It is the Tuesday before the final race of the Formula 1 season; the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on 23 November 2014. The circuit Yas Marina is the ‘site of the fight’ to settle the Drivers Championship for 2014, with one of the Mercedes Works drivers taking the spot at the top of the F1 world. Team drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg will battle for the championship in uncharted territory; double points will be awarded for the finale this Sunday, a first for Formula 1 scoring.
As a fan I am bursting – the air around me is charged with excitement and anticipation, palpable to friends and family! The finale will bring a close to one of the best seasons in recent years. The Mercedes teams dominance this season has been phenomenal, leaving the rest of the field to sort out rankings behind their successes for both the constructor and driver standings. Many see this kind of season-long dominance as taking away from the sport, but not I…
The competitiveness between Lewis and Nico on track has run the gamut of emotions this season, making it a memorable one, along the way keeping the interest and side stories bounding about like kangaroos. In Australia Lewis turns only two laps due to engine failure, with Nico running away at the front of the field and taking full points heading into round two in Malaysia. Lewis then comes back in amazing fashion, taking pole on Saturday, leading every lap, and setting fastest lap; the grand slam. From there the season and stories built, all of which lead to one pressure packed weekend…
If the air is charged around me on a Tuesday, it will be thick enough this coming weekend in Abu Dhabi to charge all of the ERS ‘s in the field. The Yas Marina is a circuit worthy of deciding the championship, and it boasts an amazing backdrop to settle things.
Adding to the electrical storm is that both Mercedes pilots have had success at the venue; Hamilton with a win and Rosberg with a third place podium finish. Rosberg, though, has not led a lap at Yas Marina, whereas Hamilton has led 36 laps. Experience counts… for some things. Will it this weekend?
Through the electrical storm I’m looking forward through the back – the back of the field. Williams has had an exceptional season, and in the last five races of the campaign they have continued to improve and gobble up points; Botas and Massa have catapulted Williams into top-five finishes in all but one race since Singapore, only missing the top five in Japan. Likewise, McLaren have crafted a number of good drives to the front since Singapore, with Button and Magnussen pushing their livery forward in race trim improvements, and in the points race.
Right behind Mercedes is the Red Bull Team, sitting second place in the Constructors Championship, with teammates Daniel Riccardo and Sebastian Vettel holding third and fourth in the Drivers Standings. But Vettel is only two points out in front of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, and only three in front of William’s Bottas. There is much to be settled behind the top two, making for compelling stories up and down the paddock.
Following up on previous posts, the double points award for this race still makes me a bit queasy. With a 17 point separation from 1st to 2nd Lewis Hamilton has to fare no worse than second place to insure his second Drivers Title; while the double points is somewhat ‘contrived’, at least it does not throw the title away to an undeserving driver. Without double points Hamilton could have insured victory with a fifth place finish. And what is the difference between second and fifth in F1? A cavern in space and time… a cavern!
And as of this writing my $15 donation helped to send the Caterham Team to the final race in Abu Dhabi! While they are in Administration, the crowdfunding effort previously mentioned raised enough money quickly enough to allow those in control of the teams books to send them to the race – I think that speaks volumes to the fans of F1, and should be read loudly enough so the powers that be in the sport take notice of what the fans feel about the ‘second tier’ teams. It would be fitting if somehow they could come away with a point from this race! Not bloody likely, but it would be a hell of a story!
So will the strategy change for the Mercedes team at all this weekend? Will reliability be more important than speed? Or will the Silver Arrows push to clear themselves of the field so they can fight with fewer complications? Williams, Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari; all of the teams have their own fights this weekend, and this may end up not only being the bigger story, but could end up having an affect on the outcome of the top two – which would then be an even bigger story!
I was completely detached from the Spint Cup Title last weekend because the knockout system was a sham as far as deciding a championship. This weekend will be the exact opposite – I’ll be perched in my most comfortable setting with some bourbon and coke, too many communication toys at my fingertips, anxiously awaiting the outcome from Yas Marina, all the while trying to harness that electricity in the air…
This season has been one for the books; here is to hoping it ends that way!
Cheers!
Riley C.
An F1 fan's take... 