533 replies to this topic

[SophieB]

Abu Dhabi 2018 

 

And so as the sun begins to set on what has been ultimately another crushing set of victories for Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes Benz team I find it is already starting to blur together in my memories like the rain-y pavement chalk paintings in Mary Poppins. However, some images remain. Max Verstappen being shouted at a lot and also being very fast a lot. Daniel Ricciardo's car breaking down a lot. Vettel burying his championship hopes in the barriers at German GP. Bottas meekly asking if he was getting his place back in the Russian GP (no), Lewis's sensational Singapore pole lap. Also, Kimi winning a race!

 

You are encouraged in this build up to the last race of the season to discuss your own most key memories of the 2018 calendar. There is also a race on next Sunday so...

 

When is it happening

 

(Almost) the proper time - 13.10 GMT, 17.10 Local time

 

 

Where is happening and what is the track like?

 

For those that like this sort of thing, the F1 site has maps of the Yas Marina track and various stats like who has the lap record. (Spoiler alert, it's Vettel.)  Yas Marina has two detection zones (that seem to take up about a third of the total track.)

 

It also doesn't give out booze on the podium, something that seems to slip the mind of drivers at times, leading to hilarious scenes like this.

 

 

(I will never pass up the chance to post that. I will miss, you, Fernando)

 

 

The tyres demand your attention!

 

Pirelli Motorsport‏Verified account @pirellisport Nov 13

More

The final sets. #AbuDhabiGP #Fit4F1 http://ora.cl/3Ly4q 

 

 

Is there anything left to be decided? Do I need to watch this?

 

Aww, you have to watch! People turning off once championships are decided is how we ended up with double points so I dunno, you're all on the honour system to watch this thing. Besides, sure, Mercedes may have crushed the oppositions beneath the treads of their silver tanks, but there are still constructor Constructors' Championship positions left up for grabs. Can the artists formerly known as Force India beat McLaren? Can Sauber beat FI? Makes a heck of a difference to a lot of people working at those teams, notwithstanding the skewed prize system. I for one am mildly interested to see if Bottas can win the final race just to see how he reacts to it. I'd have distinctly mixed feelings in his shoes.

 

Besides, in the dark F1-less days of February, I bet you'll wish you'd watched this. 

 

 

 

[sportyskells]

We also say bye to GP3 next week

[Bleu]

The fact that we have sunset during the last race of the season is kind of cool.

 

But the circuit itself is horrible so I never look much forward to the race as one-time event.

[BRK]

Yeah, kind of been a meh season for me. Brutal memories from a season that was lost. But no matter, Seb will be back next year. 

 

Never liked Alonso. Probably been one of his staunchest critics since his early Renault days with Trulli. But I will miss him. I mean if Hamilton can win 70 odd races & 5 titles, Alonso deserves a lot, lot more than what he's leaving F1 with. If only he wasn't so toxic & complicated at times..

 

Also - please bring back Brazil as the season ending race.   

[monolulu]

Monza will be a lasting memory for me. I went there to cheer Lewis on, sitting alone in a sea of red, expecting Vettel & Ferrari to run away with the championships....how wrong was I! Magic weekend

[f1paul]

Best season for a long time. Anybody who says it's been rubbish is forgetting that this is F1, and it's not often we get so many good races in one season. The only thing that has let it down is Vettel and Ferrari not making the championships go down to next weekend in Abu Dhabi.

 

But, it has been a good season nonetheless. China, Britain, Italy, USA and Brazil have been the best races for me but there have only been 3-4 borefests. 

 

Look forward to Abu Dhabi, can Bottas win a race this year? 

[UreaBorealis]

Leave me alone, I know what I want: That is one more win for Kimi before heading to Sauber. 

[sportyskells]

Also I have a sight question mark on if I will be watching on Saturday afternoon as I am waiting to find out if I heading somewhere different therefore the old Record button is on stand by. I wonder if Lewis will take his 1st engine related grid pen ?

