2025 Race 24 - Abu Dhabi

[F1nKS]

Max said he was only in the conversation because of another team's incompetence, which were only magnified at Qatar. But Max now has the shot at the title - He needs to win one more race and have some luck.

Norris wins with 1st, 2nd or 3rd

Piastri wins with 1st, and Norris finishes 6th or worse.

Max wins with a 1st and Norris finishes 4th or worse.

This is the week F1 wanted...should be a great week for F1 media coverage.

[airshifter]

If Lando can keep his cool it should be easy. IF

But sometimes Lando gets in his own head and that's never good for his racing.

And after that lack of pit call, the RB team might be in McLarens head as well.

[Matthew]

I am really looking forward to this race and I hope Max can give it a hard time to Lando till the last lap of the race.

[Nitrodaze]

Max said he was only in the conversation because of another team's incompetence, which were only magnified at Qatar. But Max now has the shot at the title - He needs to win one more race and have some luck.

Norris wins with 1st, 2nd or 3rd

Piastri wins with 1st, and Norris finishes 6th or worse.

Max wins with a 1st and Norris finishes 4th or worse.

This is the week F1 wanted...should be a great week for F1 media coverage.

This is reminiscent of 2016, when Hamilton needed to win and hoped some bad luck would befall Rosberg. It has not been an exciting season for me, especially with McLaren meddling with Piastri's chances. The horror show at Ferrari was particularly painful to watch. The persistent failure to improve by Mercedes was also disappointing to watch. It was a season of mediocrity if there ever was one.

[Used to be Starter]

I'm already looking forward to next year. There should be more than a few surprises on who is competitive and who isn't. We'll see. In the meantime I'm hoping Piastri can pull a surprise, but Norris has a lock if he can keep his head together.

[Used to be Starter]

Well, tomorrow will be interesting.

[F1nKS]

The possible scenario in place:

1. Piastri (3) takes out Norris (2) - Max for the Win!
2. Norris (2) takes out Max (1) - Piastri for the Win!
3. Max (1) takes out Norris (2) - Piastri for the Win!
4. Russell (4) takes out Norris (2) - Max for the Win!
5. Yuki (10) plays human torpedo and takes out everything McLaren - Max for the Win!

The most likely option

6. Ho hum, everybody plays it safe - Max wins, and Norris backs into the championship

[Tazio]

Dude's toast dawg.
Dude's toast.
I think you know who I'm talking about. :dork:

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[airshifter]

Dude's toast dawg.
Dude's toast.
I think you know who I'm talking about. :dork:

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk


Yeah, the other dude is gonna win it for sure.

[Tazio]

Yeah, the other dude is gonna win it for sure.Bro........I was referring to the "dude" that couldn't advance out of Q1...... again

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[Used to be Starter]

Bro........I was referring to the "dude" that couldn't advance out of Q1...... again

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk
That's five dudes, but I'm pretty sure I know which one you mean. As of yesterday he was seeing red in more ways than one. Is his car really that much worse than his team mate's car? Driving styles can make a difference, but not that much of one. Or is he done as a competitive F1 driver?

[gm99]

That's five dudes, but I'm pretty sure I know which one you mean. As of yesterday he was seeing red in more ways than one. Is his car really that much worse than his team mate's car? Driving styles can make a difference, but not that much of one. Or is he done as a competitive F1 driver?

I think he is done as a competitive qualifyer. His race pace isn't that bad and not too far off Leclerc's, but his bad starting positions are killing him. And that is pretty much a Lewis problem, not a Ferrari one, as it was also apparent last season at Mercedes (though not quite as disastrous as this year).

[Used to be Starter]

I think he is done as a competitive qualifyer. His race pace isn't that bad and not too far off Leclerc's, but his bad starting positions are killing him. And that is pretty much a Lewis problem, not a Ferrari one, as it was also apparent last season at Mercedes (though not quite as disastrous as this year).

Yes, I think you are right.

[N. Jones]

Well, it was Oscar's too lose and he lost it.

Congrats to Lando.

[Nitrodaze]

Bro........I was referring to the "dude" that couldn't advance out of Q1...... again

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You mean the guy who finished 8th from 18th?

