Hamilton hopes everyone wants title decided “in right way”
Lewis Hamilton is hoping that this weekends championship decider plays out in “the right way” ahead of his showdown at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Both drivers appeared alongside each other in the press conference on Thursday, after the Mercedes driver tied on points with rival Max Verstappen in Jeddah.
The past few days there has been speculation about whether the pair potentially clashing again in the race which could decide the title fight. While either driver must finish in front of their rival to secure the title, Verstappen would clinch his maiden F1 world championship if neither of them scored points due to having more wins this season.
Going into this weekend’s race, race director Michael Masi send a reminder to teams and drivers that any unsporting conduct at the Abu Dhabi season finale could result in a championship points deduction. Meanwhile, both drivers have played down the prospects of the title being decided in that way.
Hamilton said “Going into the weekend, I don’t put any energy towards that sort of thing. I think at the end of the day, I truly do believe that everyone here racing comes to win. I would like to believe everyone wants to do it the right way.”
“I’m here for a great race. We’re arriving on the positive as a team, we’ve got the car in a great place. They won here last year. So without doubt, they’re going to be strong this weekend. But I think we’ve chased and caught up a lot. And I think we can come here and be strong this weekend.”
Verstappen also says he was eager to avoid “controversial decisions” in the Abu Dhabi GP to decide the 2021 F1 title.
Verstappen claims he is “treated differently”
Max Verstappen claims he is “treated differently” to other drivers after receiving penalties in Jeddah which he felt he did not deserve. The Red Bull driver heads into this weekends race tied on points with Lewis Hamilton, following a controversial weekend in Jeddah.
Verstappen was hit with a five-second time penalty during the race for gaining an advantage off-track while battling Hamilton, who called his rival “f**king crazy” over team radio as they went wheel-to-wheel at Turn One, and both ran off-track.
A ten-second post-race penalty was later handed to Verstappen for causing a collision after the stewards said he braked in an “erratic” manner when trying to allow Hamilton ahead, leading to contact.
Verstappen said after the race that the reaction proved there were too many rules in F1, and he claimed on Thursday in Abu Dhabi that “clearly things don’t apply for everyone.”
He told the press conference, “The things that I did in terms of defending, two other guys in terms of racing also did, and they didn’t even get a mention or a penalty. So I don’t understand, because I thought I was just racing hard.”
“What happened for me didn’t deserve any penalty, and clearly the other two people who did it, they didn’t get one, but clearly it’s only me who gets it. Of course, fighting at the front, people are a bit more critical I guess, but for me, I don’t understand.”
Verstappen’s actions in Jeddah was described by former champion Jacques Villeneuve as “rental Karting.” while Lando Norris joked in the press conference that brake testing only results in a ten-second penalty before saying “no comment” when asked for his thoughts on the incidents.
Verstappen said, “At the end of the day, criticism, that’s always there. But I think from my side, what is unfair [is] that I am treated differently to other drivers. Clearly, other drivers can get away with it, and I can’t. I think that’s a bit of a problem here.”
The Red Bull driver says he won’t be changing his approach for this weekends season finale saying why should he change when others can get away with it.
Masi warns drivers and teams about sporting code
Race director Michael Masi has warned drivers and teams that any unsporting conduct will be punished by possible penalties, as Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen head into this weekends championship-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix tied on points.
Verstappen officially holds the lead as he has won nine wins to Hamilton’s eight, and would take his maiden crown if they also finished level on points at the end of Sunday’s 58-lap race. Last weekend in Jeddah there was a series od clashes including a collision, that has lead to teams being reminded of the rules.
in the Abu Dhabi edition of his usual pre-event notes to all teams and officials. The first version of the document is published on a Thursday and the one for Abu Dhabi included the following references to the FIA’s over-arching International Sporting Code:
“All Competitors and Drivers are reminded of the various requirements detailed in the FIA International Sporting Code. In particular, I would like to remind you of the following articles detailed below.”