[Nonesuch]

... discuss your own most key memories of the 2018 calendar.

 

Three things stand out to me, having watched most raced only via the various FOM highlights videos:

 

Vettel's masterful race in Bahrain. The way he can sometimes (and it's unfortunately only sometimes) put in lap, after lap, after lap of just near perfection reminds me of some of Schumacher's better wins.

 

Bottas' overtaking around the outside in Raidillon. Yes, it was on a Honda-powered Toro Rosso - but who cares. It was awesome.

 

Leclerc's frequent impressive moments. Here's hoping it's a sign of things to come. Good things, that is. To Ferrari.

 

 

Also: Bottas deserves a win. Some really bad luck moments in the first half when he was on course to multiple wins, and obviously giving up that win later on in the season. I won't cheer for the Germans, but this would be a good outcome.

Edited by Nonesuch, 16 November 2018 - 15:08.

[F1Gui]

I'm hoping for rain. It's about time we had a wet rain here.

[Dolph]

I'm hoping for rain. It's about time we had a wet rain here.

 

I'm tyred of the dry rain as well.

[SCUDmissile]

This was a decent season, but could have been so much better.

Blame goes to Ferrari's strategic brain trust and Vettel for screwing a possible all time great season.

In any case, Lewis Hamilton underlines his all time great status with a momentous 5th world title.

My favourite things were finally a Kimi win and Leclerc's promise and promotion to the big seat.

[szym3k]

Anyone know how long Abu Dhabi's contract is for?

 

Would love to see Brazil switched back to being the last race of the season.

[Atreiu]

This is Abu Dhabi:
Short straight, 90 corner, short straight, easy flat out corner, short straight, easy flat out long S, short straight, chincane, hairpin, long straight, chincane, long bent straight, triple chincane, short straight, 90 corner, short straight, two easy kinks, 90 corner, short straight, 90 corner, short straight, 90 corner, short straight, 90 corner, short straigh, 90 corner, all over again.

Urgh

[Jordan199]

I hate the track at Abu Dhabi. It's so boring, and I still wonder how much cash they wave about to make it the season finale. Fortunately I start my week off from work after my Sunday morning shift so I'll make the race into a drinking game.

 

The place always looks amazing though, and everyone looks like they're being well looked after.

[DutchQuicksilver]

If Bottas doesn’t win, he’s had a very mediocre season hasn’t he. Not winning a race all season long in the championship winning car is very poor.

[masa90]

My memories from season. Good consistant season from Kimi. Crushing defeat at Monza. Like crushing. USA Gp was amazing !!!

 

And Russian gp live was cool.

 

Few great races, few amazingly boring ones aswell.

[Nonesuch]

If Bottas doesn’t win, he’s had a very mediocre season hasn’t he. Not winning a race all season long in the championship winning car is very poor.

 

He had a bit of a mid-season slump as far as I can tell - but those who've watched more closely might correct that.

 

But "very mediocre" seems a bit unfair. He was on course to win in Bahrain but was beaten by one of the better drives of the year, he was heading for victory in PR China until the FIA screwed him and Vettel over, he was leading in Baku when Pirelli failed him - and might have had a shot in England, too had the race not been interrupted, and gave obviously up the win in Russia.

 

It doesn't take a whole lot of 'alternative history' for Bottas to come out winning four or so races.

Edited by Nonesuch, 16 November 2018 - 18:48.

[Widefoot2]

This year ends for me with a sour note - not just the predictability of it, but the horrible future of continued locked-in advantages for Merc and Ferrari at the cost of other teams.  Chase Carey and his "Carey On" directive is the Edward John Smith of his time...

Edited by Widefoot2, 16 November 2018 - 18:49.

[P123]

He had a bit of a mid-season slump as far as I can tell - but those who've watched more closely might correct that.
 
