAI runs into trouble (mechanically, which is quite likely given their reliability issues earlier).

I think LEC should be good enough for at least P2 in the standings, unless the Scuderia mess things up (as usual) or perhaps Checo has an amazing race, which is quite likely given the pace of the Red Bulls. However, given the debacle of team orders in Brazil and VER not giving his team mate the position shows their might be trouble at Red Bull as well! Given the valiant defense Checo put up with HAM an year ago to help him out, VER should think of helping him out (though I seriously think he wants a 'less competitive' team mate like Albon) but Red Bull has other plans.

Long runs during FP2 should give us a good idea. Mercedes pace on this track (wildly diff from Brazil) remains an unknown as Autodromo Carlos Pace might have suited them more, but you never know.

Also, last race for VETTEL, hate to see him go. Still remember the 2008 Italian GP triumph in wet conditions, the storming drive from the back at the 2012 Abu Dhabi and Brazilian GP, the heart break at 2018 German GP...wish he had won at least 1 WC with Ferrari but wasn't to be.

My prediction:
Quali: VER, LEC, RUS/SAI
Race: VER, HAM, LEC/SAI

[mjk24]

So the boys were out yesterday night for Seb's farewell dinner.
A wonderful gesture for a beautiful man whose presence will truly be missed by the sport & its fan's.
Really hope to see him back on the grid in some capacity or the other in the near future.

With both championships decided and multiple drivers leaving the grid next year, the ambience of the room must have been rather chill and affable.
Apparently the resident party animal, Danny Ric, was out until 11AM the next morning - that's 3 hours till FP1.

[ninjatalli]

Won't it be a nice irony if Hamilton beats Verstappen (and the rest) and lands up first in this weekend's race? Don't think Hamilton would be happy at the irony of the situation but atleast he'll be pleased with the fact that his record of winning a F1 race every year has not been lost.

Jokes apart, I'm hoping Mercedes put up a good fight like the last weekend given that the current car designs would continue into 2023; any and every improvement in this year would only strengthen their situation next year.

[iamahunter]

I am genuinely bored with Mercedes and Hamilton dominating for so many seasons. Was a nice refresh for Max to win last year and RB to win the championship this year.

This season after a first couple of races, I was hoping that Ferrari and RB would be in a tussle to win the championship, or Ferrari ahead of RB. Charles was performing so awesome, it was a joy to see him race Max. Their friendship, racing spirit and mutual respect was visible in the way they raced together, something that I sorely missed last year between Max and Hamilton. However that's a different topic and I am here for F1, not a particular driver.

Going ahead, I hope that multiple teams fight for the championship battle rather than just one team dominating. Also I think the battle should be fought on the track rather than having connections in the managing organization and fighting, pointing fingers later for an entire next season.

[volkman10]

Verstappen storms to pole as Red Bull score 1-2 in final qualifying session of the season at Yas Marina.

[volkman10]

Verstappen cruises to victory in Abu Dhabi as Leclerc seals P2 in championship standings.

[adwaith]

What a drive from Charles. Holding onto P2 with just one pitstop. Even at the very end, the W13 made sure that it gives grief to its team and their fans.

The grid will not be the same without Vettel and Ricciardo, but the W14 is something to look forward to. But the one thing I can't wait for is the KMag - Hulk duo racing as a team for Haas. There will be some serious drama there.

[zteg]

Just came here to see what people thought of Ranvir Singh at the circuit. Martin Brundle couldn't even follow what he was saying.

[narayans80]

Good call by Leclerc to not take the pit stop at 300 kph, ensured the P2 for himself and team.

[ds.raikkonen]

Originally Posted by adwaith

What a drive from Charles. Holding onto P2 with just one pitstop. Even at the very end, the W13 made sure that it gives grief to its team and their fans.

Good thing HAM faced hydraulic issues in the PU else his pace in the early stages was looking quite ominous for LEC, would have passed him at that rate and then the strategy battle would have begun.

RB pitted Checo a bit too early for him to make any inroads, would have had a massive tyre advantage had he pitted 5 laps later IMHO.

What a send off for VET, JB gave him a proper hug After watching him race since that vacated seat at BMW at the 2006 US GP, really felt strong emotions to see him go

[Joeboy]

Checo was complaining that he was losing time behind Max in the middle stint as he was on two stop and Max on one stop strategy. Redbull did not ask Max to let Checo through as they feared that Max would not oblige. Checo said post race interview that he was held up behind Max during the middle stint but then shrugged it off and said that he will come back stronger next year. It seems that all is not well between Max and Checo after Brazil and Redbull is putting a brave face before the media saying that the drivers had shook hands after the Brazilian episode and have settled the issue which I doubt very much. We have to wait and see if next year Checo will help Max or not.

[Scarlet_Rider]

Hamilton's first win less season of his career. Also good to see Russell outscore him. Hopefully we have other teams joining the fight for the top three in 2023.

Checo was asked to pit a few laps too early else we could have got a very close finish for P2. Congrats to Leclerc for finishing second in the driver's championship and Ferrari for finishing second in the constructor's championship.

Max signed off 2022 in style with a record 15th race win of the season. Previous records were held by Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel who had won 13 races per season.

However the record for the highest win percentage per season is still held by Michael Schumacher at 72.22% with 13 wins out of 18 races. Seb had won 13 races out of 19 (68.42%) while Max has won 15 races out of 22 (68.18%).

Feeling sad that Seb wouldn't be around from next year. The respect and farewells he received from across the paddock was very heartening to see. Plus him doing the doughnuts on the start/finish straight reminded many of the 2013 Indian Grand Prix.

Ricciardo and Schumacher also did doughnuts in other run-off areas of the track. Schumacher's race engineer radioed him instructing to stop. Not sure why he did that? May be to avoid some financial penalties?

[ds.raikkonen]

Checo should have gone for a 1 stopper as his tyre management is superb and could have held back in the initial stages while maintaining a gap behind Max so that his tyres were available towards the end..usual Yas Marina witnesses at least 1 SC incident (which nearly happened when the HAAS and Williams collided) so that could've been a potential pit window.
Though I strongly believe he wanted to go after VER in an attempt to pass but the team had told them not to race as probably VER (along with his dad and Mr. Marko) wanted to extend their record to 15 wins...