The Official 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix thread ****SPOILERS****

hmmmm, hamilton thumbs up to his new teamate for next year!

Excellent qualifying by Lewis! Bad luck for Kovalainen, although he probably couldn't match Lewis, he could have been easily in the Top 5, and it would have been good for him at a time where he is battling to remain in a top-line team for 2010.

Good work by the Red Bulls to get up into the Top 3, especially considering they had been quite far down in Q3 up to that point. I'd say the Brawns are heavier though, so they will probably have a good battle in the race.

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X (@ed24f1)

On the phone during Buttons interview... what did he say? He did not look happy at all...

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

torana_05 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Slash Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > nah, Hamilton won't win althou 3rd for Ferrari
> > looks imposible becauise he will definately
> finih
> > ahead of them, but i can see Jenson winning the
> > race, easy
> >
> > onboard lap
> >
> >


>
>
> has anyone noticed or is it just my lack of
> observation or is alonso wearing some very
> ferrari-ish gloves

He's always had those :S

Great qualifying from Lewis, especially that last lap he did. It was the kind of jump forward in time that you expect when a driver changes to the softer tyre compound and does a great lap, and he did it without changing from the hards. Pretty impressive, whatever fuel load he's running.

Rubens and Webber both looked like they could ace it at one point, that Q3 was pretty good.
At least the two RedBulls are right behind Lewis on the grid and look like they could give him a push in the race. I'd hate to see one guy running away with it.


chet Wrote:
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> On the phone during Buttons interview... what did
> he say? He did not look happy at all...

He started by saying his grid position wasn't really fit for a Champion IIRC, then complained lots about vibrations.

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I have to admit that although I'm not really a fan of Hamilton's, I have to admit that he put in an excellent lap.

Hope the race will be quality, but the KERS system for Hamilton might ace the start...

EC83 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> chet Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > On the phone during Buttons interview... what
> did
> > he say? He did not look happy at all...
>
> He started by saying his grid position wasn't
> really fit for a Champion IIRC, then complained
> lots about vibrations.


Ah thanks !

Not great then!!

tbh as close as everytried Lewis had this in the bag from the light. Well done to him and Mclaren. They have made Ferrari look average. Ferrari, pre-seasons favourites with a good car (even at Aus it was not bad) but they are getting trumped by Lewis. What an improvment from Mclaren. Greatly impressed me!

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

chet Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> tbh as close as everytried Lewis had this in the
> bag from the light. Well done to him and Mclaren.
> They have made Ferrari look average. Ferrari,
> pre-seasons favourites with a good car (even at
> Aus it was not bad) but they are getting trumped
> by Lewis. What an improvment from Mclaren. Greatly
> impressed me!


Ferrari pretty much stopped developing their car a few months ago, so its hardly a fair comparison. Ferrari would have probably finished well ahead of McLaren if Massa was not injured as well.

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X (@ed24f1)

Car weights, for the last time in the forseeable future:

Number Car Driver Weight [kg]
01 McLaren Mercedes Lewis Hamilton 658.5
02 McLaren Mercedes Heikki Kovalainen 697.0*
03 Ferrari Giancarlo Fisichella 692.5*
04 Ferrari Kimi Räikkönen 692.0*
05 BMW Sauber Robert Kubica 654.5
06 BMW Sauber Nick Heidfeld 664.0
07 Renault Fernando Alonso 708.3*
08 Renault Romain Grosjean 710.8*
09 Toyota Jarno Trulli 661.0
10 Toyota Kamui Kobayashi 694.3*
11 STR Ferrari Jaime Alguersuari 696.5*
12 STR Ferrari Sébastien Buemi 661.5
14 RBR Renault Mark Webber 660.0
15 RBR Renault Sebastian Vettel 663.0
16 Williams Toyota Nico Rosberg 665.0
17 Williams Toyota Kazuki Nakajima 704.0*
20 Force India Mercedes Adrian Sutil 696.0*
21 Force India Mercedes Vitantonio Liuzzi 695.0*
22 Brawn Mercedes Jenson Button 657.0
23 Brawn Mercedes Rubens Barrichello 655.0

[fia.com]

Quite disappointing for Brawn - no wonder Jenson was upset, with a relatively light car.

Its quite an unusual selection of fuel loads, because the top 10 are all on short 2-stoppers, and the rest are on long 1-stoppers.

Disappointing that Toyota gave Kobayashi a heavy fuel load as well, it would have great to see him battling through the field with a light fuel load.

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X (@ed24f1)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/2009 05:33PM by SchueyFan.

Good qualify by Hamilton hats off (i say as ferrari fan all my life).

Kimi good too considering that the ferrari hasnt been developed
further.

Good form of the Red Bull drivers considering its a not a good
track for their car.

Overall very happy with the track.

Cheers

Looks like it will be 2 races in 1! One for the 2 stoppers, the other for the 1 stoppers.

I think Brawns main objective has to be to be in front of RedBull at the start! I could see one Brawn jumping one at the start, then hopefully dispose of the other braking for the long straight! I guess their hope is they dont get caught behind the 1 stoppers after their first stop!!

Ferrari pretty much stopped developing their car a few months ago, so its hardly a fair comparison. Ferrari would have probably finished well ahead of McLaren if Massa was not injured as well.

okay, granted Ferrari stopped development but Mclaren has not been pushing on (Legard TM) as hard as they could have.

Still an impressive show! I guess its hard to know how much is car and how much is Lewis because Heikki is still looking hopeless.

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

BMW could pass Williams for 6th in the constructors points tonight - they are currently 2.5 behind, and with Heidfeld and Kubica looking quite fast this weekend, it could happen.

If it happened, that would be bitterly disappointing for Williams considering how much potential they seemed to have this year, and the dog of a car BMW had for 2/3s of the year. Unfortunately, and the same can be said for Renault, with just one driver scoring all of your points, it is always hard to do well in the constructors championship.

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X (@ed24f1)

okay, granted Ferrari stopped development but Mclaren has not been pushing on (Legard TM) as hard as they could have.

I thought that, but now I doubt it. I'm sure McLaren have really pushed hard to try and keep Santander sponsorship, which of course they have.

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Nail Richard Branson? I lol'd

So, the last race of the decade is about to begin!

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X (@ed24f1)

this race is more boring than valencia. what a boring track..

_______________________________________________________

Team Japan Owner - GPGNC

Get In Kobayashi

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Races: 163 - Wins: 23 - Pole Positions: 24 - Fastest Laps: 22
Season 9: Constructors' Champions

Kova vs Raikonnen for 3rd place in the constructors!

i think i'm becoming a fan of kobayashi!

the new takuma sato!!!!!

Unlucky for Lewis, thought he could walk this one.

Go Kobayashi, love the driving, what a guy.