[Nitrodaze]

Congratulations to Lando Norris for winning his first F1 title. At one point, it did seem he had a chance to win it. It was all Piastri. But somehow the championship came to him. The first is the sweetest.

[Nitrodaze]

The 2025 season has been a catalogue of embarrassing races for Ferrari. The most iconic team in F1 became a laughing stock as one race after the other showcased what a terrible car the SF25 was. Much to disbelief, Ferrari finished a season without winning a single race.

With the rule change in 2026, the SF25 seem destined for the skip, or some very obscure corner of Ferrari car warehouse. And the drivers would not miss it. Seeing how awful the SF25 was, one wonders how good the SF26 is likely to be.

A few pointers suggest that they are likely to get the SF26 wrong as well.

Firstly, they have lost two key engine engineers to Audi. The engine in the SF25 was notably weaker than the Mercedes and Honda engines powering the cars ahead this season.

Secondly, they do not seem to be engaging with the driver on the design of the new car. Without valuable driver inputs, chances are they would present the drivers with a car that would replicate this season.

Thirdly, I think they would have to start afresh on all fronts, as not much from the SF25 would not be carried forward into the new car. You cannot build a great car from a bad one.

Fourthly, the team needs a complete reshuffle. This would imply that many people in the team would be adjusting to new positions, or newcomers would be learning how to fit into the team. This would mean Ferrari would not be at the same level of efficiency as its competition in 2026. To be fair, they were not at the same level of efficiency as the competition in 2025, hence same difference, l guess.

I hope they surprise me in 2026. Unfortunately, they seemed very lost this season, and that is not a good sign entering a new regulation era.

What do you think? Is Ferrari done as a sharp-end team? Or can they bounce back in 2026?

[Tazio]

You mean the guy who finished 8th from 18th?Still 50 seconds behind his teammate!
However I do give "The Boss" a lot of stick. I don't really believe it. I'm just sort of a rude a--hole that way! :laugh:

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[F1nKS]

Put 2025 in the books. Congrats to Lando.

Now we wait to see what 2026 will look like.

[Matthew]

Abu Dhabi may not be the best season finale, but a quiet race is just what Norris needs to wrap up the title.

[Nitrodaze]

Still 50 seconds behind his teammate!
However I do give "The Boss" a lot of stick. I don't really believe it. I'm just sort of a rude a--hole that way! :laugh:

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Nah, you are free to say what you think. Dropping out in Q1 was always going to produce a 50-second gap. It could have been worse, like finishing outside the points. But I agree with you, it seems the partnership between Ferrari and Hamilton may not bear fruit. And l think Ferrari would be the reason why. They have no excuse as this is the third multiple world champion that Ferrari has been unable to win a championship with. With that kind of statistics, it is definitely a Ferrari problem, not the drivers.

[airshifter]

Dude's toast dawg.
Dude's toast.
I think you know who I'm talking about. :dork:

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

Yeah I kind of figured you were talking about that dude. I think that dude made a bad move and now he's paying the price. Even if they get the car right someday he has to beat his teammate, and right now it doesn't look like that's going to happen anytime soon.

[Nitrodaze]

Yeah I kind of figured you were talking about that dude. I think that dude made a bad move and now he's paying the price. Even if they get the car right someday he has to beat his teammate, and right now it doesn't look like that's going to happen anytime soon.

Ha, you forgot about the China sprint, The car went downhill from that race. If the car is competitive, the picture would be quite different and Leclerc knows it.

[Used to be Starter]

Nah, you are free to say what you think. Dropping out in Q1 was always going to produce a 50-second gap. It could have been worse, like finishing outside the points. But I agree with you, it seems the partnership between Ferrari and Hamilton may not bear fruit. And l think Ferrari would be the reason why. They have no excuse as this is the third multiple world champion that Ferrari has been unable to win a championship with. With that kind of statistics, it is definitely a Ferrari problem, not the drivers.

No question a Ferrari problem. You don't get that bad quite that fast. Mid pack team next year?

[airshifter]

Ha, you forgot about the China sprint, The car went downhill from that race. If the car is competitive, the picture would be quite different and Leclerc knows it.

