2010 Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

[David Guehennec]

Vettel N1

This guy is amazing.
Nice emotional moment after the finish line.
Happy for him.

Alonso made a great second half of the season, with an inferior car to the Red Bull. Congratulations to him too.

I'm looking forward to 2011 .

I hope Mercedes do a great job this winter.

ps: nice yearclip , Ivo

 

[Martin Maaskant]

PITA to overtake track with Petrock being 6kph faster down the straight.
Petrock is a nobody who'll never amount to anything.

I know what you mean David. I agree with you that Petrov is not exactly the most talented driver in the field, no doubt about that. But he had every right to drive the way he did. For Petrov it was one of his best races so far. Finishing behind his teammate. I think if Alonso and Ferrari want to look for somebody to blame they have to take a good look in the mirror. To end this positive I think Alonso did great. The first season for a new team and ending up second in the championship is something to be proud of. I hope for Ferrari that they do better next year. With a driver like Alonso it should be possible to take both of the championships next year.

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

Typical that the whole internet is moaning about Alonso but I don't hear anybody about Webber who did a really lousy job yesterday as well. I expected a lot more agression from the man that was only one point behind the championship leader. He never gave me the impression during that whole race that he dared to make a move on Alonso.

 

[David Ignjatovic]

I I think if Alonso and Ferrari want to look for somebody to blame they have to take a good look in the mirror.

I just think the track sux and promotes tractors.
If it was me, I'd make Suzuka the last round as u can overtake at the bottom of 130R, but what a huge letdown and anti-spectacle abee daba do was.

 

[David Ignjatovic]

Typical that the whole internet is moaning about Alonso but I don't hear anybody about Webber who did a really lousy job yesterday as well. I expected a lot more agression from the man that was only one point behind the championship leader. He never gave me the impression during that whole race that he dared to make a move on Alonso.

What do you want to hear?
He shat himself under pressure....that much is obvious, but it makes no difference as any ole tractor can hold u up at these glitzy turds.

 

[Ghoults]

Abu dhabi certainly isn't a great racing track. Impossible to pass and compared to brazil the race was all about waiting if Vettel's engine lasts or if Petrov makes a mistake. Watching Alonso and Hamilton being trapped behind the Renaults was kind of prime example what Abu dhabi is about. In Monaco watcinh the train of cars is exciting because there is no room for error. But on abu dhabi it is just fail.

Imagine what if the corners 5, 6, 8 and 9 were removed. A great very fast circuit with a technical infield section. Just like old Hockenheim or Imola at its best.

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

Turn 8 is a great point to overtake. It was just Alonso's car lacking top speed yesterday compared to the mighty speed of Petrov. Turn 1, 5, 7, 11 were also good spots.

Don't think it was the track to be blamed but the drivers not willing to take exceptional risks in the final race.

 

[Freddy van Vliet]

I expected a lot more agression from the man that was only one point behind the championship leader.

Webber was in fact 8 points behind Alonso. Sure, you could say that those 7 points Alonso was gifted at Hockenheim shouldn't count, but it does. So whether or not Webber would have overtaken Alonso, he would still not have been ahead of Alonso in the championship. But I agree, Webber looked pretty much defeated to me that race. There was no way for him to become champion, though there was always a chance, knowing that Alonso could DNF. But then again, I am also wondering whether he felt it was a lost cause and also felt that if he couldn't win it, then he wasn't gonna help Vettel either? Anyway, thankfully Vettel did not need his help.

 

[Ivan Navarro]

Some thoughts:

I'm not naive enough to belive that RBR does not use team orders, but... they sure make some strange decisions! All in all, the way RBR handled their drivers this season did not appear to be in the best insterest of the team, since they created confusion in the team and set up a very good possibility that neither of their drivers would win. This made it very exciting for fans as both drivers appeared to be racing for themselves, without team orders, as the rules intended. As others have said, if they had given orders for Webber to win at Brazil, Alonso would now be WC (assuming same results in Abu Dhabi)! Kudos to RBR for letting the chips fall where they may and just letting their boys race. They got the luck they needed and it worked out for them!

RBR did not favor the points leader (Webber), even when it looked foolish. IMO Webber made it tough on them because he seems to lack consistency. How many times did he qualify well, only to make a very poor start in the race and lose position before T1? Vettel is young and sometimes too aggressive, but you need that and he is obv the future for RBR.

