Round 19: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

frostie500

The season ends this weekend in Abu Dhabi and judging by this thread everyone is raring for it!

I have just posted my preview online, thought I'd get it up a bit earlier this week because of the race that's in it! Couple of interesting things to note that the BBC are forecasting that rain is on the way for Friday and Saturday. Not sure I want rain, I'd prefer a flat out battle between the contenders but if it happens it happens. One way or another we're set for some fireworks!

The TV listings for this weekend are:
Friday 12 November
Practice one: 0855-1035, BBC Red Button
Practice two: 1255-1435, BBC Red Button
Saturday 13 November
Practice three: 0955-1035, BBC Red Button
Qualifying: 1215-1420, BBC One
Sunday 14 November
Race: 1210-1515, BBC One
Saturday 20 November

amacachi

**** weekend for me, TV is broken so no red button and I've to choose between seeing bits and pieces on a 42 inch TV or watch it all on a TV that's practically impossible to watch. *SIGH*

Still, should be a fun weekend, if there's any rain at all I imagine we'll see the top three stay in, Alonso won't want a Monaco-type incident. :pac: Then again I suppose with the wide run-offs they'll be ok. Ignore the last two sentences. :pac:

Carroller16

Getting sick with the excitement for this. Would be lethal to see Alonso in a Red Bull sandwich after qualifying.

Red Bull better hope they have all their i's dotted and thier t's crossed before they send the cars out this weekend in so far as reliabilty goes. If RB have no reliability issues it's theirs for the taking I think as quali will be the determining factor this w/e in my opinion

Myrddin

frostie500 wrote: »

The season ends this weekend in Abu Dhabi

:(:( Boooo!

Come on Webbage :cool:

amacachi

Just hit the Classic GPs there and I have to admit some of the corners in Abu Dhabi look excellent with cars flashing through them.

Legard is still infuriating. :pac:

potholes84

Really want to see webber win the championship but I dont want it to come down to Vettel having to let him pass on the last lap.

Mr. Manager

What have I missed that has no one shouting for Vettel?

Frank Bullitt

Cereal Rapist wrote: »

What have I missed that has no one shouting for Vettel?

Was thinking that myself, personally i dont like him but that might have something to do with Red Bull clearly favoring him over Mark earlier in the year (Turkey and Silverstone), and the continued use of his index finger.

lolie

Cereal Rapist wrote: »

What have I missed that has no one shouting for Vettel?

im for webber prob since turkey but after wathin the last 5 races does he deserve it?? me thinks not. as much as i dislike seb d finger vettel he`s being flawless since mistake in last lap in quali in singapore

VW 1

Vettel all the way for me, my fave driver by a long way. Alonso to take it if Sebby cant.

lolie

VW 1 wrote: »

Vettel all the way for me, my fave driver by a long way. Alonso to take it if Sebby cant.

if webber can go out get pole & win d race then fair enough he deserves it but if vettel gets pole & is leading d race then i`d rather see tesmondo finish low in d points r have a failure & vettel win it. dont like tesmondo, smug sh1t

VW 1

lolie wrote: »

if webber can go out get pole & win d race then fair enough he deserves it but if vettel gets pole & is leading d race then i`d rather see tesmondo finish low in d points r have a failure & vettel win it. dont like tesmondo, smug sh1t

I guess he is a love or hate him kinda guy, I like him for the entertainment value as well as the way he is not afraid of controversy. Very talented guy too.

Oh and did I mention the fact that he cant stand Hamilton, major plus IMO

stigofthesump

Ya know, it's not that unreasonable to imagine the Red Bulls taking each other out and Alonso breaking down leaving Lady Luck Hamilton to pinch the spoils.

Nozebleed

dont know about you guy's but the season has flown by so quick. great season. i hope vettel wins it. hope button takes out hamilton alonso and webber in a mass pile up!

currently 2nd in the fantasy league!!! C;mon!!!!!!!

FREDNISMO

Would really love to see Vettel winning and Webber taking Alonso out or the other way round. They are too smug. Vettel is the worthy champion. It's such a pity Kubica wasn't up there with them. Button should really get rid of his dody sorry drink's bottle that seems to permanently attached to him talking pure bullsh#t most of the time when he is out of the car. Really enjoyed this season pity it's almost over already looking forward to next year.:D

T-Maxx

Alonso ftw!

