2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Race Thread

[Bacus]

Albon silently puts on a good race, relative.

[F1_Ernie]

Thanks Mercedes, too conservative as usual

[cmax]

Most boring race of 2020 or is it the only boring race. This track never disappoints in that regard.

[Schermerhorn]

Most boring race of 2020 or is it the only boring race. This track never disappoints in that regard.

I agree. It looks pretty on TV though and the Al Nahyan family pay a fortune to host it so the circus keeps coming back.

They should remove or straighten out one of the chicanes so there an extra DRS effect for more overtaking or something. Remove corners 4, 5 and 6?

[TheGiantHogweed]

ok, so some of leclerc's track actions had been counted twice and it has only recently been 3 times he exceeded track limits. But he has done so againce AFTER getting the black and white flag. So where is the news of this penalty? Vettel may have a chance of beating him now if he gets this penalty.

[pokerman]

Mercedes did nothing to try and win the race, they should have rolled the dice with one car.

[UnlikeUday]

Stroll is pathetic.

[pokerman]

Maybe it would have been better if Russell had been in the Merc, Hamilton's not looked on it at in the race, he did admit today that he felt better, I would question if he's fully fit.

[Schermerhorn]

Why has Vettel fallen so far back from Charles? It was 4 seconds a few laps ago and now it's 11 seconds? The tyres haven't gone off that much surely? Or have Ferrari told him to fall back in case Charles gets a penalty?

[F1_Ernie]

Maybe it would have been better if Russell had been in the Merc, Hamilton's not looked on it at in the race, he did admit today that he felt better, I would question if he's fully fit.

What more could Hamilton do?

[Bacus]

Impeccable race for Verstappen.
Ricciardo solid also.
Otherwise pretty bland everything.

[Invade]

EPIC lulz Ricciardo just denied Max the Grand Slam.

Ah well.

[Harpo]

Best race of the century !

[Badgeronimous]

Used to live 15 minutes away from the circuit, loads of fond memories from the UAE. I've been to the last 2 grand prix, and driven the track a good few times (the grip on it is crazy)

Despite this. I still hate the Abu Dhabi grand prix.

[Good_Year]

Bottas would have still been 2nd with a 3rd place finish, so I don't understand why they were so conservative in the strategy

Maybe they just wanted it all over too.

[KingVoid]

They need to fix this damn circuit.

How on earth have they managed to build a layout so mundane and boring without being limited by streets?

[BeOnEdge]

Always a boring race this one, such a waste to have this as the season finale... take it back to Brazil!

Well done Max... faultless drive start to finish. I think Hamilton is probably feeling the effects of Covid still. Another few laps and Albon could have pinched that final podium spot.

Stroll is just an absolute joke, such a waste of a space in a team that is starting to show solid pace. A crying shame that Perez has lost his seat to the likes of someone like that.

I really do hope Perez will take the second seat in the Red Bull, it is the only way they'll be able to fight for the constructors championship. Perez could do wonders in that car, something that Albon is clearly uncapabale of even if he did have a fairly solid drive today.

The best thing about today is McLaren securing third in the constructors championship! Really looking forward to what Ricciardo and Norris can do with that Mercedes PU next season.

96 days and counting.

[Invade]

Definitely one of the worst races of the year.

A spotless weekend from Verstappen at least gives us a semi-novel winner.

Crofty constantly gets stats wrong BTW. Hamilton won 11 races this season, not 10.

[wolfticket]

Abu Dhabi: A reliable anticlimax to the season.

-

Bottas would have still been 2nd with a 3rd place finish, so I don't understand why they were so conservative in the strategy

Maybe they just wanted it all over too.

I think they probably thought the only way they could lose 2nd in the WDC was a failure or a very slow pitstop. So with everything being close to end of life and their experience last weekend they were conservative on both counts.

[Greenman]

.

A very generous Hamilton interview with tributes to various people and with him being very positive about having a genuine two team battle next year.

Looking forward to the off-season to get his body back to where it should be.

.

[pokerman]

Stroll is pathetic.

He's cost Racing Point 3rd in the WCC, there's too many drivers in F1 for the wrong reasons.

[cmax]

.

