Abu Dhabi GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Red Bull

Preview Quotes - Red Bull

Sebastian Vettel - “I personally have very special memories of the Abu Dhabi circuit and race; it was here in 2010 that I became world champion for the first time in my favourite F1 car, the RB6. That was a weekend I will never forget and this year the race will mark another big moment in my career; my last race with Infiniti Red Bull Racing. Of course it will be an emotional weekend as we have great memories together, but I’ll enjoy the weekend with the team and with a bit of luck maybe we’ll get a final podium. The circuit itself is impressive. The five star Yas Marina Hotel spans the marina and across the track and is a spectacular landmark. One of the challenges of the track can be turn one which is very difficult to see and very fast. Also, turn 10, after the long straight which we take in first or second gear depending on the gear ratios, can be a good overtaking opportunity. I will arrive a bit earlier for the weekend as we have a show run with Infiniti in Dubai on Wednesday, which gives me a bit longer to enjoy the sunshine and warmth before we go back to winter in Europe!”

Daniel Ricciardo - “Like many modern circuits it’s obvious that a lot of thought has gone into making the Yas Marina Circuit as safe as it possibly can be. Of course that’s absolutely the right thing to do but the consequence is that there’s lots of run-off. It’s the way it’s got to be but you never feel like you’re putting the car on the line. However Yas still manages to get the adrenaline going. I really like the third sector, around and under the hotel. It’s got a bit more of a street circuit vibe and it’s good fun. Plus there’s the whole twilight racing thing. That’s a great idea; it seems to give the whole place a really good atmosphere and is quite different to anywhere else.”

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Abu Dhabi GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Mercedes

Preview Quotes - Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton - “Brazil was a great weekend for the team. Of course, it didn't go exactly to plan for me but second place in the circumstances was a good recovery and it was a great moment to get a record-breaking one-two finish for all the people who have worked so hard to give us this amazing car. I really felt like I connected with the fans in Sao Paulo and their support was just incredible - I still can't get over it now. That really inspires me heading into the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi. People talk about how long it's been since I won the title - but I honestly feel like I'm fighting for my first world championship all over again. Sure, I'm older and maybe a little bit wiser than I was back then. I've learnt a lot in the years since 2008 - but I'm still the same driver. I still have the same hunger, the same will to win, and I've been giving it everything I've got from the word go this season. I've had ups and downs along the way - but I've never once given up. I've managed to fight my way back from whatever has come my way and my approach doesn't change for this race. I've got a good record at the Abu Dhabi circuit. Last year was actually the only time I've not started on the front row or finished on the podium. But I've also had some misfortune there over the years - particularly in 2012. I'm hoping that bad luck won't play a part this time around and I know that the team has been working flat out to make sure it doesn't. I'm feeling relaxed, I'm feeling confident and I'm ready to win.”

Nico Rosberg - “After the disappointment of Austin, Brazil was just the way to bounce back with a great weekend for both me and the team. I felt in control from the very beginning and it was a big positive to take the lessons from Texas and put them into action. Of course, it wasn't enough to regain the lead in the championship as Lewis drove a strong race to finish just behind me. But the gap is smaller than before and I absolutely believe I still have the chance to take the title in Abu Dhabi. It won't be easy, but I'll be full attack - just as I have been all season. Although this has been my first year fighting for a world championship, I've never felt more comfortable than I have done this year. The team behind us have done an incredible job and it's great that they've given both of us equal opportunity to compete with each other. There have been difficult moments just as there have been amazing moments - but this is what Formula One is all about and I hope that everyone watching at home has enjoyed the story of this battle as much as I have. Win or lose, double points or no double points, I feel proud of what I have achieved this year and especially proud to have been a part of this fantastic season for the Silver Arrows. I go into this race with no fear and with every belief that this can be my title. It's not over until that flag drops!”

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Article Posted By: Amy Hawk

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Abu Dhabi GP: Circuit Preview

 (Image credit goes to: formafun.hu - All rights belong to the owner.)

We're finally down to the last race of the 2014 F1 Season. The Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi. This race will decide the drivers championship and also offer double points for the top 10 finishers.

So, it's time for our circuit preview.

"Yas Marina Circuit" is located in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE and is the current location for the Abu Dhabi GP. The circuit first opened in October of 2009.

The circuit is 3.451 miles in length and has 21 turns. This one runs anti-clockwise and has a capacity of 50,000. The race consists of 55 laps.

Last year Mark Webber started on Pole Position but finished Second. It was Sebastian Vettel who took the win, with Nico Rosberg coming in second.

