While some people were camping out in front of a store or fighting other shoppers for big screen televisions on Black Friday, your favourite drivers were running laps at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. This is the stage for the final leg of the 2015 Formula One season.
Unlike the last four races that we’ve witnesses this season, the Yas Marina Circuit is more like a street circuit and less like a regular circuit. With a whopping 21 turns, the circuit can be quite demanding on the car’s brakes, as there are multiple critical braking points following long straights. There are plenty of low speed corner sequences, so downforce is vital here. Although the top speed at the circuit is roughly 340km/h, this track is not catered to the faster cars. This track is not as easy to overtake on as other circuits on the calendar, so the drivers near the front of the grid will have a greater advantage than they normally would.
Unlike in Singapore, Mercedes finds themselves on top of the grid for the race. It would appear that we are once again predicting which Mercedes car will lead the 1-2 finish. Nico Rosberg has the advantage over his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, for two reason. First of all, he has the pole position for the race, despite being second fastest in the first two qualifying sessions. And it would seem that Rosberg also has the mental edge over Hamilton. Ever since securing the World Drivers’ Championship title in the United States, Hamilton has been on a performance downfall, whether because of fatigue or simply relaxing because winning will no longer play a role in his championship possibilities. It’s very likely that Rosberg will end the season on a high note, by winning the 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Starting from fourth position on the grid, Sergio Pérez has a very good chance of putting his Force India car on the podium this weekend. During the weekend, the Force India car has performed quite well that this circuit, as it usually does at these low speed, tight cornered circuits. He just missed out on third position in qualifying, being beaten by Kimi Räikkönen in only the third qualifying session. Despite how difficult it is to overtake around this circuit, Pérez should have no difficulties getting past Räikkönen’s Ferrari.
In fact, the Ferrari car seems to be quite a bit off of the pace. Throughout the weekend, they have been bumped down the time tables by the Red Bull and Force India drivers. After a misunderstanding during the first qualifying session for the race, Sebastian Vettel failed to advance to the second session. Räikkönen has not been consistent enough this weekend to perform well enough to get P4 in the end of the race. It is far more likely that we will see Daniel Ricciardo, starting from fifth on the grid, will get the fourth position and bump Räikkönen down to the bottom of the top five.
It’s sad to see the end of the Formula One season. However, it will be nice to see all of the teams start off on a clean slate in March next year. Abu Dhabi is a track where you expect the unexpected and it’s a great way to put an end to the season.