But "very mediocre" seems a bit unfair. He was on course to win in Bahrain but was beaten by one of the better drives of the year, he was heading for victory in PR China until the FIA screwed him and Vettel over, he was leading in Baku when Pirelli failed him - and might have had a shot in England, too had the race not been interrupted, and gave obviously up the win in Russia.
 
It doesn't take a whole lot of 'alternative history' for Bottas to come out winning four or so races.

The fact he doesn't have a victory isn't down to him, so it would be an unfair stick for anybody to beat him with. I wouldn't say the FIA 'screwed him over' in China though, as when the SC is called should never ever be governed by where a particular driver is on track. It would be damning on the sport if it was. If a SC is needed then it would by definition be quite a serious incident, either for the drivers involved or for the marshals to attend to. In Bahrain the team took too long to catch on to Ferrari's strategy, and it was the first evidence of different compounds having relatively similar wear, so the Mercs sat back for too long without pushing. Still, he did have a chance, but backed out of it which I'm sure if similar came around now he certainly wouldn't do so again.

Baku was more a Magnussen issue than Pirelli, as it was a shard of his debris he ran over on the straight which was instant deflation.

The three that got away were Bahrain, China (although still a lot of racing to be done) and Russia. Baku wasn't on, then was due to some good fortune, and then was off completely!

[P123]

This year ends for me with a sour note - not just the predictability of it, but the horrible future of continued locked-in advantages for Merc and Ferrari at the cost of other teams.  Chase Carey and his "Carey On" directive is the Edward John Smith of his time...

You could have predicted Brazil? Or Merc being lapped in Mexico? Or Kimi winning again, finally?

[BuddyHolly]

A season that promised so so much but delivered so so little (Thanks Seb)

 

I will be watching with a tear in my eye on race day but not because the season is ending, but because it's the last race for Alonso.  I will miss him a lot and I'm still rather bitter and twisted that he wasted the last few years of his F1 career driving sh*tboxes on wheels when his talent says he should have been driving a Merc, RBR or Ferrari.

[P123]

A season that promised so so much but delivered so so little (Thanks Seb)
 
I will be watching with a tear in my eye on race day but not because the season is ending, but because it's the last race for Alonso.  I will miss him a lot and I'm still rather bitter and twisted that he wasted the last few years of his F1 career driving sh*tboxes on wheels when his talent says he should have been driving a Merc, RBR or Ferrari.

But how much can you miss him driving for the last four positions? He's already effectively missing. Instead next season we have a chance to see him fight for victory (somebody will say WEC, but that's a fading championship for now and doesn't have the excitement of Indy, at least in LMP1 anyway) And as for who he should have been driving for, he was supposedly joining a front running team with a 'jewel' of a works engine on a very healthy salary. The pity is that McLaren and Honda proved so rank rotten, not that he was entitled to a fan imagined drive that he didn't get.

[Fatgadget]

We also say bye to GP3 next week

WTF was that?!https://encrypted-tb...mT_4Z9DH7gyXJTQ

 

You could have predicted Brazil? Or Merc being lapped in Mexico? Or Kimi winning again, finally?

LOL!..That is cruel P123!    

 

On a serious note, I find it  interesting that now, Merc and Ferrari being lumped together as the bad guys of F1. And I cant help but deduce the reason why..And  I am more Watson than Holmes when it comes to deductions!

[SonGoku]

I am very happy Lewis & Mercedes won their titles before this lifeless event. I will watch because it's the last time you see the drivers/teams for months, but that's the only reason.

[GrumpyYoungMan]

This year ends for me with a sour note - not just the predictability of it, but the horrible future of continued locked-in advantages for Merc and Ferrari at the cost of other teams. Chase Carey and his "Carey On" directive is the Edward John Smith of his time...

What locked in advanatage? This is the Renault Blowing era - PU development isn’t locked nor is chassis development?

[Widefoot2]

 

 

LOL!..That is cruel P123!  