“29.2 Article 9.15.1 ‘The Competitor shall be responsible for all acts or omissions on the part of any person taking part in, or providing a service in connection with, a Competition or a Championship on their behalf, including in particular their employees, direct or indirect, their Drivers, mechanics, consultants, service providers, or passengers, as well as any person to whom the Competitor has allowed access 6/6 to the Reserved Areas.’”
“29.3 Article 12.2.1 – Breach of Rules and in particular Article 12.2.1.l ‘Any infringement of the principles of fairness in Competition, behaviour in an unsportsmanlike manner or attempt to influence the result of a Competition in a way that is contrary to sporting ethics.’
“29.4 Article 12.4.5 ‘For all the FIA Championships, cups, challenges, trophies or series, the stewards may also decide to impose the following penalties: Suspension for one or more Competitions, withdrawal of points for the Championship, cup, challenge, trophy, series.’
“29.5 Article 12.4.5.a ‘Points should not be deducted separately from Drivers and Competitors, save in exceptional circumstances
Race Directors Notes & Circuit Changes
The FIA have announced they will be policing track limits at Turns Seven, Nine, and on the exits of Fifteen and Sixteen for this weekends Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
At Turn Seven, any time achieved during any practice session or the race by leaving the track and cutting behind the apex of the corner.
On the exits of Fifteen and Sixteen, a time achieved during any practice session or the race by leaving the track on the exit of T16, will result in that lap time and the immediately following lap time being invalidated by the stewards.
In all the cases a driver will be judged to have left the track if no part of the car remains in contact with the track, each time any car fails to negotiate these corners by leaving the track, teams will be informed via the official messaging system. Additionally at sixteen, the final corner, the following lap will also be deleted.
On the third occasion of a driver going wide, the driver will be shown a black and white flag, any further cutting will then be reported to the stewards. For the avoidance of doubt, this means a total of three occasions combined not three at each corner.
What you need to know for title decider
After twenty-one races, the two title rivals Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton head into this weekends race tied on 369.5 points. The Dutchman however leads the championship thanks to having more second places.
Verstappen is aiming for his first F1 title. He would be the first Dutchman to become champion and just the second Red Bull driver after Sebastian Vettel. meanwhile, Hamilton is looking to make sporting history, as he would cement his place as the greatest drivers of all time taking his eighth title.
This situation has only happened once in the sports history, in 1974 when Emerson Fittipaldi and Switzerland’s Clay Regazzoni were tied heading into that season’s final round in the USA. But that was in a campaign of only fifteen races, making the fact Verstappen and Hamilton are level after twenty-one rounds all the more remarkable.
To put it most simply, whichever one wins the race is world champion (they have won 17 of the season’s 21 races between them so far). Less simply, whichever one finishes ahead in the top eight positions is also world champion. A crash would make Verstappen champion, having taken more wins.
This has happened twice in Baku, when both failed to score points, with Verstappen suffering a tyre blow-out while leading and Hamilton finished fifteenth after plummeting down the order once knocking the wrong steering wheel button on the race’s late restart.
The second was when they crashed into each other while battling for the lead of the race at Monza. But there is one other way they could finish level on points too.
If one were to finish Sunday’s race ninth (two points) and the other 10th with the fastest lap bonus (1+1) then they would be tied on 371.5 points. Again, due to countback, Verstappen would be champion. Drivers have never finished a season tied on points at the top of the championship; the closest-ever finish was 0.5 points between Niki Lauda and Alain Prost in 1984.
The other scenario is a crash between the two, both the 1989 and 1990 between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna were settled in this way at the respective campaign’s penultimate rounds, while Michael Schumacher came together in final-round deciders with Damon Hill in 1994 and Jacques Villeneuve in 1997.
The FIA has a precedent in this case, that could see one or both of them excluded from the championship. But the rulebook on driver conduct is more comprehensive nowadays. All parties have said they want to win this year’s championship the right way.
