https://weather.com/weather/weekend/l/AEXX0001:1:AE -In case there is any mystery the weather is superb...shocking LOL LH needs help to win - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton can only hope for Nico Rosberg failure - BBC Sport Toto Wolff on Rosberg-Hamilton Abu Dhabi showdown: May the best man win - Toto Wolff on Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton Abu Dhabi showdown - May the best man win Q - LH Nico Kimi R - Nico Kimi Ricci Looking foward to the new regs and cars in testing!!! This cant end soon enough, this season,-- and the new one cant start soon enough
Audi just had their last race 'around the corner' in Bahrain. Lots of high profile motorsport farewells this month. Well, I am hugely excited about this upcoming weekend. I have a feeling that Ros will take pole and just drive away. Q Ros-Ham-Vet R Ros-Vet-Rai
As usual a Mercedes 1-2 is expected, in no particular order. Logic says it should be Hamilton winning the GP, Rosberg coming 2nd, but taking the title.
I remain to have a deep distrust of Toto...Only if Nico's car finishes without car issues will those feelings be elevated somewhat.
Agree...Toto wants Elton to win...i'm a bit suspicious how it will unfold..on teh other hand, i suspect that Mercedes Boss preferes Nico to win.
Merc 1- 2. Snore fest as every one is predicting… No one will cry when this season is over and we can focus on next year.
I'm already focusing on next year. And yet, the tears are flowing anyway. Q: ROS - HAM - RIC R: HAM - ROS - VES
Highly unlikely it'll rain. That said, I think it was last year (or 2014) when it actually rained during the motoGP at Dubai...so never say never!
If Nico takes the pole with Ham 2nd the start of the race could be interesting. Nico would try to get out and 'just drive away' but if Ham stays in 2nd after the 1st turn then Nico will not be just driving away. Would Nico let Ham go by just to be safe and settle for 2nd and the title?
To avoid last race favouritism controversies Wolff will personally sabotage both of his cars by fitting bananas in their tailpipes to make sure none if them makes it to the end
If Hamilton ends up in a position to mount a serious attack I would suspect that Rosberg won't show too hard a defense. He would let him pass and turn the motor to Sunday Granny Drive-mode. Hamilton would turn the motor to some aggressive setting, pace away and all his fans would go on about how Rosberg was demolished once again. There is no reason for Rosberg to fight Hamilton. All he needs to do is stay ahead of the pack (2x RBR + 2x Ferrari), if he gets sucked into that, there will be trouble.
Almost certainly, this is what will happen. However, if for some strange reason Nico decides to fight it out wheel-to-wheel with Lewis, and even if he were to lose the title due to a resulting crash, I might end up actually liking him.
Since it's Abu Dhabi, I will throw my turban in the ring: Hamilton will win after a fake fight with Rosberg.
As long as Rosberg gets enough points to win the title, I couldn't care less. Hope Elton explodes at some point and fails to finish, or gets tasty with lil Maxie and ends up in a crash
For some reason, I predict a Hamilton victory and Rosberg DNF... although I will cross my fingers for the opposite. Verstappen will finish behind Merc. Ferrari... meh. I look forward to all aspects at Ferrari being better. Robb
NOVEMBER 24, 2016 Red Bull could spoil Rosberg title says Stewart Sir Jackie Stewart has warned that Nico Rosberg's bid for title glory this weekend could be spoiled by the Red Bulls. The German driver only has to finish third to guarantee his championship victory over Lewis Hamilton, but Red Bull's team boss Christian Horner has warned that a "tentative" Rosberg could open the door to his fast and keen drivers. F1 legend Stewart agrees ahead of the Abu Dhabi finale: "I think the two Red Bulls cars will be very, very competitive. That's what could decide the weekend." He told the Guardian newspaper that Ferrari will also be pushing for a good final result this weekend, "So we have four drivers capable of disturbing Nico Rosberg from having what I would call a calculated race". Another former F1 driver and Scot, Paul di Resta, agrees: "It is Nico's title to lose. "But the one danger for him is that he's too cautious, as he was in Monaco, and maybe Malaysia, where he collided with Vettel. "If the Red Bulls smell an overtake, they will go for it," the former Force India driver and now Williams reserve added.
That's why pole is going to be extremely important for Rosberg. From there with a short start straight he should be safe, given a decent start. Then he can control the race against the RBR from the front and permit Lewis to pass, should need be.
It's a tough position to be in. Red Bull's/Ferrari won't gain anything by crashing into him. Verstappen and Ricciardo are friends with Rosberg and they're not complete idiots, so they'll take some caution I'm sure. Hamilton OTOH has a LOT to gain by ''accidentally nudging'' Rosberg...even with a penalty he'll easily slot back into 4th or higher and winning the championship. His hardcore fans will all excuse him anyways. Worst that can happen is the championship being taken away from him but I've got a suspicious feeling they won't.