Both drivers had much better finishes after China, and Leclerc even managed two back to back podiums in the last 1/4 of the season. But I'm sure Charles is shaking in his drivers shoes. :laugh:

Unless you want to count that one Sprint win as something important, Leclerc beat Lewis in virtually every metric that a driver is judged by. That can always change, but it's hard to ignore that one driver managed 7 podiums in races while the other had none.


No doubt the Ferrari was far from the best car this season, but considering the double DSQ in China, and two more races with double DNF's, they could have easily beat RB in the constructors points. For that matter had Lewis matched Charles on points they would have beat Red Bull. AND Mercedes! Granted Red Bull is essentially reliant on a single driver, but performance alone kept Ferrari from being higher in the WDC either way. But Ferrari is Ferrari, and the car isn't going to suddenly be on top because they hired a new driver.

He picked his poison, he paid the price. I'm sure Kimi is ok with the decision though, he had a better car and a podium in his rookie season.

[airshifter]

As for the race itself, not much real excitement but once again a major shuffling of the deck somewhat. I think these cars have smaller setup windows and it doesn't take much to get it wrong.

Max did what Max does when he puts it on pole, and probably the best move of the race by far was Oscar hanging it on the outside on the hard tire. Lando didn't really try to defend it much, but I'm not sure he could have if he wanted to. As for Lando, he seemed cool and content to just stay in third and take his title, and it was probably the safest move to make. Well done on him for bouncing back over time and fighting for that title as Oscar faded and Max came back on strong through the end of the year.

As for Max, once again proving he never gives up. He overcame a deficit of over 100 points when McLaren got the upper hand and RB faded for a period. It's hard to take anything from his season really. Though McLaren might have made it hard with the split strategy I was glad to see neither Max or RB pushed to try to back Lando up into traffic. They just played their hand and hoped for Lando to have issues.

Leclerc had a strong race overall, but part of me wonders if Lando just did enough to keep him at bay and never really pushed his own pace much. Either way, Charles overall had a decent weekend.

Stroll managed to get into the points again, and it goes without saying Alonso had a better race as usual. Kimi just didn't put things together, but George managed to have a decent weekend. The rest of the field had some surprises as well, some of the "rest of the best" usual drivers struggled.



Overall not a bad season. Lots of car development kept it a bit more fun than some years, and having three drivers in contention for the WDC kept it interesting.



Well done Lando, and kudos to Oscar as well. I think both have upped their game some and they fought through the years in a solid way.

[Nitrodaze]

Both drivers had much better finishes after China, and Leclerc even managed two back to back podiums in the last 1/4 of the season. But I'm sure Charles is shaking in his drivers shoes. :laugh:

Unless you want to count that one Sprint win as something important, Leclerc beat Lewis in virtually every metric that a driver is judged by. That can always change, but it's hard to ignore that one driver managed 7 podiums in races while the other had none.


No doubt the Ferrari was far from the best car this season, but considering the double DSQ in China, and two more races with double DNF's, they could have easily beat RB in the constructors points. For that matter had Lewis matched Charles on points they would have beat Red Bull. AND Mercedes! Granted Red Bull is essentially reliant on a single driver, but performance alone kept Ferrari from being higher in the WDC either way. But Ferrari is Ferrari, and the car isn't going to suddenly be on top because they hired a new driver.

He picked his poison, he paid the price. I'm sure Kimi is ok with the decision though, he had a better car and a podium in his rookie season.

On paper you would be right. But 2025 was a season for Hamilton and the Ferrari team to build an on-track relationship in preparation for 2026. The dismal performances that we have seen was not down to Hamilton solely. The Ferrari engineers have a lot to blame for most of it. If we take the Abu Dhabi race, Hamilton's qualifying 16th is a good example of it. With good pitwall analysis and execution, there is no reason why both Ferraris should not qualify in the top ten.
After some analysis, I think most of the poor showing of Hamilton was due to poor co-operation between the Ferrari engineers and strategist. They just failed to gel together, which suggests that 2026 may be another painful season for the seven-time world champion.

LeClerc has been in the team for six years before Hamilton joined. He knows the Ferrari chassis and the workings of the team like the back of his hand. He was expected to do better than the new comer thiss season, and he did. Nothing new there.

As far as Ferrari goes, we did not learn anything new about them this season. It was a wasted season, which unfortunately puts a lot of doubt on their 2026 chances. You don't leap to the front from a bad reference point. It is new regulation, so anything is possible.