A very generous Hamilton interview with tributes to various people and with him being very positive about having a genuine two team battle next year.

Looking forward to the off-season to get his body back to where it should be.

.

I agree. That was a good interview.

[Bacus]

They need to fix this damn circuit.

How on earth have they managed to build a layout so mundane and boring without being limited by streets?

It's the 'old paradigm', the era when they tried stop/go tracks, thinking it will enhance overtakings. The greatest paradox is that its the opposite.
This is what continues to be a fallacy, I don't think (with all their technologies and analysis) they figured out yet what the best layout is. I said it for a long time and its been observerd (sometimes at classic tracks) that wide, with various lines, and long entry/exit corners do work. Pfff, if I would've been a track designer.

[Invade]

Stroll is pathetic.

He's cost Racing Point 3rd in the WCC, there's too many drivers in F1 for the wrong reasons.

Have to agree. On balance, Stroll really hasn't come along as far as many think, and hasn't backed up some of the earlier promise from the season. Mediocre stuff.

[pokerman]

Maybe it would have been better if Russell had been in the Merc, Hamilton's not looked on it at in the race, he did admit today that he felt better, I would question if he's fully fit.

What more could Hamilton do?

I don't think he was 100% and he's just admitted as such in his interview.

[tootsie323]

I look at this circuit layout and wonder why it should facilitate 'boring' races. I still think its the cars that need fixing and still keep my fingers crossed for 2022.

[Mort Canard]

Maybe it would have been better if Russell had been in the Merc, Hamilton's not looked on it at in the race, he did admit today that he felt better, I would question if he's fully fit.

What more could Hamilton do?

I don't think he was 100% and he's just admitted as such in his interview.

[mikeyg123]

I look at this circuit layout and wonder why it should facilitate 'boring' races. I still think its the cars that need fixing and still keep my fingers crossed for 2022.

Too many corners. It's just a dull layout. It makes 1000bhp fire breathing monsters look uninteresting.

[mikeyg123]

They need to fix this damn circuit.

How on earth have they managed to build a layout so mundane and boring without being limited by streets?

It's the 'old paradigm', the era when they tried stop/go tracks, thinking it will enhance overtakings. The greatest paradox is that its the opposite.
This is what continues to be a fallacy, I don't think (with all their technologies and analysis) they figured out yet what the best layout is. I said it for a long time and its been observerd (sometimes at classic tracks) that wide, with various lines, and long entry/exit corners do work. Pfff, if I would've been a track designer.

I find this inexplicable. People seem to still think this but in reality you can't get on the power until the guy in front of you so you're at a disadvantage on the next straight, What you need is a flowing corner with multiple lines followed by a long straight and then a decent breaking zone.

Mugello worked because all the corners flowed and worked with the cars and there weren't too many rapid changes of direction.

[A_Game_A_Day]

They need to fix this damn circuit.

How on earth have they managed to build a layout so mundane and boring without being limited by streets?

It's the 'old paradigm', the era when they tried stop/go tracks, thinking it will enhance overtakings. The greatest paradox is that its the opposite.
This is what continues to be a fallacy, I don't think (with all their technologies and analysis) they figured out yet what the best layout is. I said it for a long time and its been observerd (sometimes at classic tracks) that wide, with various lines, and long entry/exit corners do work. Pfff, if I would've been a track designer.

And even where they build circuits with about 20 different configurations possible, they stick with the first one they pick.

Of course it would help if the FiA would permit alternate configurations to be tested (for data) during FP1 much like new tyres can be tested. I'd much rather this thoughtful & constructive expirimentation than leap in the dark proposals of 2 day weekends, reverse grids, or sprint races etc...

[pokerman]

Well deserved win for Verstappen, just reward for a strong season.

[TheGiantHogweed]

Stroll is pathetic.

I will admit he's been disappointing lately, but I still have to point out that he was either very solid in the first half, or if he was also "pathetic" then, then Perez was pretty much as bad. I don't think it can be both ways. If Stroll has been bad all season, then Perez has had a very lopsided season. But my personal view on it was that Stroll was just marginally better than Perez (i know others will disagree) up until italy. If Perez was considered to have a solid first half of the season, the same has to be said about Stroll too.


