2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Yas Marina Circuit, Dec 11 - 13 Sportsbook Motor Sport

[Tom]

One last time in this weirdest of F1 seasons

Abu Dhabi / Round 17
SESSION	TIME
1st Free practice	Fri 11 Dec 09:00 - 10:30
2nd Free practice	Fri 11 Dec 13:00 - 14:30
3rd Free practice	Sat 12 Dec 10:00 - 11:00
1st Qualifying	Sat 12 Dec 13:00 - 13:18
2nd Qualifying	Sat 12 Dec 13:25 - 13:40
3rd Qualifying	Sat 12 Dec 13:48 - 14:00
Race	Sun 13 Dec 13:10 - 15:10

 

[Franco Pinion]

George Russell has a beautiful helmet this weekend

 

[Dylan]

The top of Russell's helmet has the nine Williams cars that won the Constructors Championship

 

[Fraser]

Great qualifying session. Verstappen takes pole ahead of Bottas and Hamilton. An excellent drive sees Lando Norris start 4th with his McLaren teammate Carlos Sainz in 6th just behind the second Red Bull of Albon.

No idea how this race will play out tomorrow but hopefully its a good one.

 

[Tom]

Nice from Max, at least it will make a good start to the race tomorrow though you'd imagine Hamilton will zoom off into the sunset again. Good stuff from Norris too, the McLaren seems really good. I'm looking forward to seeing what Ricciardo can add to them next season.

 

[Best]

It genuinely hadn't occurred to me that there hadn't been a single non-Mercedes pole til this weekend. Good stuff Max.

McLaren's progress should be noted. I find it hard to believe that the Mercedes engine isn't worth a quarter of a second in Abu Dhabi so on this track it's arguable Mercedes might only be the third-best chassis/aero package.

 

[Son Of Jack]

It genuinely hadn't occurred to me that there hadn't been a single non-Mercedes pole til this weekend. Good stuff Max.

McLaren's progress should be noted. I find it hard to believe that the Mercedes engine isn't worth a quarter of a second in Abu Dhabi so on this track it's arguable Mercedes might only be the third-best chassis/aero package.

The battle for the third best car has been really interesting this year.

The Racing Point might have been the second best car at the very start. And we assume the Red Bull became comfortable second best (but I suspect it's not as good as Verstappen makes it look). At the start, the Mclaren was strongest of the rest and Ferrari at the back of the midfield, Alfa, Haas and Williams at the back.

Since then the RP has slipped back and Renault has clawed its way, inch by inch, to the best of the rest. But McLaren has tightened it up in the last few races. Ferrari has improved too and probably narrowed the gap to the front of the midfield.

Hard to know where Alpha fits in. They looked great at the really fast tracks like Spa and Monza. But very hit and miss over the season. Probably behind the Ferrari overall and last of the midfield.

 

[Best]

The battle for the third best car has been really interesting this year.

The Racing Point might have been the second best car at the very start. And we assume the Red Bull became comfortable second best (but I suspect it's not as good as Verstappen makes it look). At the start, the Mclaren was strongest of the rest and Ferrari at the back of the midfield, Alfa, Haas and Williams at the back.

Since then the RP has slipped back and Renault has clawed its way, inch by inch, to the best of the rest. But McLaren has tightened it up in the last few races. Ferrari has improved too and probably narrowed the gap to the front of the midfield.

Hard to know where Alpha fits in. They looked great at the really fast tracks like Spa and Monza. But very hit and miss over the season. Probably behind the Ferrari overall and last of the midfield.

Though just as I was reading your post I realised that Mercedes likely hasn't put too many resources into development for this season's car. Just have to hope McLaren haven't made the mistake of fighting this season to the absolute bitter end and that their upgrades will carry into next year. Would be a lovely surprised if they could put it up to Mercedes next season. I think it's a fair assumption that right now with a Mercedes in the back they could've rocked pole this weekend.

I think overall for the season the current constructors' standings are pretty bang-on for the order for the season. Sounds tautological but it's not always the way. Ferrari has improved but I think they're probably no closer to those ahead than they were at the start of the season. Leclerc is likely getting more out of the car than he should, Vettel the opposite.

Renault has improved a bit but a bit stuck in no man's land just behind McLaren.

 

[Son Of Jack]

Though just as I was reading your post I realised that Mercedes likely hasn't put too many resources into development for this season's car. Just have to hope McLaren haven't made the mistake of fighting this season to the absolute bitter end and that their upgrades will carry into next year. Would be a lovely surprised if they could put it up to Mercedes next season. I think it's a fair assumption that right now with a Mercedes in the back they could've rocked pole this weekend.

I think overall for the season the current constructors' standings are pretty bang-on for the order for the season. Sounds tautological but it's not always the way. Ferrari has improved but I think they're probably no closer to those ahead than they were at the start of the season. Leclerc is likely getting more out of the car than he should, Vettel the opposite.

Renault has improved a bit but a bit stuck in no man's land just behind McLaren.

Yeah, I don't think there are any big changes in rules for next year. I think it was basically a covid shutdown measure where the teams could get two seasons out of one design while they all switch primary focus to the 2022 regulation changes (which were supposed to happen in 2021 instead)

With the stability in the rules between this year and next year, there is some value in focusing on this year's car as they could really build on the gains they've made.

Chances are the Mercedes will almost ignore the current design and focus on 2022. So they might start next year with an advantage and the other teams might eat into the advantage over the season. And by the end of the year, the Mercedes might not even be the best car. But I'd expect them to be the best car in the new formula in 2022.

I'd agree that Mclaren getting the Mercedes engines next year might make them the main challenger to Mercedes next year.

 

[Dylan]

Special mention to Lando Norris for his qualifying effort. He's had a quietly impressive season I reckon, out qualified his vastly more experienced teammate and could potentially finish with more points depending on how the race goes.

I expect him to be outclassed when Ricciardo joins him next year though, but should be a good experience having someone with Ricciardo's pace alongside him.