 

On a serious note, I find it  interesting that now, Merc and Ferrari being lumped together as the bad guys of F1. And I cant help but deduce the reason why..And  I am more Watson than Holmes when it comes to deductions!

Nothing cruel about it, or if that's the goal it failed. What was predictable was the best team, and arguably best driver (much as I'm not a fan) winning, while Ferrari "bottled it" (to borrow the Britishism).  Yes, Kimi winning a race was an outlier, but given the overall theme of the year such surprises are averaged out to the mean.  Which is the locked-in advantage (earned, but still killing competition) stays.  And now it appears it'll continue until Merc gets bored. 

Edited by Widefoot2, 17 November 2018 - 07:29.

[Widefoot2]

What locked in advanatage? This is the Renault Blowing era - PU development isn’t locked nor is chassis development?

Mercedes has the best engine overall, and has from the beginning of the new engine rules.  Ferrari seems to have finally caught up, but it's tenuous and may be a result of bending the hybrid recovery and use rules.  Renault decided it didn't want to spend cubic Euros to try to catch up, while Honda (barf) decided that its development efforts were best spent on flying damaged engines to Sakura for postmortems, but never improvements.

 

Chassis are secondary to engines in the current Formula.  Even Red Bull (who seem to have the best chassis/aero) could only win on tracks that were severely C/A advantageous.

[GrumpyYoungMan]

Mercedes has the best engine overall, and has from the beginning of the new engine rules.  Ferrari seems to have finally caught up, but it's tenuous and may be a result of bending the hybrid recovery and use rules.  Renault decided it didn't want to spend cubic Euros to try to catch up, while Honda (barf) decided that its development efforts were best spent on flying damaged engines to Sakura for postmortems, but never improvements.

 

Chassis are secondary to engines in the current Formula.  Even Red Bull (who seem to have the best chassis/aero) could only win on tracks that were severely C/A advantageous.

So no locked in advantage - whereas the V8's were - so the other manufactures couldn't catch up - even if they wanted to - the current situation is totally different.

 

But you're right about the Ferrari situation!

[Maxioos]

I have seen a great season. Multiple team and driver wins, lots very close top and midfield fights and finishes, lots of drama. Lots of performance chances from almost all drivers (except Hamilton). Often tire performance surprises. Often on on track passes for the lead or podium places.

I liked this season a lot.

[w1Y]

This race is gonna have the "lets all go home for ****ong christmas" vibe to it. Everyone is nakard, the adrenaline has worn off now the seasons are over and people want to get it done and get cracking on next year.

Meanwhile we all eagerly anticipate testing but in reality we should probably blank f1 for a while and recharge out excitement at testing.

[ConsiderAndGo]

Can’t wait for the season to be over.

It’s just too long these days.

Edit: Will not be watching.

Edited by ConsiderAndGo, 17 November 2018 - 09:55.

[skid solo]

I'm tyred of the dry rain as well.

Yes my tyres go much better in wet rain

[TomNokoe]

It has been a good season. I have been screaming at my TV much more than past seasons.

There's also many, many, reasons to look forward to next year.

[PayasYouRace]

So the battles of interest will be:

 

4th in the WDC between Bottas (237) and Verstappen (234). They're only 3 points apart so whoever finishes higher gets 4th.

 

8th is up for grabs between Perez (58) and Magnussen (55), again only 3 points apart. It would take an exceptional result for either of them to overhaul Hulkenberg (69), 11 points clear in 7th. Alonso (50) is also only 5 behind Magnussen. But McLaren are so slow at the moment it seems unlikely he'll figure in that battle.

 

As it is, Alonso will have a tough job holding on to 10th, as Ocon (49) is 1 point behind him, and Sainz (45) just 4 more, and both are in cars with much better form of late.

 

Grosjean (35) and Leclerc (33) are also fighting for 14th.

 

The WCC positions are much more set, Force India (48) and Sauber (42) are the only really close ones, but on current form you'd expect Force India to hold on to that one.