[Nitrodaze]

Both drivers had much better finishes after China, and Leclerc even managed two back to back podiums in the last 1/4 of the season. But I'm sure Charles is shaking in his drivers shoes. :laugh:

Unless you want to count that one Sprint win as something important, Leclerc beat Lewis in virtually every metric that a driver is judged by. That can always change, but it's hard to ignore that one driver managed 7 podiums in races while the other had none.


No doubt the Ferrari was far from the best car this season, but considering the double DSQ in China, and two more races with double DNF's, they could have easily beat RB in the constructors points. For that matter had Lewis matched Charles on points they would have beat Red Bull. AND Mercedes! Granted Red Bull is essentially reliant on a single driver, but performance alone kept Ferrari from being higher in the WDC either way. But Ferrari is Ferrari, and the car isn't going to suddenly be on top because they hired a new driver.

He picked his poison, he paid the price. I'm sure Kimi is ok with the decision though, he had a better car and a podium in his rookie season.

He would be stupid to not worry about it. Schumacher had four seasons with Ferrari before he won his first World Championship with them. When you say these kinds of things, it just makes me wonder if you really understand how things work in F1.

[gm99]

LeClerc has been in the team for six years before Hamilton joined. He knows the Ferrari chassis and the workings of the team like the back of his hand. He was expected to do better than the new comer thiss season, and he did. Nothing new there.


Yet, when Leclerc himself joined Ferrari in 2019, he did better than Vettel, who had been with the team for four years. Vettel himself was immediately faster than Raikkonen when he joined Ferrari in 2015, even though Kimi had plenty of experience (and one world championship) with the Scuderia. Alonso also had the upper hand over Massa right when he joined Ferrari in 2010. So no, the experienced Ferrari driver doesn't always perform better than the newcomer, rather the opposite.

[Nitrodaze]

Yet, when Leclerc himself joined Ferrari in 2019, he did better than Vettel, who had been with the team for four years. Vettel himself was immediately faster than Raikkonen when he joined Ferrari in 2015, even though Kimi had plenty of experience (and one world championship) with the Scuderia. Alonso also had the upper hand over Massa right when he joined Ferrari in 2010. So no, the experienced Ferrari driver doesn't always perform better than the newcomer, rather the opposite.

Interesting hypothesis. The only flaw in your analysis is that those were better cars than the SF25. All of those cars won races. In fact, the Chinese GP, where Hamilton won the Sprint race, is along your thinking. The SF25 went downhill from that race on. This season tells us nothing about Ferrari's future, but it tells us a lot about how much they messed up by changing an already great car. So, unfortunately, your theory does not hold up.

[gm99]

Interesting hypothesis. The only flaw in your analysis is that those were better cars than the SF25. All of those cars won races. In fact, the Chinese GP, where Hamilton won the Sprint race, is along your thinking. The SF25 went downhill from that race on. This season tells us nothing about Ferrari's future, but it tells us a lot about how much they messed up by changing an already great car. So, unfortunately, your theory does not hold up.

It's not a theory, it's facts.
And the quality of the car is rather irrelevant when comparing team-mates, as by nature, they are driving the same car.

[Nitrodaze]

It's not a theory, it's facts.
And the quality of the car is rather irrelevant when comparing team-mates, as by nature, they are driving the same car.

Oh dear, then you go and say that. How can the quality of the car be irrelevant for a seven-time world champion seeking a car to win his eighth title. WTF

[airshifter]

I find it comical that the lack of accepting reality is even part of the discussion. Even more so when it results in questioning if others understand how the sport works. Reality is reality and what gm99 posted is nothing more than that. For the last 15 years incoming drivers have managed to beat their teammates at Ferrari. The level of performance from the car compared to the rest of the field doesn't matter, you have to beat your teammate first.

Lewis had a crap 2025. He might turn that around, he might not. But to place all the blame on the team when facts show the car wasn't nearly that bad is just avoiding reality. Lewis became the first Ferrari driver since 2014 to not score a podium, when his teammate scored 7 or them. That's fact, and continued attempts to twist things just show that some will avoid facts.

