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F1 2021

2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix grid


Row 11. Max Verstappen 1’22.109
Red Bull
2. Lewis Hamilton 1’22.480
Mercedes
Row 23. Lando Norris 1’22.931
McLaren
4. Sergio Perez 1’22.947
Red Bull
Row 35. Carlos Sainz Jnr 1’22.992
Ferrari
6. Valtteri Bottas 1’23.036
Mercedes
Row 47. Charles Leclerc 1’23.122
Ferrari
8. Yuki Tsunoda 1’23.220
AlphaTauri
Row 59. Esteban Ocon 1’23.389
Alpine
10. Daniel Ricciardo 1’23.409
McLaren
Row 611. Fernando Alonso 1’23.460
Alpine
12. Pierre Gasly 1’24.043
AlphaTauri
Row 713. Lance Stroll 1’24.066
Aston Martin
14. Antonio Giovinazzi 1’24.251
Alfa Romeo
Row 815. Sebastian Vettel 1’24.305
Aston Martin
16. Nicholas Latifi 1’24.338
Williams
Row 917. George Russell 1’24.423
Williams
18. Kimi Raikkonen 1’24.779
Alfa Romeo
Row 1019. Mick Schumacher 1’24.906
Haas
20. Nikita Mazepin 1’25.685
Haas
 
Meanwhile, this isn't exactly encouraging for Hamilton/Merc and their fans:

The last six races in Abu Dhabi have all been won from pole position:

2015 - pole position: Nico Robserg winner: Nico Rosberg

2016 - pole position: Lewis Hamilton winner: Lewis Hamilton

2017 - pole position: Valtteri Bottas winner: Valtteri Bottas

2018 - pole position: Lewis Hamilton winner: Lewis Hamilton

2019 - pole position: Lewis Hamilton winner: Lewis Hamilton

2020 - pole position: Max Verstappen winner Max Verstappen

Though this may prove some small silver lining to all that:

The last time the Abu Dhabi GP was won by a driver who didn't start on pole? 2014.

The driver who won that year, having started second on the grid? You guessed it... [pic of Hamilton]
 
soft tyre get away from the line better but wear more quickly

if its a one stop race it means a long stint on a hard maybe losing all racing life at the end or a 2 stop race strategy

so seeming as you lose around 25 seconds per stop and passing is worse at this race circuit this year

so mediums means a longer first stint and resulting less wear on the second set of hards

about it


still seeming as Max still does not like to yield it could all end in tears anyways
 
Hopefully Max storms away on softs and Lewis pushes him enough so he knackers the softs quickly leaving Max to have a two stop giving Lewis 25 seconds with a single pit.
Perhaps a little simplistic....
Compared to the performance of Mercedes's Magic 8-ball race strategy department this season, your plan is a miracle of sophistication and subtlety.

I think Red Bull's masterstroke will be to force Mercedes to develop their race plan on the fly, knowing that they are almost always fucking useless.
 
In a way I feel it's a shame Verstappen is going into this race ahead, as it plays into his natural style of "if we crash, we crash". Would be interesting to see how he drives if his title hopes relied on him finishing the race

I suppose in one sense they still do, as obviously that presumes any incident between the two takes them both out, rather than something more like Silverstone.
 
Also feels like Verstappen's non-qualifying lap last week is symbolic of his whole approach. Lots of talk about him driving to the limits, but the whole point of them being limits is that if you go over them then you lose it.

So whether that's because you reached the physical limits of how hard your car can hit a wall and keep moving, or the conceptual limits of how 'aggressively' you can race and still be legal.

Being fastest don't mean a whole lot if you don't actually make it over the finish line.
 
tbf the 2 people given the title of the best natural born talents in F1 and lauded by almost every F1 fan


Senna and Schumacher both drive like entitled fucking dicks

so max mentality when the whole worlds be telling that he is their spiritual successor since the age of 17 is not that strange :)
 
Nicked from the BBC News website article, just because it shows the story of this year so nicely.

What was it Vettel said back in 2013? “We have to remember these days because there’s no guarantee they will last”. What a year F1 has had!!

0663727A-20D8-4ECE-AE46-64569ED1749C.jpeg
 

STRATEGY GUIDE

A new track layout and diverging tyre choices to start the race on from the title contenders have set the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix up beautifully, so we take a look at the different strategic options that are available to the teams ahead of today’s season finale at the Yas Marina Circuit.

What are the likely strategies for the frontrunners?