News in Brief
Channel 4 to show Abu Dhabi live
Channel 4, Sky Sports and Liberty Media have struck a deal to show this weekends race live on free-to-air TV in the UK and Ireland. Since 2019 Sky Sports F1 has had exclusive live rights, with only the British Grand Prix, available free to air on Channel 4, with the remaining races shown as highlights.
Ricciardo heads for hotel quarantine down under
Daniel Ricciardo is planning to undertake a two-week quarantine to return home to Australia after this weekend’s race. The Australian will face two-week quarantine in a government-approved hotel, but he has not seen his family all season
Abu Dhabi signs ten year contract extension
Organisers of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix have announced a decade long extension to the contract, meaning the Yas Marina Circuit will host the final race until 2030. Ahead of this year’s race, the circuit has been reprofiled in an attempt to create closer racing and increase overtaking.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said: “The promoter always creates an incredible show for the final race of every F1 season and combined with the changes made to improve the racing on Yas Marina Circuit we are excited for the many years of racing in Abu Dhabi that are ahead of us.”
Re-profiled Yas Marina hopes to create overtaking
While Abu Dhabi may be a circuit we all know, in a bid to improve overtaking the circuit has been redesigned ahead of this year race. The changes follow years of complaints from drivers that the circuit was unable to produce good racing,
The end result is alterations made at three key points of the circuit, a revised hairpin onto the back straight, a new banked Turn Nine and tweaks at the hotel complex. Individually, the changes may not appear that dramatic, but added together they will be very noticeable.
These revisions aim to try and improve overtaking, but it’s still difficult to say what impact will be on racing, it is expected that the lap times could be ten seconds faster. The approach taken was to create a circuit where the cars can follow closer and overtake, although this could not have a major impact until 2022 when the regulations change.
Mark Hughes, managing director of MRK1, praised Abu Dhabi for being open to accepting that the original layout was not perfect. He told Motorsport.com, “It flows a lot better. In 2009, I think there was a different ethos around track design and the cars were very different.”
“I think Yas have been quite brave recognising that they’ve got amazing architecture, they’ve got the Marina, they have good concerts and parties and everything else. The one ingredient that let them down was the track. Not everybody would have taken it on the chin and said ‘Yep, let’s change it’. But they have and I think it’s a great, great thing to do.”
Former F1 driver Karun Chandhok to help test out the planned changes in the simulator. With him convinced that what’s been done will deliver a step forward – both for the drivers and the fans.
He added, “Having done hundreds of laps around the modified Yas Marina, I’m confident that the drivers will find it a more flowing and enjoyable track to drive”
One of the changes has been the replacement and movement of the Turn Five hairpin, which has been moved forwards to create a sweeping hairpin, after the removal of the chicane.
The other big change is the entry to the harbour, with the old Turns Eleven to Fourteen being replaced by a long banked sweeping corner. Chandhok said: “With the change, we’ve done to the new T9, we’ve created a challenging high-speed corner that the track lacked, and also got rid of four negative camber corners that were frustrating for the drivers.”
“We were looking at options with track camber in the final sector because the negative camber corners just send the rear tyre temps through the roof.”
Minor changes have been made also to Turn Fourteen and Fifteen, with the radius of the corners being opened up to allow cars to follow closer and to attempt overtaking. While other ideas were considered the limited timeframe to complete the work meant there wasn’t time for more radical changes.
Mercedes end deal with Grenfell firm
Mercedes and Kingspan have mutually agreed to end their F1 partnership after heavy criticism of the deal. Last week the deal with the company which made some of the insulation used on Grenfell Tower, the west London tower block that caught fire in 2017, killing 72 people.
Kingspan’s logo featured on Mercedes’ cars for the first time at last week’s Saudi Arabian GP. In a statement, the team said “The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team and Kingspan today announced that they have mutually agreed to end their partnership.”
“Announced last week, the new partnership included Kingspan chairing a new Sustainability Working Group for the team, and aimed to deliver carbon reductions through their leading-edge environmentally sustainable solutions for the team’s future campus.”