[Used to be Starter]

I find it comical that the lack of accepting reality is even part of the discussion. Even more so when it results in questioning if others understand how the sport works. Reality is reality and what gm99 posted is nothing more than that. For the last 15 years incoming drivers have managed to beat their teammates at Ferrari. The level of performance from the car compared to the rest of the field doesn't matter, you have to beat your teammate first.

Lewis had a crap 2025. He might turn that around, he might not. But to place all the blame on the team when facts show the car wasn't nearly that bad is just avoiding reality. Lewis became the first Ferrari driver since 2014 to not score a podium, when his teammate scored 7 or them. That's fact, and continued attempts to twist things just show that some will avoid facts.

To be fair, Lewis seems to have done reasonably OK during the race - mostly anyway. It's in qualifying that he seems to have lost his mojo. It's much harder to win when you are out in Q1 or Q2.

[Nitrodaze]

I find it comical that the lack of accepting reality is even part of the discussion. Even more so when it results in questioning if others understand how the sport works. Reality is reality and what gm99 posted is nothing more than that. For the last 15 years incoming drivers have managed to beat their teammates at Ferrari. The level of performance from the car compared to the rest of the field doesn't matter, you have to beat your teammate first.

Lewis had a crap 2025. He might turn that around, he might not. But to place all the blame on the team when facts show the car wasn't nearly that bad is just avoiding reality. Lewis became the first Ferrari driver since 2014 to not score a podium, when his teammate scored 7 or them. That's fact, and continued attempts to twist things just show that some will avoid facts.

A truly objective analysis would not align with what you call reality. Where we look at the driver trajectory compared to car trajectory with regards to gravitating towards championship-winning capability. Where the car has stagnated and progressively depreciated in relative performance, having a dig at driver performances is pointless. Since the situation is not representative of the true capability of the driver-car combination in a competitive trim.

If you say something remotely intelligent, you would get my full appreciation of what is said. So don't be upset if l disagree with your perspective if it is clearly not well thought through. As far as Ferrari goes, being the leading driver in bad car is pointless. It says nothing of what would transpire in a competitive car.

[airshifter]

To be fair, Lewis seems to have done reasonably OK during the race - mostly anyway. It's in qualifying that he seems to have lost his mojo. It's much harder to win when you are out in Q1 or Q2.

No doubt qually results hurt him quite a bit. His race pace seems to be more on par, but that lack of qually is hurting him badly on overall results.

Hard to say if it's just an age and losing the edge thing, but in earlier years he usually beat his teammates in qually. Alonso gave him a run for the money, Nico beat him at least once, but I think he and George were close until last year. So he's had off years, but for the most part has at least held his own against his better teammates, and beat the lesser teammates pretty much all the time. And Button as well.... I think Jenson managed to make up qually with race pace.




A truly objective analysis would not align with what you call reality. Where we look at the driver trajectory compared to car trajectory with regards to gravitating towards championship-winning capability. Where the car has stagnated and progressively depreciated in relative performance, having a dig at driver performances is pointless. Since the situation is not representative of the true capability of the driver-car combination in a competitive trim.

If you say something remotely intelligent, you would get my full appreciation of what is said. So don't be upset if l disagree with your perspective if it is clearly not well thought through. As far as Ferrari goes, being the leading driver in bad car is pointless. It says nothing of what would transpire in a competitive car.

What I called reality IS reality. There is no aligning with it, or not aligning with it. It is fact regardless of whether someone accepts it or not.

You can spit out all the trajectory, synergy, gravitating and representation of capability all you want. Facts are facts.

As for having a dig at Lewis, please quote where I did so.

As for your digs, I don't give a crap. I've made it clear long ago that I would have to value your opinion to be insulted by it. You can claim I can't make a remotely intelligent statement all you want, but your synergy and trajectory tell me your capability of representative posts is really low. :laugh:

[Nitrodaze]

to place all the blame on the team when facts show the car wasn't nearly that bad is just avoiding reality.

Sorry, l don't care much about what you have to say about Hamilton. What l am critical of is claiming the car wasn't nearly that bad.

After the summer break, the SF25 was a native midfield car. It stank most of the time and was only marginally better than the Williams. It was the worst race car that Ferrari has produced in the last 20 years, I think. Like all the other midfield cars, it did not win a single race. This is what the reality you claim is based on. And you don't get why your comments are criticised.