[Marklar]

If Kimi has a DNF or bad result 3rd could be up for grabs too

[cheekybru]

This season in one word for me is TENSE

I know that seems stupid to a lot of you, but as a LH fan, it really was, looks a lot different now but not long ago I was pacing around my living room

Loved it, that is what F1 is to me, in football if you are 5-0 up the game is effectively over, in F1 all it takes is a puncture to go from gaining loads on your rival, to loosing it all and them gain on you instead a second layer, really in F1 nothing is over until it's over

More of the same next year please!

[djparky]

I've found this year pretty boring, (seemingly) one crushing Mercedes win followed by another, with the occasional bit of light relief when RBR get in the mix

The top 3 teams so far ahead of the rest they haven't a prayer of getting anywhere near the podium and that won't change next year either. The last time was Baku 2017...

The cars look rubbish, I still dislike the halo and sky's wildly biased coverage of F1 and F2. I can't remember a single one of them other than perhaps Monza and what I saw of COTA being remotely entertaining, but admittedly I've made heavy use of the fast forward button so may missed or forgotten others as they all blur together

[Maxioos]

So the battles of interest will be:

 

4th in the WDC between Bottas (237) and Verstappen (234). They're only 3 points apart so whoever finishes higher gets 4th.

 

8th is up for grabs between Perez (58) and Magnussen (55), again only 3 points apart. It would take an exceptional result for either of them to overhaul Hulkenberg (69), 11 points clear in 7th. Alonso (50) is also only 5 behind Magnussen. But McLaren are so slow at the moment it seems unlikely he'll figure in that battle.

 

As it is, Alonso will have a tough job holding on to 10th, as Ocon (49) is 1 point behind him, and Sainz (45) just 4 more, and both are in cars with much better form of late.

 

Grosjean (35) and Leclerc (33) are also fighting for 14th.

 

The WCC positions are much more set, Force India (48) and Sauber (42) are the only really close ones, but on current form you'd expect Force India to hold on to that one.

 

Max can even get 3rd in WDC. Not likely, but it's possible.

 

If Max wins or finishes 2nd in front of Bottas and with a DNF from Kimi, Max will finish 3rd in the WDC.

 

Most unlikely scenario because needed DNF, but still possible is already crazy enough.

 

When Max would get 2nd and Bottas 3rd, they have same amount of points, but expect Max will than be 3rd (or 4th by more than one point Kimi) because more wins/podiums.

 

If Max gets 2nd, Bottas 3rd and Kimi gets one point, they all 3 have same amount of points (252). Again i think Max would top it than because the wins.

[w1Y]

This season has been great.

It seems if a season doesnt go the way of your favourite then ita a boring, rubbish season, which is a massive reason why f1 os always tinkered with.

Most of this season was a topsy turvey battle and really competitive. We had overtaking on track. But still this is never enough.

As a lewis fan, highlights for me.

Aus qualifying: Although short lived
Monza Race
Singapore Qualyfying.
Also Bottas chasing down vettel in Bahrain was great.

[Marklar]

Until Singapore this season had the credentials for a classic, it swung around the entire time and at that point the seemingly quicker car was by a not too large margin behind, which would set up a exciting finish. Sadly it entirely imploded the next three races and so the title fight ended in another anti-climatic way (the fact that the seasons are so long are not helping in this aspect btw). 

I would say it was a good season, probably the best since the early Pirelli years. Sure some races were boring, but there were many good ones and it was tense for the most part. I do think that Mercedes and Hamilton set a significant landmark in their legacy with the way they won the title as well, but the gap between the top 3 and the rest is concerning and is dragging down the quality of this season.

I'm very hopeful for next year though: We could get another team consistently into the mix, making it also less likely that the fight dies down like it did the past two years. New young drivers in top teams as well, some exciting rookies at Williams, McLaren and perhaps Toro Rosso. And maybe the new aero rules will aid the action. Looking forward to it.

