Abu Dhabi GP 2010 - Yas Marina Circuit

[andrew]

Did anybody else keep having visions of that wall out of turn 19 becoming the new wall of champions? Only part of the whole track I actually enjoyed watching. The sport as a whole needs more of those go-big-or-go-home corners.

I'm surprised that Webber got away with hitting the wall. It was a fair whack he gave it complete with a shower of sparks. It must have been touch and go between his wheel falling off and staying on.

[zenithbeach]

Yeesh. Cyber egos. Say what you like about Schuey, I was just glad to see him walking and smiling afterwards. That was the scariest collision I've seen in a long while. Well no, scariest since Hungary '09. But still, he could probably taste that right front it was so close.

you know how he pushed the gas pedal after he turned and then he stopped. is it just the camera angle or would liuzzi have crashed into michaels head IF schumi hadnt moved that bit forward?

[andrew]

^^ not sure. If I remember correctly, the front wing of Luizzi's car was knocked of and the nose of his car was a fair bit away from Schumachers head. I don't think Schumacher moved all that far forward, it more like a jump then stall kind of move. It may have been the camera angle that made it look worse but seeing it from above of from Luizzi's car would clarify just how close things were. Pretty damn scary though for both, that's for sure.

[omar2726]

We should also consider that Liuzzi didn't have the whole track width to himself, so maybe he just didn't have enough room to maneuver. I doubt it too if it was easy to go to the inside of the corner.

[komninosm]

Did anybody else keep having visions of that wall out of turn 19 becoming the new wall of champions? Only part of the whole track I actually enjoyed watching. The sport as a whole needs more of those go-big-or-go-home corners.

I'm surprised that Webber got away with hitting the wall. It was a fair whack he gave it complete with a shower of sparks. It must have been touch and go between his wheel falling off and staying on.

Yes, there was a small "explosion". I think they said on radio that his wheel was slowly losing pressure and that was partly the reason for the early pit-stop. Right?
So what produced that "spark"? Was it the tire or the aerodynamic wheel thingie (hmm or were those banned, or front wheel only?) or was it the wheel rim? Wish we had pictures of it, like we did in Singapore, but we were lucky there that it was his finishing set of tires. You can photo those at the end easier.

[Green Genes]

We should also consider that Liuzzi didn't have the whole track width to himself, so maybe he just didn't have enough room to maneuver. I doubt it too if it was easy to go to the inside of the corner.

Yeah, Liuzzi was completely boxed in. He had cars on all sides of him rounding that corner. Once Micheal was stopped Liuzzi was going to crash into somebody.

[omar2726]

So what produced that "spark"? Was it the tire or the aerodynamic wheel thingie (hmm or were those banned, or front wheel only?) or was it the wheel rim?

I think you're talking about the wheel fairings? I think they are banned for both front and rear wheels. Maybe it was a body part like the front wing or the wheel rim that produced the spark, I'm just guessing.

[andrew]

I think it is more likely to be the wheel rim itself that caused the fireworks display.

[mkw0101]

The final race was an amazing race and a massive surpise at the end.
Vettel was the best overall dirver that day and it gets even sweater that he one the final GP and including the DWC Title all in one shot.

He even fooled every one because most of us were thinking that Alonso, Hamilton, Button or Webber Could win the DWC Title.

He really showed us and he showed us in style.

I'll say, way to go Vettel and enjoy your first WDC title because it will get harder each year to get another WDC.

[Mandrake]

I don't understand why they wouldn't bring Vettel in either because his tyres were going off and he was falling back into the clutches of Hamilton.

Getting close is one thing, passing another. It's been the same story for the whole year, the leading cars only pitted when they could make sure not to get stuck in traffic.

Even if Vettel's tires were going off, the box told him to stay out a lil longer to assure there's a gap. This is not possible for drivers that are already stuck in traffic, such as Webber this race.

[raymondu999]

So... Alonso was partly behind the strategy http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2010/11/17/a ... -messages/

[Gerhard Berger]

So... Alonso was partly behind the strategy http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2010/11/17/a ... -messages/

Seems like he was partly responsible for Massa coming in, which would have made perfect sense if he had jumped Webber. However, i'm not sure how much say he had on himself coming in, and whether the team made him aware that Rosberg and Petrov had already stopped under the safety car.

[raymondu999]

Yep. Sorry. I hadn't read the article when I posted it, just the opening, and the title.

[godlameroso]

When you're in front with clean air the tires tend to last longer because you're not losing downforce from following another car. Also when you're in front you can control the pace of the race, and as a result being able to drive smoother since you're not pushing to chase someone. These factors make the tires slide around less, hence why they last longer, Webber was desperately trying to push and chewed up his tires. Alonso's car could have passed Petrov, the problem was that Petrov was just driving normally, Alonso was driving with desperation, that ruined his tires relative to Petrov, and after a while he just couldn't do anything.

[mariano.torre.gomez]

any lesson to learn here?

Unofficial Wednesday times from Yas Marina:
1. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:38.102
2. Jerome D’Ambrosio, Renault, 1:38.802
3. Sam Bird, Mercedes GP, 1:39.220
4. Gary Paffett, McLaren, 1:39.760
5. Jules Bianchi, Ferrari, 1:39.916
6. Sergio Perez, BMW Sauber, 1:40.543
7. Paul Di Resta, Force India, 1:40.901
8. Pastor Maldonado, Williams, 1:40.944
9. Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso, 1:40.974
10. Yelmer Buurman, Force India, 1:41.178
11. Davide Valsecchi, HRT, 1:43.013
12. Luiz Razia, Virgin, 1:43.525
13. Josef Kral, HRT, 1:44.143
14. Rodolfo Gonzalez, Lotus, 1:44.312
15. Vladimir Arabadzhiev, Lotus, 1:45.723