(If not, then either Vettel or Webber, as long as it's not Hamilton - can't stand the a$$hole)

cupcakedan

Cannot wait to see what the outcome will be on Sunday. Enjoyed watching it on BBC apart from Legard and Kobabashi's biggest fan Brundle. Two twits but legard slightly more irritating of the two. C'mon Vettel.:)

lolie

T-Maxx wrote: »

Alonso ftw!

(If not, then either Vettel or Webber, as long as it's not Hamilton - can't stand the a$$hole)

like alonso the least and cant stand hamiltons smiley smug im the fittest and train harder than any1else so i`ll turn up better prepared than the rest attitude. but i think he has the most raw talent of all drivers out there when it comes to driving the car

Jasonsc

Lads I really want to see the practice tomorrow ... no red button at home, but I'll have the laptop in college. Could someone fix me up with a link where it will be stream live (there has to be somewhere!!!!)

Cheers lads

sockpuppets

Jasonsc wrote: »

Lads I really want to see the practice tomorrow ... no red button at home, but I'll have the laptop in college. Could someone fix me up with a link where it will be stream live (there has to be somewhere!!!!)

Cheers lads

you'll usually find it on one of these links:

http://www.atdhe.net/

http://www.channelsurfing.net/

http://livetv.ru/en/

sockpuppets

http://livetv.ru/en/allupcomingsports/7/

thewheel2.0

Watch this while muted:
livetv.ru/webplayer.php?t=aliez&c=103&lang=en

While listening to this:
bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/bbc_radio_five_live_sports_extra

Perfect for us college students who cant afford Sky TV!

Alun

thewheel2.0 wrote: »

Watch this while muted:
livetv.ru/webplayer.php?t=aliez&c=103&lang=en

While listening to this:
bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/bbc_radio_five_live_sports_extra

Perfect for us college students who cant afford Sky TV!

Tried that for first practice, but there was a considerable delay between the two (several minutes) which seemed to appear after the ad break. Looks like they put the video feed on hold for the ad break, and resumed it afterwards. It was OK and in synch up until then. Better than nothing though.

Myrddin

I know it's not where Karun wants to be, but he's such a breath of fresh air on the tv. For such a young chap he's so positive & knowledgeable it's great to listen to him. I love how he's still so upbeat despite being out of the seat for so long. Is there any word on a seat for him for next year?

thewheel2.0

Wow Brundle on 5live sounding super enthusiastic I bet its because hes away from Ledgard!

EDIT: Its actually fantastic, like 4 lads sitting around the TV riffing about the F1 and we get to listen.

ro_chez

thewheel2.0 wrote: »

Wow Brundle on 5live sounding super enthusiastic I bet its because hes away from Ledgard!

EDIT: Its actually fantastic, like 4 lads sitting around the TV riffing about the F1 and we get to listen.

I havent heard Brundle on Friday before...maybe their giving him and Crofty a bit of practice together before next year

Inquitus

Sounds like Hamilton is going to be competitive, bet Red Bull are kicking themselves after not instigating team orders last week. If Hamiltons on the pace and gets in the mix Alonsos chances just increased massively.

amacachi

Inquitus wrote: »

Sounds like Hamilton is going to be competitive, bet Red Bull are kicking themselves after not instigating team orders last week. If Hamiltons on the pace and gets in the mix Alonsos chances just increased massively.

Ya think? Once the RBs stay ahead of him it'll improve their chances if he's ahead of Alfonso.

Inquitus

amacachi wrote: »

Ya think? Once the RBs stay ahead of him it'll improve their chances if he's ahead of Alfonso.

If Hamiltons fastest, as it looks, then the RB's chances have slipped drastically. The maths is only their favour if they win the race.

amacachi

Inquitus wrote: »

If Hamiltons fastest, as it looks, then the RB's chances have slipped drastically. The maths is only their favour if they win the race.

Can't imagine Hamilton wanting to hand Alonso the title. :pac: It'sto early to say if McLaren will be on top, they looked so much faster than anyone else last year and it didn't carry over to the race, this time they're only marginally faster.