A bit like the previous race in Jeddah, the target is an obvious one for both Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. Although they each start on a different compound of tyre (Verstappen on the softs and Hamilton on the mediums) they are both aiming to make a one-stop strategy work with a second stint on hard tyres. For Verstappen, the target is to reach at least Lap 15, and then continue as close to Lap 20 as possible before making his pit stop. If he retains the lead at the start then the timing will be crucial, though, because if he goes too early then Hamilton might have too much pace in hand in clear air and be able to overcut the Red Bull. But Verstappen also has to guard against an undercut that could come as early as Lap 15, given that’s when the one-stop pit window opens. Hamilton could try and use the advantage of fresh hard tyres against Verstappen’s aging softs to get ahead, but if not then he will look to run longer up to Lap 27 and use the tyre offset to attempt to attack later on. If Hamilton manages to get ahead of Verstappen on the opening lap, however, then the equation becomes a lot harder for the Red Bull driver, because his soft tyres are more susceptible to overheating behind another car on high fuel, and staying close enough to threaten with an undercut of his own could be a challenge. If Verstappen wants to try a two-stop strategy, he’s going to need clear air and to get a full pit stop clear of the chasing pack before making a switch to hard tyres. From there, a final stint for mediums is possible as the rest of the field falls even further back from the pace being set at the front, but the first pit stop timing comes with a risk of being released into traffic and losing significant time.

How about the rest of the top 10?

The majority of the top 10 went for soft tyres in Q2, partly due to the need to confirm their positions in the top 10 but also because they feel the overall race strategy is not overly hurt by being on that compound. The soft provides an advantage off the line with more grip from the softer compound and can still be part of a one-stopper, but requires a bit more pace management. If an early Safety Car comes into play, a pit stop for hards at that point would then lead to a likely two-stop strategy with a switch to mediums for the final stint. Aiming for a straight two-stopper – starting on softs and switching to hards after 12-18 laps before a final stint on mediums is possible but much more risky given the likelihood of emerging in traffic after the first stop. Valtteri Bottas and Yuki Tsunoda are the only other two drivers starting on the mediums in the top 10, and they’ll be looking to simply run as long as possible, creating a tyre offset to take advantage of in the latter stages of the race.

What are the options for the bottom half of the field?

Starting on the mediums is the preferred option given the additional flexibility it provides, but some might opt for the softs to try and take advantage of the extra grip on the opening lap to gain crucial track position. The outlier would be starting on the hard tyre. While the hard here is the C3 compound the middle of the Pirelli range it still struggles with warm-up compared to the other two options, and temperatures could be particularly low after a slow formation lap followed by sitting on the starting grid. So for any driver thinking of going long with an opening stint on hards, they’re likely to be out of position at the back and willing to gamble rather than risking track position higher up in the midfield. That means we’re once again looking at the Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo, Williams and the solitary Haas of Mick Schumacher (with Nikita Mazepin having been ruled out of the race after contracting Covid-19) as the main candidates for such a strategy. Starting on the hard would allow a long first stint that would need to reach Lap 30 before a switch to mediums would be realistic, providing good pace in the second stint. A well-timed Safety Car would also benefit this strategy, but an early one would prove costly unless a driver has two sets of hards available to them and only the Mercedes, Red Bull, Williams and Schumacher have that.
 

Mazepin to miss F1 finale after positive COVID-19 test

Nikita Mazepin will miss the season-ending Formula One race after testing positive for COVID-19. Haas will run just one car Sunday in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for Mick Schumacher. Reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi was not eligible to replace Mazepin because Fittipaldi did not drive in at least one session this weekend. Mazepin tested positive on-site at Yas Marina Circuit. A second test for the Russian also returned positive. The Haas team said Mazepin is asymptomatic but will self-isolate and follow relevant public health authorities. "Nikita is physically well," Haas said. "Uralkali Haas F1 Team wish Nikita well and we look forward to his return to the race track in early 2022 for pre-season testing." Mazepin is in his first F1 season and the Russian had a career-best finish of 14th in Hungary. He was scheduled to start 20th on Sunday.
 
odd he tested positive and they did not think to put the brazilian in for one of the practise rounds

guess if you daddies paying you don't want others playing with your toys

:hmm:
 
So, there are 19 starters.

How many will still be running at the end of the first lap? Or even after the first corner?

I suspect that at least two cars will retire on lap one. A possibility surely no-one could have foreseen...
 
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