2016 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi - Yas Marina, 25-27 November

[ChrisDanger]

I agree. Vettel is luckiest driver in history of F1

Exactly. What a time to be driving that Red Bull paired with Webber!

Where is the difference with driving a Merc paired with Rosberg? I mean...we all know that Rosberg is slow and sucks and, thus, does not deserve a championship.

Woah, woah, woah, woah woah! Let's not get ahead ahead of ourselves.

Firstly, I did not say Vettel was a bad driver. Pretty much the entire F1 grid with one or two exceptions are fantastic drivers. When you start comparing the top 0.1% of professional racing drivers you can't go around saying any of them "suck". I just said he was lucky. That first one was very lucky and a surprise to most, and the rest were more a function of a Newey-designed beast and a pairing with an ageing, weaker teammate. Even when he was dominant people were questioning his racecraft because he was almost always unchallenged.

Secondly, I did not say Rosberg has not lucked into this championship lead (and probable but not certain victory). There definitely has been some luck involved. It is not the first time that this has happened!

Thirdly, this talk of "deserving" to be champion is utter nonsense. If you win, you win. If it comes to you by luck, then maybe you're a bit lucky. But deserving? Now you're getting into the realm of opinion, which I don't even see the point of debating because there's no right or wrong answer. And if you open that can of worms would you be willing to judge whether all the previous drivers who won in dominant cars were "deserving" or just lucky to be in the right place at the right time. Also, there's more to being a champion than winning races, or scoring points. These people started from the bottom, worked their way to the top tier, and dedicated their lives to their passion. And you're going to make a sweeping statement like "oh he doesn't deserve to be champion because my favourite driver's engine blew up that one time"? Seriously...

[Shrieker]

Hamilton will most likely end up second, and his season is very reminiscent of Massa's in 2008. When people think of 2008, all they can remember is the Singapore fiasco and his engine failure in Hungary. But the truth is, both the team and driver had bad muck ups. Traction control was banned and Massa did not adapt quickly at the start of the season, he spun all by himself while pushing hard in the first 2 races with identical losses of control under acceleration, scoring zero points.

Hamilton had all these start issues and it cost him a lot of points. Also, his mechanical problems. Which clearly shows it's a team sport. The heartbreaking thing for him of course, is his rival is in the same car, and his' had next to no problems... Not wishing him to have, but would not be surprised either way in the last race.

[basti313]

Woah, woah, woah, woah woah! Let's not get ahead ahead of ourselves.

Sorry, I forgot the big sarcasm warning sign. But very good post, finally puts a little bit of quality into the last few pages.

Firstly, I did not say Vettel was a bad driver. Pretty much the entire F1 grid with one or two exceptions are fantastic drivers. When you start comparing the top 0.1% of professional racing drivers you can't go around saying any of them "suck". I just said he was lucky.
.........
Secondly, I did not say Rosberg has not lucked into this championship lead (and probable but not certain victory). There definitely has been some luck involved. It is not the first time that this has happened!

I really do not remember many WDCs who did not have a BIG portion of luck on their side. Just looking 10 years ago...an engine blowup, two McLaren drivers screwing up all by their own, rain that came to the right time, a double diffuser idea, a strategy fault...this is 5 years of something between heavy and middle luck.
I do not know why we are discussing luck at all. This is and will always be a big part of the WDC and it is just not quantifiable.

That first one was very lucky and a surprise to most, and the rest were more a function of a Newey-designed beast and a pairing with an ageing, weaker teammate. Even when he was dominant people were questioning his racecraft because he was almost always unchallenged.

I do not know. Especially 10 and 12 could have ended different. Except for the Webber crash Vettel did not loose stupid points...I do not see much to discuss about racecraft if a driver takes the points he can get.

Thirdly, this talk of "deserving" to be champion is utter nonsense. If you win, you win.

Thank you. =D>

[ME4ME]

I just said he was lucky. That first one was very lucky and a surprise to most, and the rest were more a function of a Newey-designed beast and a pairing with an ageing, weaker teammate. Even when he was dominant people were questioning his racecraft because he was almost always unchallenged.

