2012 Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix post-qualy – way to go Lewis!

Lewis Hamilton was 0.348 ahead of Webber; clearly he was the best package.  Webber put in a fine lap to get what he did; way to go, mate.  Vettel hasn’t looked like his fine post summer break form, all weekend; what is going on?  But don’t count him out!

This weekend is getting more interesting as it goes on; I think we’re going to get a very interesting race, including a very interesting first corner.

Talk about the golden horseshoe stuffed so far up there, his main, and only title rival demoted to the back of the grid?

¡Que bueno suerte!

7th on the grid is now on the third row, against Jenson Button; things are  looking so much better for the butteri primo of the prancing horses.

Kimi is now on the second row, but next to Pastor.

That crafty Alonso could be third by the end of the first lap; then anything could happen.

Another guy I just have a feeling for is Roman Grosjean; I have no idea why; perhaps it is such minute attributes, so as to be imperceptible to the conscious mind, yet perceptible nonetheless.  I think he’ll advance on the first lap, and keep on passing and going faster, and… maybe a podium.

Lewis could pull away if he can keep ahead of Webber into the first corner; I expect Webber to be completely going for it; and it could be interesting.

Expect phenomenal displays from Sebastian Vettel, provided his car is working as well as it has in recent races.  He might put on a display of the race, starting from the pitlane, following his sanctioning by the FIA for  insufficient quantity of fuel following qualifications, after failing to complete the drive the the parc ferme.

This is going to be good.

Out of all on the grid, however, the man in red is happiest of all, after all.

2012 Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Friday Analysis

There is not much changed, from a week ago, except the track, and some updates.

Red Bull are still there, especially with the Vettel package.  Apparently, according to James Allen, Webber has never done well at the Yas Marina circuit, perhaps that is why he is dropped back compared to Vettel in single lap practice times.

McLaren are back, at least with the Hamilton package, and he sits a meagre  0.168 back, still almost 2 tenths, but the next fastest, Jenson Button is another 4 tenths back, a whopping 0.661 off Vettel’s pace.

Hmm….

But from Button, in 3rd (0.661 back) to Alonso in 7th (0.836) is a mere 0.175, similar but less than the difference between the top two!  Anything may happen in this bunch, and as the famous Murray Walker refrain would say, “… and it usually does.”

So while in single lap pace, one might think it a bit gloomy for Alonso, he is closer to third than Hamilton is to pole.

If I were Alonso, I wouldn’t mind being third, with Vettel on the front row against Hamilton, who has nothing to lose in going all out for the win, and on this track, of at least average difficulty to pass, a tussle between the top two, into the first corner could work extremely well for Alonso, as long as he is on the third row of better.

But things are gloomy in race pace for the Alonso-Ferrari championship drive, where according to Vettel, McLaren are on top in Abu Dhabi.  He has reportedly called on Red Bull to up their game, to get onto better race pace terms with McLaren.

Lotus was quiet except for Grosjean’s ability to make the soft tires work better.  Kimi was again sporting the ‘device’ intake scoops on the air dam; but there has been a distinct ‘talking-down’ of ‘the device’ of late, and it may well go the way of the dodo.

I have a feeling about Grosjean, and there has been a icy restraint from Eric Bouiller since Kimi’s surge and self-styled media stunts, and Grosjean’s ongoing crash habit, concerning Grosjean’s standing with the team.  All season long Grosjean was the darling of Boullier, now there are headlines, like, “Lotus still evaluating Grosjean before finalizing new contract” (www.autosport.com), and “Boullier in no rush for Grosjean” (www.planetF1.com); and the Lotus F1 web site, now plastered with images of Kimi?!?

Still, Grosjean has already shown flashes of brilliance, out-qualifying Kimi regularly before his latest and twitter-inducing first lap wipe-outs.

I have a feeling that he could go large on qualifying at Abu Dhabi; we shall see; it’s just a feeling.

But the straight money is on Vettel and Hamilton for the first row, and the rest of Red Bull, McLaren, Lotus and Ferrari to scrap it out behind.