2015 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

SVT Cobra GT

SVT Cobra GT

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What a season it's been. Hamilton fans will certainly remember this one and it's thrown up some exciting racing across the field. It does indeed point to an exciting 2016. Here we go one final time this year for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
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2014 Result
1: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2: Felipe Massa (Williams-Mercedes)
3: Valtteri Bottas (Williams-Mercedes)​
 
McLaren-Honda will top all the practice sessions and put the cars one-two in Qualifying and one-two again for the race...








... in a perfect world that is. Realistically, Rosberg for the win, and my dark horse would be Vettel.
 
Jimlaad43
Still waiting for them to do the track changes they were going to do in 2010...
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My memory is foggy but didn't they decide not to do them because they decided the racing was good enough in 2011? I'm sure I remember something like that.
 
lxmmy
I think I have confidence in Rosberg in clinching a win here.
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Honestly, I think that losing the championship so soon was the best thing that could have happened to him this year. It's been obvious for a while that Hamilton was going to win it, so the end coming when it did gave Rosberg the opportunity to recapture his form without the pressure of the championship hanging over him.
 
prisonermonkeys
Honestly, I think that losing the championship so soon was the best thing that could have happened to him this year. It's been obvious for a while that Hamilton was going to win it, so the end coming when it did gave Rosberg the opportunity to recapture his form without the pressure of the championship hanging over him.
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The USA race was the epitome of how Rosberg seem to crumble when Hamilton put the slightest of pressure towards him. But Rosberg seems like a new and more consistent driver ever since.
 
MoLiEG
Wait, the season isn't over yet? :eek:
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Its understandable if you didn't remember, this track does tend to be...not that memorable most of the time.

lxmmy
The USA race was the epitome of how Rosberg seem to crumble when Hamilton put the slightest of pressure towards him. But Rosberg seems like a new and more consistent driver ever since.
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Problem is, he needs to be like that ALL season if he ever hopes to win a title against Hamilton, otherwise he's forever stuck in a loop of being the sinking ship whenever the championship pressure is applied.
 
lxmmy
The USA race was the epitome of how Rosberg seem to crumble when Hamilton put the slightest of pressure towards him
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Eh, I think that the idea of Hamilton methodically and ruthlessly applying pressure at the most devastating, demoralising moment for his opponents is an exaggerated fanboy myth.
 
prisonermonkeys
Honestly, I think that losing the championship so soon was the best thing that could have happened to him this year. It's been obvious for a while that Hamilton was going to win it, so the end coming when it did gave Rosberg the opportunity to recapture his form without the pressure of the championship hanging over him.
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I'm still not sure if Rosberg really is performing at another level, or Hamilton is just a lot less motivated now to put the car on pole and take the fight to Nico. He's still faster in the races, after all, but perhaps not as motivated to condition himself ideally to put in the perfect lap, as if he's operating at 90%, which would put him behind Nico over a single lap considering how close they've always been.

Despite what the commentators continue to bicker on about, I doubt he'll be carrying this momentum into next season and be in a favorable position compared to Lewis for next year's title race. I think Hamilton learned from 2014, that he has to be at his best all the time otherwise Nico can beat him to the title. That's why unlike last year, and partially thanks to Mercedes sorting their reliability issues out, he's been pretty ruthless in his title charge this year, seemingly always one step, or tenth, ahead.
 
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To me it looks like Hamilton is in "I've won the World Championship" mode and Rosberg is in "No pressure on me" mode. Who knows, if he wins this one as well it might get him in the right mind state for the start of next season.
 
Merhi is 3.5 seconds off Stevens right now. :lol:
 
FP2 Results


Pos Driver Car Time Gap Laps
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m41.983ss 1m41.983s 39
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m42.121ss 0.138s 31
3 Sergio Perez Force India/Mercedes 1m42.610ss 0.627s 23
4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull/Renault 1m42.647ss 0.664s 37
5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1m42.717ss 0.734s 35
6 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull/Renault 1m42.798ss 0.815s 34
7 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m42.849ss 0.866s 36
8 Nico Hulkenberg Force India/Mercedes 1m42.928ss 0.945s 35
9 Fernando Alonso McLaren/Honda 1m42.955ss 0.972s 31
10 Pastor Maldonado Lotus/Mercedes 1m43.431ss 1.448s 37
11 Valtteri Bottas Williams/Mercedes 1m43.441ss 1.458s 32
12 Felipe Massa Williams/Mercedes 1m43.506ss 1.523s 33
13 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso/Renault 1m43.662ss 1.679s 40
14 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso/Renault 1m43.854ss 1.871s 20
15 Romain Grosjean Lotus/Mercedes 1m43.929ss 1.946s 27
16 Jenson Button McLaren/Honda 1m44.050ss 2.067s 32
17 Felipe Nasr Sauber/Ferrari 1m44.116ss 2.133s 37
18 Marcus Ericsson Sauber/Ferrari 1m45.245ss 3.262s 28
19 Will Stevens Marussia/Ferrari 1m46.450ss 4.467s 35
20 Roberto Merhi Marussia/Ferrari 1m47.022ss 5.039s 27
 
lxmmy
The USA race was the epitome of how Rosberg seem to crumble when Hamilton put the slightest of pressure towards him. But Rosberg seems like a new and more consistent driver ever since.
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From Rosberg himself

"It was a gust of wind - a big one, I'm serious!
 
GTlondoner
From Rosberg himself

"It was a gust of wind - a big one, I'm serious!
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I used to drive down a 40km stretch of highway that semi-trailers used to use because it offered easy access to some of the larger cattle yards in the area. Despite the road being so narrow, the speed limit was 100km/h. At the time I was driving a two-door coupe, so it wasn't exactly a small car, but I always remember gripping the wheel just a little more tightly every time one of those cattle trucks stormed past me because the turbulence they generated always made the car unstable.

So when Rosberg is driving a high-powered mid-engined rear-wheel drive racing car in difficult conditions, and he says that a gust of wind caught him off-guard at the worst possible moment - right when he is applying power - then I am willing to believe it.
 

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