 

[sportyskells]

cue my monthly not being around to watch F1 live as I now have plans therefore cue the record button and a rare thing. I do not know what time I be watching F1 until I know by Wednesday as I will be heading somewhere different

[IceSpeed]

I have had a lot of fist pumping moments this season compared to any other season I can remember so definitely enjoyed it!!

Even though Ferrari and Vettel were leading in the first half don’t really think merc were on top of their issues in the first part and only really startled unleashing the cars potential.

(Just seems like merc needs more data to get the car working in its optimal range so when they don’t have a FP1 or FP2 as an example they suffer OR something variably different from the data they have - I feel they are data driven in all aspects vs thinking on their feet and acting/reacting)

Anyway I digress... lots of highlights for me. Bahrain, Baku, England, Germany, Singapore, Italy, Russia.

If I were to pick one it would probably be Silverstone (I have said this in another thread). Kimi punting Lewis and then Seb saying we beat them in their own home or backyard or whatever he said woke Lewis up. I recall a piece Nico had done where he was talking about Lewis and letting him be because once you do something to trigger him he can’t be beat or something to that effect... I feel Seb woke a sleeping giant with that comment and the punt and there was no stopping Lewis after that.

“Let sleeping giants lie!”

On to Abu Dhabi!

Edited by IceSpeed, 17 November 2018 - 18:08.

[noikeee]

I agree it was a good season, though it would've been nice to see someone else winning it instead of the same guy as always. But it was close and we had a couple of classic races. Last weekend in Brazil for example was pretty special, all 3 teams with a chance. So was USA. We've had a few good races lately.

[PayasYouRace]

Highlights of the season for me have been China, Baku, Austria, Germany, Italy, USA and Brazil. It's a shame the championship fight fizzled out but there have been some very exciting races this year.

[bibliophagos]

I thought it was a pretty good year as well.

 

As a Verstappen fan I couldn't stop screaming in anger and disappointment at my television the first part of the season, but the way he kind of reinvented himself after that was impressive. Then the couple of incidents in Monza and Suzuka made me angry again, but it looks like he made another step after that as well, so pretty hopeful for next year (and let's hope Honda delivers).

 

The championship battle was a bit of a rollercoaster as well the first half, bit of a shame it fizzed out really after Silverstone. I'm hoping (not only for the sake of Verstappen) that Red Bull can mix it with Ferrari and Mercedes the entire year in 2019, I can't really see any other team bridging the gap at this time.

 

It was nice seeing Kimi win again finally, and Hamiltons form this year was just brutal, especially the second part of the year. It's not only driving (one of the best) car(s), but he was simply the best driver this year (and I'm not a Hamiltion fan, but you've got to admire his skill). Pitty Ferrari and Vettel dropped the ball after the summer, would've been better if Vettel had been at his best as well, but you can't blame Lewis for running away with it when he got the chance.

 

I am going to watch the race, if only because we've got to wait till march for the next one, and I hope Red Bull can pull a rabbit out of the hat again, I really can't wait for the next season to start, even if this one isn't even done yet.... Bring on 2019!

Edited by bibliophagos, 17 November 2018 - 21:08.

[Pimpwerx]

Great season. A compelling championship fight. Some exciting races. My guy won in the end. I will definitely watch the finale.

[RekF1]

It was a slow burner. Up to Silverstone, I only remember Baku being interesting. Then from Germany onwards it was probably only Russia that was boring, and that's harsh. Not sure what my favourite moment was tho.

[JeePee]

I see Force India brought enough Hyper Softs to interfere with the race leader for a lap or 2.

[Maustinsj]

I see Force India brought enough Hyper Softs to interfere with the race leader for a lap or 2.

Hopefully this race leader will be a bit more circumspect than the last one.

Edited by Maustinsj, 18 November 2018 - 16:00.