UAE Abu Dhabi 2016 - Yas Marina [Finale in the desert twilight]

[Nitrodaze]

THE FINALE IN THE DESERT TWILIGHT

This is one of my favorite Hermann Tilke track, built on the man made Yas Marina island. Mostly made from reclaimed land from the Persian Sea. It hosted its first grand prix on the 1st November 2009. It is a twilight race, hence a spectacular flood lite 5.5km track offering 55 of the most thrilling laps through the cool air of the sandy desert.

The track is shaped like some futuristic gun or power drill consisting of twenty one corners and two major fast straights. Hence, it is a track of two halves; the engine grunt half where the Mercedes and Ferrari would be dominant, and the twisty halve where aerodynamic supremacy dominates. It is essentially a track that suites the Mercedes cars perfectly. But it also offers a great opportunity for the Redbull to be closer to Mercedes.

Sebastian Vettel is the most successfull driver to race this circuit, winning it 3 times. Vettel also has the historical honor of being the first F1 driver to win on this track. The lap record of 1:40:279 was set by Vettel in 2009 while driving the Redbull RB5 designed by Adrian Newey; a car Vettel fondly called Kate. Lewis Hamilton has won it twice, Kimi and Rosberg are the only other drivers to have won this track. Each winning it once. Rosberg was the last winner of the Yas Marina circuit.

Every so often, l watch the Bahrain 2014 race and wish we get to see Rosberg and Hamilton race each other like that again. One hopes to see that at this Abu Dhabi weekend. But l fear, Rosberg has much to lose, hence would not want to take any risk in a close quarter fight for the win.

With 5 points to spare, it is a weekend that may see the crowning of a new F1 drivers champion. Rosberg does not want a repeat of the 2014 race, which saw him out of contention due to a reliability issue. As long as Rosberg finishes on the podium if Hamilton wins, he would be crowned the champion of 2016. If Hamilton do not win the race and Rosberg finishes 4th or higher he would be world champion. A Rosberg DNF would hand the title to Hamilton, as long as Hamilton finishes 7th or higher.

See details of the permutations here.

The Redbulls and possibly Ferrari have the chance to get in the mix of the title battle. A carefull Rosberg may be seen as prey this weekend. Hence, he must have a great start to keep the Redbulls at bay. For Hamilton, this is a must win race as anything could happen over the 55 laps of this race.