Vettel: "I'm speachless" LOL

I'm not a fan of Ferrari, so not sad they lost.

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

to brighten things up, I found this nice little ditty of Vettel taking a cruise round the Netherlands:

 

[Nigel Atkins]

superb Eckhart

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

+1 good laugh watching that

 

[Omer Said]

lol there is no traffic police in the Netherlands

 

[Ivo Simons]

I wish.

 

[Nick Clyne]

That's an awesome video!! Do ya reckon that's what they use when they talk about "driving laps in the simulator". Would LOVE a go in that!

 

[Ben Buitendijk]

Sorry, but all talks about teamorders and Vettel not deserving the title is rubbish (neatest I could get it )

I am happy that Vettel made some rookie mistakes and his Red Bull broke down a couple of times, otherwise it would have been 1 boring season.

Webber choked when he needed to get the maximum out of himself, he made mistakes in every lap, and one caused him to kill his tires, that's why he pitted early.

Alonso did a great job on optimizing his opportunities (same as in the renault in 08), but he just was not the fastest guy. Is he more deserving than Vettel for the title, in my opinion not (Hockenheim...).

 

[Dave Stephenson]

...After Webber (sacrified by his team) ...

Although I don't like it to be the case I think Webber had already sacrificed himself by not being fast enough in qually or the race. Had he been on Vettel's pace it would have been a different story I think.

 

[Pieter Theron]

For me driver of the year/season has to be Alonso... 99% of the season he carried that Scuderia Ferrari single handedly on his back to make it go faster for what the car was lacking in outright pace.

Ferrari did introduce a few enhancements that made the car more competitive but it was once again Alonso's driving skill and sheer determination of NOT giving up on the championship that took him to the top of the table by the end (give credit where it's due). He had a bit of luck here and there but also his fair share of misfortune but so did many other drivers including the two RBR guys.

Massa on the other hand had qualification issues but let's be honest he struggled even in race trim this year and once the nut tightened he cried wolf. So I wish him all the best for next season when I guess we will really see if he is as competitive as he wants us to believe (a bit inconsistent if you want my honest opinion). (I don't want to raise arguments with Massa fans so let's rather see what the new season brings..and then we'll talk again..and I'll say sorry if I have to)

RBR drivers were lucky this year as was the case with BrawnGP during most of the '09 season. The team were still on a high from end '09 and they started off where they ended leaving everyone behind in the development race with added momentum. If they didn't have a few unreliability niggles I agree they would've been able to wrap up both titles even before Brazil. Adrian Newey is a great contribution to the team and I think he has great vision.

So beyond 2010...well for me RBR should enjoy their moment because I think other teams are starting to catch up with McLaren showing great promise in Abu Dhabi. I am no Lewis fan but he is able to drive the wheels of anything and if McLaren can maintain the momentum they currently have they will for sure to be at the sharp end of the table come March. Well that is unless Adrian and the team can come up with something radical again... :lol:

As for Ferrari... Well for me it is as if they are lacking that special spark they had before the brain drain. Somehow they lost the edge that made them not a good team but a great team. I honestly hope they'd be able to dig deep and reinvent themselves over the winter but that has to be seen...

 

[Mark A Warmington]

My 2010 season review (feel free to disagree, but this is based on how I feel the season went ):

Most potent line-up of 2010:
McLaren - the Button/Hamilton pairing is unbelievable (raw pace meets new found maturity) and they look solid for 2011.

Man of the season:
Adrian Newey - do what you like with the rule book, I will design a car that can land on the moon!

Race of the season:
Istanbul - just because that is the kind of drama you want/need from Formula 1, cut the PC crap and lets roll up our sleeves.

Car of the season:
That RedBull - probably the fastest F1 car in history, yet fragile. At Williams, Head needed to rein in the Newey design for reliability .

Unsung hero of 2010:
Kubica - look at the results of each race and you'll see that he dragged that Renault to positions it had no right to achieve.

Credit where credit's due of the season:
Alonso - can't stand the man, based on McLaren Blackmail-gate and I knew nothing Piquet-gate, but he almost won the title (fair doos).

Choke of the season:
Webber - Vettel, Hamilton, Button showed World Champion level nerves in the last race, Webber didn't.

Hope for 2011:
Hulkenburg knicks Schumachers seat at Mercedes. Never liked Schumacher (so I'm biaised) but I want new talent to have a chance.

 

[Nigel Atkins]

nice post Mark