F1 Raceweek: Scores to be settled in Abu Dhabi
The Formula One drivers’ and constructors’ titles may have been decided, but there is still plenty to play for at the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
With Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes having clinched those respective honours, there are scores to be settled elsewhere on the grid as the final standings take shape.
Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas could yet overtake Sebastian Vettel into second, with the Finn facing a 22-point deficit to the Ferrari driver.
An eighth-place finish would be enough for Vettel to cement his place.
Daniel Ricciardo (200 points) and Kimi Raikkonen (193) will fight it out for fourth and fifth, while the battle for supremacy within Force India – which has become heated on occasion this season – is going down to the wire.
Sergio Perez leads Esteban Ocon by nine points and, barring any disasters for the frontrunners or himself, looks safe in seventh place.
It is a similar story at Williams, where Felipe Massa will look to close his career by jumping ahead of team-mate Lance Stroll, who holds a two-point advantage over the Brazilian.
Only one driver who has been involved all season is yet to score a point, so Abu Dhabi represents a last chance for Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson to avoid a 2017 duck.
WHAT WE LEARNED FROM PRACTICE
The main thing to note is that there was very little to choose between Mercedes and Ferrari, with Hamilton and Vettel taking a session apiece.
Vettel edged FP1 for Ferrari by 0.120 seconds from Hamilton, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen close behind (+0.148s) in third.
Both McLarens made it into the top 10 in an encouraging display and, while Verstappen’s colleague Ricciardo could only manage 10th in the early session, he climbed to third in the second.
Ahead of Ricciardo in FP2, Hamilton finished 0.149s faster than Vettel, as the big three teams locked out the top six.
Raikkonen was fourth fastest, with Bottas and Verstappen in fifth and sixth respectively.
END OF FP2
Here’s how they finished…
HAM
VET
RIC
RAI
BOT
VER
PER
OCO
HUL
ALO
MAS
VAN
SAI
STR
GAS
MAG
WEH
ERI
HAR
GRO#AbuDhabiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/mpib9Vudk8
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 24, 2017
STANDINGS
Drivers
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 345 – Champion
2. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 302 (-43)
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 280 (-65)
4. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) 200 (-145)
5. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 193 (-152)
Constructors
1. Mercedes 625 – Champions
2. Ferrari 495 (-130)
3. Red Bull 358 (-267)
4. Force India 177 (-448)
5. Williams 82 (-543)
PREVIOUS WINNERS
2016: Lewis Hamilton
2015: Nico Rosberg
2014: Lewis Hamilton
WEATHER FORECAST
Somewhat predictably for this part of the world, there is nothing by sunshine forecast for the duration of the weekend.
Spectacular! #AbuDhabiGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/qYTCdTpljv
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 24, 2017
