Qualifying is finished and the grid filled for the Abu Dhabi GP twelve hours from now. Lewis Hamilton qualified second, with Nico Rosberg taking pole by a .386 seconds; not a stunner as Rosberg has proven himself the king of quals this season.

Hamilton biggest competition will likely come from the Williams duo; Bottas and Massa secured third and fourth on the grid.  From P1 to P3 the William’s team reduced the time differentials and in Q3 Bottas was in third by .159 seconds with Massa .094 off Bottas pace. The experience of Massa may help his race pace, and Bottas is just flat out fast this year. If Hamilton has to contend with these two trying to get through it could play straight into Rosberg’s hand; bigger mistakes come from defending a position than trying take one.

Over the last three Grands Prix in Sochi, Austin, and Sao Paulo the Williams have steadily lowered the gap in qualifying, but that has not translated into race pace, as the Williams have faded in time differentials and finishing spots.

I would think that if the Mercedes teammates can get through the first sector of lap one clean that they will be able to clear themselves from the field and they will then go racing. From the start, barring mechanical failures, this race will look much as the third round in Bahrain, with the Mercedes livery competing for first place throughout. Hamilton will not sit idly by for a safe finish – it doesn’t seem to be his temperament, whereas Rosberg seems to favor consistency over finishes, making a hard charge out front less likely.

The Constructors Standings will see Williams finish ahead of Ferrari, and with that the likely departure of Team Principal Marco Mattiacci, who was named to the position earlier in the season replacing Stefano Domenicali. As dominant as the Prancing Horse team was in the 2000’s with Schumacher and Barrichello, since 2008 they have not won the title, and have secured one second place finish in that time, sandwiched between third and fourths. Red Bull had their run of four titles during that span; will this be the start of a dominating string of firsts for Mercedes?

Regardless of the outcome, the wish is for a clean race with good competition, and no spanners in the works to obscure the finish to what has been a tremendous season. There will be a few Irish coffees at 8:00 in the morning, toasting to the last wheels turned in anger before the down season rolls about.

Cheers!

Riley C.