What team will win the race in Abu Dhabi? Which team has the car best suited to the track? What will the weather/temperature be? Will Jenson be more aggressive?

No idea, Ferrari and McLaren (should I say Kimi and Lewis?) will be contenders for podiums but Brawn and Red Bull will fight for the win.

I hope half the field piles up in that shitty designed pitlane tunnel (all drivers uninjured of course). Give my dog a clean sheet of paper and she could out design Tilkes everyday.

here she is now contemplating a complex redesign of the Nordschleife...






as far as the potential winners, I'm in agreement w/ Yellowmc

Mclaren vs RB. Brawn on podium.

I think Red Bull should remain the fastest car, Brawn may be a little punch drunk following their success- though Lewis should be quite motivated to end the year on a high so he could make the difference.

Without bias; McLaren. The track suits the MP4-24, not less than Hungary or Singapore.

a lot of slow twisty bits and long straight, but not on the start finish line, not much of a 'qualifying kers effect'.

Top speed, traction, brakes, front end; and those slow sections are going to take a lot of driving. If Force India had a top driver they'd be in the running, as it is I think Brawn and Ferrari will suffer with the age of their cars, and it'll be between Kubi, Seb and Lewis.

Thanks for that pic...I didnt realise it was being run as an "Anticlock", it's actually not a bad looking circuit...instantly a few corners look like possible overtakes to me...however I would have much prefered clockwise with that long back straight into a hairpin... I think that could have produced some HUGE ovetaking moments...

In fact....

Can you imagine in a clockwise running direction coming off that long corner full throttle straight into the "jaws" of the pitlane tunnel.... that would test a few drivers bottle factor and skill!

Real shame they are not running it clockwise...

Also no gravel traps, only astroturf and tarmac.

Lets see how the race goes...but maybe petition for a change to "clockwise" for next year!?!

If somebody hasn't seen Bruno Senna running around the track in a 2 seater, here is the video

WOW... again thanks for that. A couple of things that strike me about that vid..
1: Senna is being VERY careful with that car! and rightly so!
2: It truly is very dusty.... that's going to cause a few interesting "Glockesque" moments
3: The circuit has been clearly designed to run in both directions and I genuinely think for F1 it would be a much more entertaining direction run in reverse i.e. clockwise..

Those grandstands perfectly positioned in clockwise for long straight dives down the inside and you sat right there, right on top of it... I wonder who mad the decision to run anti-clock? Tilke?

A 24 hour race here could be stunning for sportscars...

They need tarmac to have the stands so close to the track, and that fancy energy-absorbing barrier. It'll be interesting to see how that Monaco-esque nearness works on TV (if there are any spectators).

I would say the cars with the KERS could do well.

I hope Fisichella will get a good result. I am hoping that he would win the race! That would be awesome. Go Giancarlo!

The run-offs are not designed to run clockwise.

Definately Brawn or McLaren.

The track is very similar to Valencia in both length and corner composition. They both have 4 high speed points, lots of 2nd gear corners and only a couple of high speed kinks. Plenty of easy recharge zones for the KERS on the McLaren and the heat should suit the Brawn.

I'm going with Brawn. The pressure is off, nothing to lose, I'm hoping for great things.

Lights to flag win for Hamilton, will be a shock if he loses, low speed corners will suit him and there is straights for his KERS

The ridiculous ammount of slow corners and short straights reminds me of Singapore, so I guess it should be a McLaren track. On the other hand, it shouldn't be half as bumpy and hard to ride, which should favour Red Bull, who were already very strong at Singapore. And there's always the possibility of a good race from Rosberg and maybe even Alonso. Not to mention Brawn, rightful WCC and competitive as well.

I really think it's wide open, but Red Bull are my pre-race favourites followed by Hamilton.

Could the track be any shitter?

Yes, it could be Valencia.

seeing the onboard it seems to me to be a very generic track. I don't know why there is such a monopoly with Tilke as the track designer. They could notice Interlagos for example, a very simple track but yet very unique.

The corners need to have a flow to it, combinations. It can't be just random stop and go. The circuits need to be mapped out so the corners complement each other. A circuit is similar to a song in my mind, they need to have a certain rhythm.

the track is said to be a mix between valencia and singapore. RBR aiming for a 1-2.

At least in Valencia, the ruling family don't torture people.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/...ture-video.html

Although the track tortures everyone watching on TV.

Crap track at night?

in that case we can't go anywhere.

Sepang should be inverted, with the grid pushed to the "back" of the first straight towards the exit of the chincane. That would make the race starts more interesting.

I think the question is who can stay awake during the race and who can't...

^ of course I am talking about us viewers....

You know every day i see bears on the streets with vodka and balalaika in hands.

I think they will be a little bit relaxing in preparations and this is completely new track. But we will see.

Toyota said in the beginning of the year they had to win a race. Their pace is nowhere in slow corners, surely they will struggle in Abu Dhabi. Maybe they can get a win as engine partner of Williams?

Brawn and McLaren have shared all the wins at street circuits this season (I'm bizarrely going to include Budapest in this). I don't see any reason why the status quo will change here.
Also, it should be hot in the desert, so this should play to Brawn's strengths.
Also Red Bull's engines must be creaking at the seams by now, surely!

It's between three men, Hamilton, Button and Barrichello, for me.

I would be very surprised to see Red Bull win - Vettel on the podium perhaps, but it doesn't look like a track that Webber will enjoy.

Hammy vs Brawn for the win, Rosberg should be up there - Kimi could mix it up too.

Completely new track for everyone, so level playing field there. I think they will want to end the year on high, so no relaxing, but they don't have the fastest car now so it will be tough.

How many races has Vettels current engine done now?

Well every team will be in the same position - nothing to lose. Brawn has already secure both titles - why they need to give their best? I think they probably will focus on next year.

Because they will want to cement their position as champs. They will want to go out with a bang, not a whimper. As far as next year, well rumours are that they have been doing that for quite some time already, hence the downward turn in performance, but that will have nothing to do with the next race. The people there will be focused on that race, not the next one in 6 months time.

I don't know, but he's already above the predicted mileage limits for the engine.
That what they said on a TV show here in Brazil yesterday.

How? They has already won both titles - how they could cement more their positions?

Don't get it. On Brawn place I will fully concentrate on next year.

Run off's are for whimps!

Monaco does not have much run off area...just keeps them honest!

This is a completely different track clockwise to anti-clock!

If you don't get it then I can only assume you have never been involved in any sort of competition. Even though they have won, they are not going to rest on their laurels and take the next race easy.

I can easily believe that.

I'm going for a Button victory

What competition? There are won't be any competition for Brawn in AD. As opposite to next year

Like i said before they don't need to give all best in AD. Especially after difficult season. It could impact their results or couldn't we'll see.

Why would they drive slower than what they are able to do?

They don't need to do their best, but I'd put money on that they will do. I totally fail to see how you can believe what they do at AD could possibly have any impact on next season.

Valencia would be beautiful too... if they ran it completely in the dark

Two - Singapore and Spa