Abu Dhabi GP 2009 - Yas Marina

[ISLAMATRON]

Lou is 4.5kgs lighter, but the Merc is also alot thirstier... Seb has a real chance, unless Webber takes him at the start(being on the clean line).

Truilli did a good job, hopefully he can put a whole race together.

Looks like everyone after the top ten is going for a 1 stopper.

Cant wait till low fuel Q3 next year.... sooo much cooler.

[StrFerrari4Ever]

Vettel yet again outqualifies Webber with a heavier fuelload albeit one lap but we've seen Vettel in the race being able to save fuel and run a lap or 2 longer than expected so good job.
Hamilton lighter but I don't think thats going to stop him from getting the win tommorow unless Vettel pulls out all the stops to beat him.
Brawn's will probably finish from where they qualified as they are lighter than the Red Bull's and the Red Bull's if it came down to it would probably have the pace to manage to stay ahead of them.
Well this season finale should be special here's for safety car's , mayhem & crashes in the underground pitlane exit!!!

[ESPImperium]

Fuel Ajdusted top 10

Quali Driver Time Fuel Ajdusted
1 Lewis Hamilton 100.948 53.5 99.129
2 Sebastian Vettel 101.615 58.0 99.643
3 Mark Webber 101.726 55.0 99.856
4 Jarno Trulli 101.897 103.3 98.385
5 Rubens Barrichello 101.786 0.0 101.786
6 Jenson Button 101.892 50.0 100.192
7 Robert Kubica 101.992 49.5 100.309
8 Nick Heidfeld 102.343 59.0 100.337
9 Nico Rosberg 102.583 60.0 100.543
10 Sebastien Buemi 102.713 56.0 100.809

From a quickie simulation, Hamilton will win by roughly half a minuite over the rest of them. Trulli will be the surprise package.

But according to my calculations, the renault guys will be pitting as late as lap 40 to 45, maybes later if there is a SC period of any duration, whitch i recon there could well be a SC period.

[The Local Ride]

[bill shoe]

Thanks, Local Ride. Based on starting weights over the course of the year it seems like 700 to 710 kgs is the max weight, which means current cars have the capacity for 95 to 105 kgs of fuel. The conventional wisdom for next year is 170 - 190 kgs for the full race distance (no refuelling), so the difference is 65 to 95 kgs (65% to 100% more tank capacity). This is a big change, but maybe not as much as I would have guessed. It's less than a doubling.

[WhiteBlue]

IT will be very difficult for Vettel to beat Hamilton due to KERS. He certainly has no big chance to pass. The Merc will be much faster on the straights. If he can hold contact in the first stint he got two laps to take him in the pits.

[ESPImperium]

[Ray]

I'm not a huge fan of that pit out tunnel, but I'd sure hate to be the poor bastard that had to stand there with a fire bottle the whole race. He can't see anything!

How much different is it than the Monaco tunnel really?

Not nearly the same amount(or type) of light will be available in Abu Dhabi as in Singapore.

Based on what? The number of light poles?

Based on the overheard shots at nite from both tracks... At Singapore the street actually looked white it was so highly lit, whereas at abu dhabi you could tell the road was black.

For one the Monaco tunnel has the cars screaming through it at very high speed, and the pit out tunnel at Abu Dhabi sees them going something like 25 mph. I figured the difference would be very easy to see. Yeah you see about the same but I know what would be better between the two.

Number two, just because light is brighter doesn't mean it's better. You can't judge the quality of the light from the drivers view from an overhead shot, and the cameras could be very different from one another as well. An LED lamp I have is --- compared to a regular bulb light that I have. It's too white, not as high of an output in terms of 'coverage' I guess. I can see better and it seems more natural with the 'dull' yellowish tinge to the other light. Maybe it's because I'm used to it, but the whiter light it much much more harsh and causes more strain on my eyes. The HID lights I installed in my truck are better because they are brighter and whiter. But the light output also travels further and lights up more of the road ahead, however my Dad hates them. Says they are too bright for him.

Musco know what they are doing, and cameras are a very bad yardstick to judge one over the other sometimes.

[ringo]

Can anyone here appreciate the gap from pole and 2nd?
The last time such a gap existed was in 2005, when the field was spread over a bigger time gap. Hamilton is a monster! Vettel didn't know what hit him when he saw the leader board.

I think the racing will be exciting; expect a few offs from drivers trying to push to catch the Mclaren and some passes at the end of the long straight. I don't think rubens stands a chance to regain 2nd place.

[roost89]

Can anyone here appreciate the gap from pole and 2nd?
The last time such a gap existed was in 2005, when the field was spread over a bigger time gap. Hamilton is a monster! Vettel didn't know what hit him when he saw the leader board.

I think the racing will be exciting; expect a few offs from drivers trying to push to catch the Mclaren and some passes at the end of the long straight. I don't think rubens stands a chance to regain 2nd place.

Lewis is rather light though. Q3 isn't the same as it used to be =( the fastest car doesn't always win, it's the lightest car that wins most often.

[ringo]

He is not that light, a lap or 2, even when adjusted for fuel it is still a disgusting gap.

[PlatinumZealot]

0.5 seconds on Vettel fuel asjusted! I know the long straight low downforce track suits the MP4/24 but the BOSS is a beast!

It was like Vettel and Mark were slapped with a pile of bricks!

[ISLAMATRON]

Alonso throwing his team under the bus once again.

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/n ... 3325.shtml

If he was so intrumental in improving the MP4/23(we all know the 6 tenths claim), why cant he do more with the R29?

[BreezyRacer]

Can anyone here appreciate the gap from pole and 2nd?
The last time such a gap existed was in 2005, when the field was spread over a bigger time gap. Hamilton is a monster! Vettel didn't know what hit him when he saw the leader board.

I think the racing will be exciting; expect a few offs from drivers trying to push to catch the Mclaren and some passes at the end of the long straight. I don't think rubens stands a chance to regain 2nd place.

That was quite a lap from Hamilton. Race pace is another matter however. Hamilton didn't seem as quick, lap over lap, than the RBs. Plus with a KERS car you can essentially get two laps worth on your qualli lap .. approaching the line towards your quali lap, and then again during the lap. That's why Hamilton cannot do one fast lap after another. Again, we'll see tomorrow. I'm thinking Vettel. He's taking all this very seriously.

[ringo]

Yes the RBR is naturally a more consistently quicker car, I think this was the case for the whole season. The redbulls had better race pace especially in a certain range of fuel load.

However i think Hamilton as a driver, has the edge in terms of his ability to drive consistently on the limit, even on used tyres. He also seems to be strong in the first 2 sectors; where passing can take place.
It will be interesting to see what Vettel can do after Hamilton pits. He will have the track to him self hopefully.
He is taking it pretty seriously for sure. I realized he gets a little flustered whenever he is outdone by other drivers especially if his teammate is outright faster. Hamilton blew his mind in an inferior car and he cannot fathom it.

I guess this is the showdown between the young guns, baby shumi and the Lewis the giant killer.
Hamilton has been a thorn in Vettel's side since the beginning of the season. Baby shumi is looking less convincing every time that meddling Hamilton outclasses him in a slower car.