2015 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

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ukfan758
So similar to 2013?
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Pretty much. But before you write 2016 off as another Mercedes title, there's only so much development that they can do on the W06 before they reach the point of diminishing returns. Others, like Ferrari and Williams, have considerably more scope in which to develop their cars. And both McLaren and Red Bull have been quick in the twisty bits in the last few races, so if they can sort out their engine problems, they can move up in the world.
 
Alonso seemed to be keeping up surprisingly well in the straight when he was getting passed by one of the Ferraris.
 
I don't know.....I kinda thought that was a better race than Interlagos, and yet Yas Marina is the much less exciting circuit. I really wish though that we could have Interlagos as the season ender again, even if logistically it (possibly) makes more sense. But again, I guess going by what I just said, I'll still take this race over Interlagos as the season ender simply because I enjoyed it a tad more.

It's true as well that once the championship is over, and there are still a few races to go, the mental atmosphere changes since the big pressure is off.
 
Josa
...In my opinion, lasting just a few laps, the SS were the best options...
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Considering he pitted 15 laps before the end, the SS tyres might only be on full performance for about 3-5 laps. After that, he might suffer from severe degradation if he wanted to push to the end. He was already losing a chunk of time to Nico even before his last stop anyway, and his choice to stay out was definitely a mistake.
 
Pupik
I'm a little surprised that people are surprised Nico is a bit faster, after the championship was decided, at a pace he should have been for roughly half the races, no? After all, he's in the same team that has dominated the last two seasons.
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So do you think that he's been holding back? Or that he has been held back by the team?
 
prisonermonkeys
So do you think that he's been holding back? Or that he has been held back by the team?
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The pro-conspiracists in either camp could have plenty of reason to think that's the case. On straight pace there's no reason why Hamilton/Rosberg couldn't have been placed together on track in a couple of the last few races. Maybe there's some management of that going on behind the scenes. If so there are a number of possible reasons for that from back-room agreements to sponsorship issues to plain old punishment.

That said, Hamilton's comments about strategy in Abu Dhabi contradict the view of the team (the radio supports the team), I think the truth is that Hamilton has indeed been compromised by the stiffer tyres and that he's thinking too far outside a vanishingly small maths/performance box for solutions. Back in the day you could go with a wild strategy if you had enough balls to make it win... but the tyre performance windows are so exact in the modern sport that we rarely see throw-it-all-at-the-wall strategies work any more.
 
TenEightyOne
That said, Hamilton's comments about strategy in Abu Dhabi contradict the view of the team (the radio supports the team), I think the truth is that Hamilton has indeed been compromised by the stiffer tyres and that he's thinking too far outside a vanishingly small maths/performance box for solutions.
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That does sound like him. I don't buy his whole "the car has changed" argument either, since he claims that the changes were introduced in Singapore and he was fine with them until Mexico.

Rather, I think he's on the receiving end of a "problem" that has largely been Rosberg's to deal with all season - his team-mate is in front. I think Mercedes have been pretty fair in handling strategies of late, but I doubt Hamilton likes the team refusing to give him the upper hand. It's a bit of a double standard.
 
I've been in GTP close to 10 years, and I cannot remember an F1 race thread with fewer pages than this. Shows just how much interest people have in F1 nowadays.

This is also the first year since I started watching F1 in 2001 that I have not seen a single race live on TV. Since Channel 10 in Australia decided to split up with Foxtel, I just can't be bothered. I tried streaming but even then the races are lackluster. Even the Schumacher dominance era still gets me hooked seeing drivers pushing every lap in fast, beautiful, amazing sounding cars. These days it's just fuel saving, tyre saving, hollow sounding contraptions.

As a long time F1 fan I sincerely hope the rule change in 2017 can reinvigorate this sport.
 
Only thing I was really interested in was how Button would do after qualifying in the top 10 (Who would've predicted that earlier this year?).
 
prisonermonkeys
That does sound like him. I don't buy his whole "the car has changed" argument either, since he claims that the changes were introduced in Singapore and he was fine with them until Mexico.

Rather, I think he's on the receiving end of a "problem" that has largely been Rosberg's to deal with all season - his team-mate is in front. I think Mercedes have been pretty fair in handling strategies of late, but I doubt Hamilton likes the team refusing to give him the upper hand. It's a bit of a double standard.
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I don't know, it seems possible that the car development has gotten away from him and that since winning the championship his extra 10% that he can get out of a car had diminished making it harder for him to drive around the problem.

Though I feel like Nico's resurgence is the perfect example of why he'll never be a WDC. When the pressure is on, as it always is when your fighting for the title he was totally dominated, even in 2014 in terms of race results. Yet soon as that pressure is off and Lewis (possibly relaxes a little BOOM Nico is back.

I feel like if Lewis's problem was a faster team mate 2014 would have been a different story, I still feel like his only real challenge next year comes in the shape of a German driver in a red Italian car...
 
baldgye
it seems possible that the car development has gotten away from him and that since winning the championship his extra 10% that he can get out of a car had diminished
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I find it hard to believe that it only became a problem once he won the title. I suspect he's trying to play team politics by whinging about the development programme - a case of "I'm a three-time World Champion and Nico hasn't won anything, so who are you going to trust next year?" to influence their 2016 plans - mixed with pages from the Mark Webber playbook of using the media to create a particular public perception.
 
prisonermonkeys
I find it hard to believe that it only became a problem once he won the title. I suspect he's trying to play team politics by whinging about the development programme - a case of "I'm a three-time World Champion and Nico hasn't won anything, so who are you going to trust next year?" to influence their 2016 plans - mixed with pages from the Mark Webber playbook of using the media to create a particular public perception.
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What whining? Wasn't he asked a question and that was the answer he gave? Also if it's an issue post Singapore then it's something he's been managing.
I feel like post Singapore was a pretty interesting time for Merc as they where totally dominated and had no pace and as Lewis and Nico have said afterwards the team still doesn't understand why that was. Perhaps after that race the team's focus was to try and address the possible issues causing there lack of pace and these changes took the car away from Lewis somewhat.

Like I said I think the reason Nico won the last three races with three poles has more to do with Lewis's loosing his 10% as he has lost some motivation and Nico getting his 10% back as the pressure is now off him.
 
baldgye
I feel like post Singapore was a pretty interesting time for Merc as they where totally dominated and had no pace and as Lewis and Nico have said afterwards the team still doesn't understand why that was. Perhaps after that race the team's focus was to try and address the possible issues causing there lack of pace and these changes took the car away from Lewis somewhat.
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I reckon it was the tyre pressure issue they got caught out for in Monza. Clearly they've changed something related to the tyre pressure by Singapore and it hurt them a lot but it got the best of Nico.

I still until today, believe that Lewis won the championship all due to his aggressive turn-1 approach, Nico's throttle issue in Russia and a mistake in Austin. Otherwise, we could've seen Nico as a champion today as he was 'generally' faster than Lewis in all the races post Monza. Just what I think.
 

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