Categories: FeatureFeatures

Chris Medland's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix preview

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After nine months and 18 races, F1’s final race of the season is upon us with the curtain set to come down on 2015 in Abu Dhabi. The titles have long since been decided, with Mercedes incredibly bettering its points total from last year, but there remains tension between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg despite such a dominant campaign. The Yas Marina Circuit will play host to the last race with the pressure off for the majority of teams and drivers, which could well lead to an exciting grand prix beneath the floodlights at the spectacular venue on Yas Island, while emotions will run high at both Lotus - as Romain Grosjean takes part in his final race before moving to Haas next season - and Manor ahead of the departures of John Booth and Graeme Lowdon.

FORM GUIDE

Although Mercedes secured its 11th one-two finish of a dominant season in Brazil, Sebastian Vettel kept the leading pair honest as Ferrari displayed how it has closed the gap since the beginning of the year. The Yas Marina Circuit should suit Ferrari, with the soft and supersoft tyres also the same compounds which were used when Vettel won under the floodlights in Singapore. Red Bull will be expecting an improved performance at a track where it managed to climb through from the pit lane last season to fourth place with Daniel Ricciardo, while Williams was similarly strong in Abu Dhabi in 2014 and will hope to be closer to Ferrari than it was in Brazil.

2014 RESULT

Pole position: Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), 1:40.480

Top three: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Felipe Massa (Williams), Valtteri Bottas (Williams)

Fastest lap: Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull), 1:44.496

SESSION TIMES (All times local)

FP1: 13:00 - 14:30

FP2: 17:00 - 18:30

FP3: 14:00 - 15:00

Qualifying: 17:00 - 18:00

Race: 1700

TYRE CHOICES

WEATHER FORECAST

Incredibly, the majority of the paddock set-up ahead of this weekend’s race has taken place in the rain as overcast and windy conditions brought showers to Abu Dhabi. By Friday the weather is forecast to have returned to normal, with hot temperatures and plenty of sunshine predicted, though there remains the 20% chance of more rain on Saturday. The biggest challenge for the teams is the drop in track temperatures with FP2, qualifying and the race taking place at sunset and the track temperature dropping markedly from the start to the end of the race.

PODIUM PREDICTION

1st - Sebastian Vettel

2nd - Valtteri Bottas

3rd - Daniel Ricciardo

2014 BEST SHOT

Technical feature: Exclusive pictures of the Ferrari power unit

Unfinished business at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.