There was only one retirement during the race and that was Kimi Raikkonen due to a collision.

Abu Dhabi is not usually the last race of the season, but it is this year and is always a fan favourite with it's desert layout and unique pit entry. This is also one of the only twilight races on the calendar.

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk

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Abu Dhabi GP: Schedule

We are now heading towards the final F1 race week of 2014. The last stop on the calendar? Abu Dhabi.

Here is the schedule for the upcoming week. Please note: The times are local for Abu Dhabi. If you'd like the times converted to your local region, don't hesitate to ask.

SCHEDULE:

November 20th / Thursday

15:00 - Drivers Press Conference (Located in the Press Room)

November 21st / Friday

13:00 - 14:30 - Free Practice #1

16:05 - 16:45 - Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk

17:00 - 18:30 - Free Practice #2

19:00 - 20:00 - Press Conference (Located in the Press Room)

November 22nd / Saturday 

11:05 - 11:45 - Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk

11:15 - 11:45 - Team Pit-Stop Practice

14:00 - 15:00 - Free Practice #3

15:05 - 16:20 - Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk

17:00 - Qualifying

November 23rd / Sunday

15:15 - 16:15 - Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk

15:20 - Fastest Lap of 2014 Award (Presented on the grid)

15:25 - End of 2014 Season Drivers Photograph (Grid)

15:30 - Drivers Track Parade

15:45 - 16:15 - Starting Grid Presentation

16:46 - National Anthem

17:00 - Race Start

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Feature: Star Drivers Of The Brazilian GP

Amy Hawk - "My driver of the weekend is Nico Hulkenberg. Although Force India had a tough weekend, Nico managed to get back to scoring points. He finished 8th, gaining 4 points for the team and he even had the lead for awhile. I think overall his pace this weekend was quite well and I know he'll be eager to score points at Abu Dhabi."

Frances Fry - "My driver of the weekend has got to be Felipe Massa. Not just because it was his home race but because he managed to finish on the podium! Despite finishing below his teammate regularly, this driver is determined and knows what he's aiming for. I couldn't be happier that Felipe got a podium in Brazil! What a way to (nearly) end your first season in a new team! 

It's only his second podium this season but I think he has successfully moved teams which is a great achievement. He has settled in at Williams very well and is obviously very comfortable and confident within the team. Confidence is key for success and I believe that is exactly what this driver achieved this weekend."

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Feature: Brazilian GP - Our Post-Race Quotes

Amy Hawk - "Brazil always brings lots of fans and it was great to see the stands full. People were waving flags and banners as always, gearing up for the start of the race.

I think the battle between Nico (Rosberg) and Lewis (Hamilton)  is getting more and more intense as this season draws to an end. There's only one more race and there's the factor of double points, which is pretty much going to decide the Drivers Championship and also where a lot of other drivers will end their season in the standings.

It was a tough day for Force India. A tough weekend, really. Daniel (Juncadella) crashed Sergio's (Perez) car in FP1, which limited his running until FP3 on Saturday. He also had the 7-place-grid-penalty from Austin, which meant he had to play catch-up for most of the race. Nico (Hulkenberg) managed to get 4 points for the team, but McLaren is further ahead in the points now.

As for Sauber, the weekend overall looked promising, but due Sutil starting from pit-lane and Esteban needing that last pit-stop to comply with the tyre rules, points were out of the picture. I still strongly believe that they have a good chance of points in Abu Dhabi. 

Huge congratulations to Nico Rosberg on his win, and also to Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa for their podium finish. All 3 drove an amazing race and I'm sure they'll be heading to Abu Dhabi with heads held high."

Frances Fry - "The topic at the track this weekend of course was Marussia and Caterham's financial state. Well, that and the commencing of "who will be where?" for next season. But let's not allow that to distract us from the incredible race that Brazil gave us! 

Due to resurfacing of the track and high levels of bitumen, tyre wear was very significant and hence, there were pit stops taking place here, there and everywhere! It was expected that the cars would make 3-4 stops during the race and we all know what pit stops mean. A shuffling of places! Perhaps the most surprising one was when Esteban Gutierrez spent a lap in 2nd place before pitting on the next lap. The race looked promising for the Mexican but towards the end of the race he found himself struggling and ended in 14th. 

Additionally, we saw Hulkenberg leading the race in his Force India. Although this was momentary, it wasn't the first time this had happened for the driver as several years ago he lead the Brazilian GP for around 30 laps! 

