F1 | Abu Dhabi GP – The final challenge

After 20 grand prix, and such a long season, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton will put the World Champion title on the line in Abu Dhabi, to the delight of Eccleston and of the Arabs. In fact, the agreement provides an extra payment if the world championship title is assigned in the last race. Both the Mercedes drivers are equal regarding victories – nine each- with an advantage of Rosberg if we take the second places into account, and with an advantage of Hamilton if we sum the fourth places. This means that if Rosberg pass the third position (and Hamilton wins), the points being equal, the title will go into the English driver’s hands.

For all these months, Nico has proved to deserve the win, due both to his perseverance and his education with which he swallowed some very questionable decisions made subjectively and not objectively by commissioners. Otherwise, we would already have the new winner.

After his beautiful presentation in Sao Paulo, the attention will also focus on Max verstappen that will have to prove to be mature for be a protagonist in 2017. We hope that the praises that he received the following days don’t distract him. The Dutch driver at Red Bull will try to oust Vettel, trying to tear off the fourth place in the drivers’ standings. For the German driver it would be surely a negative result. Ferrari will have trouble in opposing Red Bull that is going to close a growing season.

Abu Dhabi will also be the stage of the final challenge between Force India and Williams for the fourth position, with the advantage of the team from Silverstone. Toro Rosso and McLaren will fight each other for the sixth place. Sainz and Kvyat will try to hit at the detriment of Woking. Regarding the tires, teams and drivers will have at their disposal all the soft tire compounds, from the Softs to the UltraSofts. Mercedes and Ferrari will carry seven violet tire compounds, Red Bull six. Vettel, Ricciardo, and Verstappen will have five sets of “yellows” each, the couple Nico/Lewis and Raikkonen will have four. Only Seb will have at his disposal a set of red SuperSoft, his principal rivals will have two.

It will be a very hot paddock also due to the new regulations. These days, Bernie Ecclestone, proposed to divide the Gran Prix into two races. A solution that I had already proposed and with which I agree. Anyway, this is another story…