I disagree with your first statement. In 2010 Vettel his fair share of bad luck. Hitting car trouble in Bahrain, retireing with a broken suspension in Australia, and ofcourse the engine failure while in the lead in Korea. Although he made errors (Spa etc), Vettels performance was great in 2010.

In 2011 and 2013 he dominated. The car made a great difference, but so does it for most champions. In 2012 Vettel arguably wasn't the best driver, but he made it work.

In 2015 he performed greatly, arguably the best or second best. Yet now while he is undeperforming, people disregard all his achievements.

Some people should realize that drivers do not perform to their maximum every single season. Hamilton let his personal life mess up 2011. Alonso wasn't that great in 2015. Vettel didn't deliver 2014-16.

[Manoah2u]

Oh look, another thread turned into fanboys and haterism and people who think their right and opinion is higher and morally more sound than that of others.
fcol, get a grip people. really. keep it together.

[ChrisDanger]

I just said he was lucky. That first one was very lucky and a surprise to most...

I disagree with your first statement.

Yeah, I'm probably oversimplifying things. It's just that last race he kinda lucked into being so far ahead of his rivals thanks to Petrov, and he had not been leading the championship at any time during the year.

[aral]

I would remind you that this thread is about the Abu Dhabi GP, but some of you seem to have turned it into a non-related driver bashing thread. Can you please stay on topic or else there will be a clean out of off-topic posts

[djos]

Yes. It's been said that if you win a World Championship it might be luck; it's when you win multiple championships that there's probably skill involved. Although there's always an exception *coff*Vettel*coff* to the rule.

I agree. Vettel is luckiest driver in history of F1

Exactly. What a time to be driving that Red Bull paired with Webber!

Until the blown diffuser was developed to Vettel's liking, Webber was competitive and frequently beat him. It wasn't until the garbage Pirelli tires came in that Webber really fell off the performance wagon.

[De Jokke]

Let's be happy for Rosberg and his fans. They finally have a world championship.
But we all know why that is, we know it, they know it, Rosberg knows it: "unreliability" or the day that Merc took the Rosberg card: "after 2016 we would like to have two champs in our team". As simple as that.
Seriously disappointed in Mercedes...

[FrukostScones]

Let's be happy for Rosberg and his fans. They finally have a world championship.
But we all know why that is, we know it, they know it, Rosberg knows it: "unreliability" or the day that Merc took the Rosberg card: "after 2016 we would like to have two champs in our team". As simple as that.
Seriously disappointed in Mercedes...

Word!

[ringo]

Hahah, boy you all can't seem to wait for the race to start.
Hmm i would be surprised but not shocked if Hamilton wins this championship thats all im gonna say.
But if he does, i expect Nico to leave F1 for a year like Button.

[Goran2812]

would anyone feel a little less robbed for the WDC if Rosberg absolutelly destroys everyone in the race? Like, drives the best race of his life, crushes the field and Hamilton can through pure pace finish only second... Would he still be a not worthy champion,or a little less not worthy?

Can't wait for the race!!!

[djos]

would anyone feel a little less robbed for the WDC if Rosberg absolutelly destroys everyone in the race? Like, drives the best race of his life, crushes the field and Hamilton can through pure pace finish only second... Would he still be a not worthy champion,or a little less not worthy?

Can't wait for the race!!!

If he had an issue and then drove thru the pack to win, like Webber did for his 1st win in Germany, then yes, that would help a lot.

[GPR-A duplicate2]

would anyone feel a little less robbed for the WDC if Rosberg absolutelly destroys everyone in the race? Like, drives the best race of his life, crushes the field and Hamilton can through pure pace finish only second... Would he still be a not worthy champion,or a little less not worthy?

Can't wait for the race!!!

I need a kilo of that. Mind telling the address please? Been quite a long since I smoked and they have banned near my place.

[Mansell89]

With this being a circuit with two long straights, I guess it should be pretty difficult for Rosberg not to get the podium required to wrap things up.

Only a shocking qualifying can really cause him problems.