I would say that both had a decent start, with Stroll being better than many give him credit for and Perez being a bit below his usual standards. But later on, Stroll did seem to drop a fair bit and the complete opposite for Perez. But I don't think Stroll has had a pathetic season and I also don't think Perez's season as a whole has been quite as good as many say - simply because he didn't really look better than Stroll over all in the first half.

The time that they announced Vettel that many are now criticising more than ever at the time honestly didn't look that stupid as performance and results wise, Stroll was pretty even with Perez. Things have admittedly swung and it obviously is the case that over the whole season, Perez has been far better.

[mikeyg123]

Stroll is pathetic.

I will admit he's been disappointing lately, but I still have to point out that he was either very solid in the first half, or if he was also "pathetic" then, then Perez was pretty much as bad. I don't think it can be both ways. If Stroll has been bad all season, then Perez has had a very lopsided season. But my personal view on it was that Stroll was just marginally better than Perez (i know others will disagree) up until italy. If Perez was considered to have a solid first half of the season, the same has to be said about Stroll too.


I would say that both had a decent start, with Stroll being better than many give him credit for and Perez being a bit below his usual standards. But later on, Stroll did seem to drop a fair bit and the complete opposite for Perez. But I don't think Stroll has had a pathetic season and I also don't think Perez's season as a whole has been quite as good as many say - simply because he didn't really look better than Stroll over all in the first half.

The time that they announced Vettel that many are now criticising more than ever at the time honestly didn't look that stupid as performance and results wise, Stroll was pretty even with Perez. Things have admittedly swung and it obviously is the case that over the whole season, Perez has been far better.

Thing is until Italy is only 5 races given that Perez missed two of them. Perez was far better than Stroll in both Austrian races, far worse in Hungary, about even in Spain and better in Spa. Only someone with an extremely generous view of Stroll (I.E you) would conclude Stroll was the better driver over that period but even if you do it's not a huge period of time.

Stroll has cost his team 3rd in the WCC this season. He's both been too slow and got involved in too many incidents.

[Invade]

Well deserved win for Verstappen, just reward for a strong season.

I reckon he was the most metronomic qualifier for the season. Not once did I score him any lower than 6 out of 8 on a Saturday.

Still ended up with Hamilton having the highest score for the season in overall race weekend ratings, with Verstappen 2nd and Ricciardo 3rd.

[mikeyg123]

Well deserved win for Verstappen, just reward for a strong season.

I reckon he was the most metronomic qualifier for the season. Not once did I score him any lower than 6 out of 8 on a Saturday.

Still ended up with Hamilton having the highest score for the season in overall race weekend ratings, with Verstappen 2nd and Ricciardo 3rd.

Someone needs to set up one of those Polls where we can vote for the drivers 1-20 and it aggregates it for us.

[Bacus]

They need to fix this damn circuit.

How on earth have they managed to build a layout so mundane and boring without being limited by streets?

It's the 'old paradigm', the era when they tried stop/go tracks, thinking it will enhance overtakings. The greatest paradox is that its the opposite.
This is what continues to be a fallacy, I don't think (with all their technologies and analysis) they figured out yet what the best layout is. I said it for a long time and its been observerd (sometimes at classic tracks) that wide, with various lines, and long entry/exit corners do work. Pfff, if I would've been a track designer.

I find this inexplicable. People seem to still think this but in reality you can't get on the power until the guy in front of you so you're at a disadvantage on the next straight, What you need is a flowing corner with multiple lines followed by a long straight and then a decent breaking zone.

Mugello worked because all the corners flowed and worked with the cars and there weren't too many rapid changes of direction.

Yeah that's exactly what I was saying.
Fallacy in not seeing that the flowing corners and multiple line are the best solution.
If you have a pace advantage you should be able to get on power earlier and on a different line.

But hopefully 2022 will save us, with or without track remake.

edit: I think you were just reinforcing my point..

[mikeyg123]

They need to fix this damn circuit.

How on earth have they managed to build a layout so mundane and boring without being limited by streets?

