Monday 28 November 2016

Abu Dhabi - "We did it"

It was all looking positive from the very good plane smoke display put on by the race host.  There was nothing big at the start, which I didn't mind for once.  At least we didn't know the outcome of the race/championship by Lap 2.

Mercedes were playing it very cautious, giving the audience some worries during their very long first pit stops.  I say very long, 3.6 seconds for Hamilton on Lap 7 and 4.8 seconds for Rosberg on Lap 9.  Also - first pit stops on Lap 7!

Button showed the world why he's quitting F1 with his steering failure on Lap 12.  He sounded relieved.  And drunk during his post-race interview.

There was a lot of (unnecessary) tyre chat during the race.  When did Karun Chandok become an expert?  I'm not sure I believe anything he says.

On Lap 17, Kvyat showed us where his career is going when he got on his bike to go back to the pits.

It started to get a bit racy by Lap 20, everything was crossed that Verstappen wouldn't do anything silly when Rosberg went for the overtake.  Anytime Verstappen got in the mix, you were put on the edge.

I then have no notes until Lap 44, when Vettel became an "imminent threat".  The stewards finally got involved in the race on the next lap with Palmer.

We saw inside the Mercedes ICT support room a couple of time during the race.  I'm not sure what this added to our viewing pleasure.  The atmosphere was as electric as a Tuesday afternoon at the Hymans Robertson office.

As ever, there was a little something thrown in for the conspiracy theorists.  Was "41.5" a code for Hamilton?

It was a great end to a race and a season.  When Vettel overtook Verstappen on Lap 51 there were some tense laps.  Put out to Pastor commented on that the "reign of terror is over".  The Channel 4 coverage was so different from the BBC, there was no fawning and it did seem to reveal that perhaps Rosberg is the drivers' choice of driver.  Then there were lots of doughnuts.

This led to lots of lovely moments.  The coverage of the mums was nice.  How normal is Mama Hamilton (where was Dad?)?  I can't imagine her sitting down to a roast with Sh*tsinger.  Rosberg did get his anthem on the podium, thanks to the skewed nationality rules.  Rob Smedley had brought his family to the race, very cute.

Then Hamilton trotted out his spiel about how good the crowd is at this track.

Coulthard promised us "faster, wider, louder cars" next year.  I think I have finally cracked this Fantasy F1 lark, after decades of trying.  Crack open the rose water.

3 comments:

  1. Huge Congratulations Pitstop Princess! - Please just keep the thought that Williams look to have a great package for next year... ;)

    Rosberg won the championship (yet to be official); after that race - I feel he deserved it. Lewis certainly did not endear himself to those who value sportsmanship... Put out to Pastor is kinda correct in saying 'the reign of terror is over'... Lewis is an amazing competitor; if I were him - would I have wanted to try backing Nico into the chasers? - Maybe... I certainly wouldn't want to do nothing as I see the championship slip away. Every racing driver must have that edge. I also like hearing when drivers don't do as their team tells them to. I feel good that Rosberg looks to have the championship. It is time that Lewis didn't win it.

    It feels like it has been a strange and subdued year (even for formula one). Everything seems to have become much more about management; management of tires, strategy, drivers, ect... Verstappen seems to be a little bit of an edgy fucker though. We also need more humour in formula one (everyone takes themselves too seriously), and we also just need more of a raw edge; even though formula one has always mostly been a little rich boys club - it doesn't mean we have to accept it so easily. Maybe they should go radical and ban computer or electronics from cars - bring back some barbarism to the sport - no?

    Have a great Xmas and New Year all!

    Claire has to type...

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  2. Many congrats the Pitstop Princess. I am chuffed Rosberg won the Championship and although I am not a Hamilton fan I did kinda admire his Dick Dastardly moment. Surprised he wasn't throwing tacks and banana skins out of the cockpit on the last lap. It made for an exciting finale.

    Looking forward to next season where things will hopefully be more competitive with the new rules.

    Mark

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  3. Hello and many congratulations to the Pitstop Princess from all those enjoying an electric Tuesday afternoon in the Hymans Robertson offices!

    It must have stung for TPP to bet against her favourite team at the start of the season, but long-term heartbreak has been turned into a nice little Xmas bonus. Many thanks again for a year of great bants and for organising it so well.

    "Who deserved the 2016 F1 title?" is the next line of potentially divisive discussion, right after "Trump v Clinton" and "Brexit v Bremain". I'm with Rosberg only as much as he says that all such discussions are 'pointless'...

    As for who will win next year, I'm not making any guesses...
    ...as President Trump may mean that there isn't a next year...

    Hope everyone has a great Xmas and New Year and I'll see you at the Reckoning!

    ---Chris (Three teams, one dream)

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