Kimono-Girl

i would love to see webber win! but then i love alonso too

frostie500

amacachi wrote: »

Can't imagine Hamilton wanting to hand Alonso the title. :pac: It'sto early to say if McLaren will be on top, they looked so much faster than anyone else last year and it didn't carry over to the race, this time they're only marginally faster.

Yeah but Hamilton was pretty badly hampered by his brake problem throughout the race.

Apart from that though McLaren have been fast on alot of Friday's this season to fall back into the pack on Saturday Sunday, combine this with the fact that Ferrari and Red Bull are very tight on engine mileage and you have a situation where they dialed down their performance and McLaren were driving hard. Wait until tomorrow mornings session to see where things stand

Lucy Lu

I will be in Abu Dhabi and am really looking forward to seeing the outcome of one of the best F1 title battles in years

I am am McLaren fan and as Lewis is basically out of it, I would like to see a RB winner.

De Hipster

Vettel all the way...long shot but would love to see him take the title so early in his career.

Never warmed to Webber, Alonso's 'win at any cost to anyone' coupled with some of the whining he has done throughout the year has really got my goat...Hamilton comes across as spoiled, whiney & 'entitled'.

frostie500

My report on practice is online.

Have to say Massa's problem must be causing worries for Ferrari. It will be interesting to see if it was a fuel pump failure (or something similar), I'd be very surprised if he simply ran out of fuel but if he did the pace of the Ferrari on empty tanks is a worry.

Ranault looked very strong(Kubica P5 and Petrov P7) as well so we could have an interesting weekend.

bitemybanger

Lucy Lu wrote: »

I will be in Abu Dhabi and am really looking forward to seeing the outcome of one of the best F1 title battles in years

I am am McLaren fan and as Lewis is basically out of it, I would like to see a RB winner.

Lewis basically out???
He set the fastest time in practice.
A win and the title is his.

amacachi

bitemybanger wrote: »

Lewis bacicly out???
He set the fastest time in practice.
A win and the title is his.

A win and both RBs and Alonso retiring gets him the title.

lord lucan

bitemybanger wrote: »

Lewis basically out???
He set the fastest time in practice.
A win and the title is his.

I wouldn't read too much into practice tbh. They're very misleading as teams play around with various aerodynamic configurations and fuel loads.

G-Money

For me it's pretty simple - ABA - Anyone But Alonso.

I hope Hamilton wins the title but I agree with him last week, he pretty much needs a miracle for that to happen.

ando

grandmaster wrote: »

For me it's pretty simple - ABA - Anyone But Alonso..

for me it's ABV!

Vegeta

grandmaster wrote: »

For me it's pretty simple - ABA - Anyone But Alonso.

Me too, I would rather someone who hasn't one before to win it. Webber is my first preference and then Vettel

EvilMonkey

I'm anyone but McLaren so good chance i will be happy.

If Vettel wins fastest Red Bull driver will have won.
If Webber wins most consistent Red Bull driver will have won.
If Alonso wins what a comeback from the start of the season.

v3ttel

Come on Vettel!

sockpuppets

i hope alonso wins. It would be class after claiming he would back in july.

http://www.crash.net/f1/news/161552/1/fernando_alonso_we_will_win_this_championship.html

am i bovvered

I would like to see Webber get it.
Although I think he will have to rely on Vettel doing him a favour.
My fav driver is Hamilton but he needs a lot to happen to have any chance.
Cannot wait for qualifying.

lord lucan

That x factor piss take intro had me in tears,great stuff from the BBC.:D

Ghost Train

button having vibration problems... hope its just tyres

frostie500

The track looks to be improving so much, you'd have to think that by Q3 it will be in perfect condition-the last set of runs should be really interesing in that session

Ghost Train

Interesting that the drivers don't just put in a lap in q1and q2, all pushing hard even in q1

wonder will q2 throw up any surprises

lord lucan

The Mercs are looking pretty racy.

frostie500

lord lucan wrote: »

The Mercs are looking pretty racy.

Dont forget that they are on the option tyre though. Both drivers are looking very confident in the car