“However, both parties have subsequently concluded that it is not appropriate for the partnership to move forward at the current point in time, notwithstanding its intended positive impact, and we have therefore agreed that it will be discontinued with immediate effect.”
The deal had been condemned by the group which represents survivors and bereaved families, who labelled the relationship “truly shocking” and demanded it was severed.
In response to a letter to him from Grenfell United, Mercedes team principal and co-owner Toto Wolff apologised for the “additional hurt that this announcement has caused” and accepted an offer to meet with the group.
The partnership between Mercedes and Kingspan was also condemned by Michael Gove, the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities.
Kingspan said in their own statement issued on Wednesday, Kingspan said: “We are deeply aware of the sensitivities raised in recent days, and so we have jointly agreed that it’s not appropriate to move forward at the current point in time.
“Much has been written about this over the past few days, and out of consideration for our customers and all the great people who work for us, we believe we must respond. We had no role in the Grenfell Tower refurbishment”
Raikkonen says friends he will miss the most
Kimi Raikkonen says the people and friendships he has formed are a big thing he will miss when he retires from F1 after this weekends Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The 2007 world champion’s twenty-year career will end with his three hundred and forty-ninth start having announced his retirement at Monza.
During his career, he has had two stints with the team currently called Alfa Romeo, as well as winning the 2007 title by a point with Ferrari as well as winning races for McLaren and Lotus. In the press conference ahead of this weekends race, he said he was feeling “good” ahead of his final weekend, and joked that he was “looking forward to when it’s done”.
Adding It will be nice to race again, hopefully, we have good speed so we can have some fun. But I’m looking forward to get the season done and not need to worry about the schedule.”
Raikkonen doubted he would find Sunday’s race emotional, but conceded that he would miss the people in the paddock with whom he has formed a close relationship through his career.
Raikkonen said, “I met a lot of people I work with, a lot of good people, and some of us became friends [and formed] friendships. Generally we are so busy anyhow, it is always that it’s not really a place to say we are friends together. It’s not the place to really have time to do anything.”
Raikkonen beat Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso by a single point in a dramatic race at Interlagos, the moment of his career which stood out for him. He also accepts that the less successful periods of his career were “part of the game”.
Fittipaldi retained as Haas reserve
Haas has announced Pietro Fittipaldi will continue as its official test and reserve driver next year. The grandson of three-time champion Emerson made his debut in the final two races last season, following Romain Grosjean’s crash in Bahrain last year, with his best finish being seventeenth.
Fittipaldi has attended the majority of Grands Prix through 2021 as Haas’s reserve driver, supporting Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin. The team announced on Thursday that he would be continuing in the role next year.
He said, “I’m naturally very happy and excited again by the opportunity to continue my association with Haas. I’ve been with the team for a few seasons now and they very much feel like family. I’ve learned a lot in my time and I hope I can keep contributing with the introduction of the new generation of Formula 1 car in 2022.
“It’s going to be exciting to see what’s coming with the new package and I’m obviously as keen as the rest of the team to see what the VF-22 will accomplish on track.”
Team principal Gunther Steiner called it a “very straightforward decision” to retain Fittipaldi in the role for next season.
The weekend ahead
There is only one talking point, the championship decider between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. They are tied on points going into this weekend, anything can happen and this has been a Mercedes circuit in the hybrid era. However, they have been warned as well as the teams about sporting conduct could lead to points deductions and disqualifications.
Since Interlagos, my feeling things have shifted towards Hamilton and we can never discount him in any situation. Yas Marina is a circuit that has been difficult to overtake and in an attempt to improve overtaking there has been tweaks most noticeably in the final sector.
We need to think that the new layout will increase overtaking, but everyone is hoping for a clean weekend and this being decided on track. Whatever happens, this will shape the run up to Christmas, there will be a lot of analysis and debate if there is a crash between them.