It's the 'old paradigm', the era when they tried stop/go tracks, thinking it will enhance overtakings. The greatest paradox is that its the opposite.
This is what continues to be a fallacy, I don't think (with all their technologies and analysis) they figured out yet what the best layout is. I said it for a long time and its been observerd (sometimes at classic tracks) that wide, with various lines, and long entry/exit corners do work. Pfff, if I would've been a track designer.

I find this inexplicable. People seem to still think this but in reality you can't get on the power until the guy in front of you so you're at a disadvantage on the next straight, What you need is a flowing corner with multiple lines followed by a long straight and then a decent breaking zone.

Mugello worked because all the corners flowed and worked with the cars and there weren't too many rapid changes of direction.

Yeah that's exactly what I was saying.
Fallacy in not seeing that the flowing corners and multiple line are the best solution.
If you have a pace advantage you should be able to get on power earlier and on a different line.

But hopefully 2022 will save us, with or without track remake.

edit: I think you were just reinforcing my point..

Yes I was just agreeing with you.

[Paolo_Lasardi]

What a boring race. Every team just focused on being computer-driven conservative. Nobody brave enough to try actual racing. Disappointing end of the season.

[TheGiantHogweed]

Stroll is pathetic.

I will admit he's been disappointing lately, but I still have to point out that he was either very solid in the first half, or if he was also "pathetic" then, then Perez was pretty much as bad. I don't think it can be both ways. If Stroll has been bad all season, then Perez has had a very lopsided season. But my personal view on it was that Stroll was just marginally better than Perez (i know others will disagree) up until italy. If Perez was considered to have a solid first half of the season, the same has to be said about Stroll too.


I would say that both had a decent start, with Stroll being better than many give him credit for and Perez being a bit below his usual standards. But later on, Stroll did seem to drop a fair bit and the complete opposite for Perez. But I don't think Stroll has had a pathetic season and I also don't think Perez's season as a whole has been quite as good as many say - simply because he didn't really look better than Stroll over all in the first half.

The time that they announced Vettel that many are now criticising more than ever at the time honestly didn't look that stupid as performance and results wise, Stroll was pretty even with Perez. Things have admittedly swung and it obviously is the case that over the whole season, Perez has been far better.

Thing is until Italy is only 5 races given that Perez missed two of them. Perez was far better than Stroll in both Austrian races, far worse in Hungary, about even in Spain and better in Spa. Only someone with an extremely generous view of Stroll (I.E you) would conclude Stroll was the better driver over that period but even if you do it's not a huge period of time.

Stroll has cost his team 3rd in the WCC this season. He's both been too slow and got involved in too many incidents.

I'm not the only one. I totally disagree about Spa. Stroll did what he needed to and as often is the case got a better launch off the line. Spain, I'm purely going on an avoidable Mistake from Perez costing him position. Yea, ok performance wise we can say even, but due to Perez's mistake, it cost him and Stroll got the better result.

It wasn't even hard to find many driver rankings from the mid season with just one simple search. Honestly, i didn't even spend more than a couple of minutes finding this.

https://inews.co.uk/sport/formula-one/f ... ell-652268

https://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2020 ... ne-so-far/

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/formula-1/2 ... pped-half/

https://the-race.com/formula-1/edd-stra ... r-ratings/



Stroll rated ahead in 3 of them and they are not even all mid season. The telegraph admittedly is absolutely ridiculous with Stroll up in 4th and Perez 15th though.

I think Edd Straws view is probably the most realistic with Perez having a marginally better ranking 9 races into the season.

Still, I'm not going to change my mind that throughout a good chunk of this season, (in my opinion, Stroll looked slightly better than perez) Not by much at all, but enough to make me view it that way. And I'll admit Perez has really outperformed him more recently. Though Stroll sometimes does still show some flashes of brilliance at least. I don't think the decision at the time to keep Stroll looked as unfair as it does now.

[pokerman]

Well deserved win for Verstappen, just reward for a strong season.

I reckon he was the most metronomic qualifier for the season. Not once did I score him any lower than 6 out of 8 on a Saturday.

Still ended up with Hamilton having the highest score for the season in overall race weekend ratings, with Verstappen 2nd and Ricciardo 3rd.

Sounds about right, I guess Leclerc had too many incidents to get 3rd?