I think what I'm trying to say is that I appreciate the opportunities this track offers to driers further down the grid that you wouldn't necessarily expect to see in the front. I think the track definitely served a good race and I understand why it was the last race of the season in previous years.

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Brazilian GP: Race - Re-Cap & Results

The Brazilian GP didn't fail to impress, drawing in massive crowds of fans and spectators. The weather even decided to behave, which is quite shocking as Brazil is usually a wet race. But there was no rain in sight as the lights went out for the penultimate race of the 2014 season.

Nico Rosberg had a fantastic start, along with team-mate, Lewis Hamilton. The two are are in a battle for the Drivers Championship title. Lewis is going for his second, while Nico is aiming for his first F1 Championship title.

It was an unfortunate day for Daniel Ricciardo who was the first retirement of the race due to a suspension failure. His team-mate Vettel, had much better luck and finished the race in 5th, once of his best results this season.

Esteban Gutierrez, who started in 11th, managed to lead the race for a few laps before his pit-stop to switch to a fresh set of Medium compound tyres. His team-mate, Sutil was fighting to gain positions after having to start from Pit-Lane due to a problem with his cooling system. 

It was a tough day for Force India, with Perez starting from 18th due to a 7-Place-Grid-Penalty he was given after the US Grand Prix. Both Perez and Hulkenberg fought the whole race to try and get their team points. Due to the amount of pit-stops this race required, only Hulkenberg was able to finish in the points in 8th.

Williams struggled during the race with Massa getting a 5-second-stop-go penalty due to speeding in the pit-lane and Bottas had a long pit-stop due to needing his seat buckles adjusted. However, Felipe Massa was able to finish in 3rd at his home grand prix. Bottas was not as lucky and finished in 10th.

With only a handful of laps left in the race, Lotus instructed Romain Grosjean to pull his car over. This was due to a mechanical issue with his power unit. It was not a good end to the race for the Frenchman.

Nico Rosberg managed to stay ahead of his team-mate long enough to win the Brazilian GP. However, it could of been a different ending had Hamilton not had an unlucky spin. He did manage to finish Second and keep a 17 point lead in the Drivers Championship.

Now the teams pack up and have a few days off before heading to Abu Dhabi for the 2014 F1 season finale. We can't wait!

RACE RESULTS:

1. Nico Rosberg / Mercedes-Mercedes / Germany / + 25 Points

2. Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain / + 18 Points

3. Felipe Massa / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil / + 15 Points

4. Jenson Button / McLaren-Mercedes / Great Britain / + 12 Points

5. Sebastian Vettel / Red Bull-Renault / Germany / + 10 Points

6. Fernando Alonso / Ferrari-Ferrari / Spain / + 8 Points

7. Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland / + 6 Points

8. Nico Hulkenberg / Force India-Mercedes / Germany / + 4 Points

9. Kevin Magnussen / McLaren-Mercedes / Denmark / + 2 Points

10. Valtteri Bottas / Williams-Mercedes / Finland / + 1 Point

11. Daniil Kvyat / Toro Rosso-Renault / Russia

12. Pastor Maldonado / Lotus-Renault / Venezuela 

13. Jean-Eric Vergne / Toro Rosso-Renault / France

14. Esteban Gutierrez / Sauber-Ferrari / Mexico

15. Sergio Perez / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico

16. Adrian Sutil / Sauber-Ferrari / Germany

17. Romain Grosjean / Lotus-Renault / France / DNF - Power Unit

RETIRED - Daniel Ricciardo / Red Bull-Renault / Australia / Suspension Failure

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Brazilian GP: Qualifying - Re-Cap & Results

Thankfully it was another rain-less session and the drivers got busy with the lap times, trying to fight for Pole Position.

The Qualifying rules remained the same as In Austin, where in Q1 and Q2, it's only 4 cars knocked out of each round instead of the usual 6. But due to Caterham and Marussia unable to make it to Austin or Brazil, we're down to just 18 cars.

Sergio Perez has a 7-Place-Grid-Penalty from the accident in Austin, involving Adrian Sutil. He will start from 18th. Meanwhile, young Russian rookie, Daniil Kvyat, will start from 17th, carrying over his 10-Place-Grid-Penalty that he only served part of in Austin. His penalty was the result of changing his engine.

Nico Rosberg will start on Pole Position after a few hair-raising laps at the end of Q3. It looked as if Lewis Hamilton almost had Pole, but unfortunately for him, he wasn't as quick as Rosberg. 

The lone Brazilian driver on the grid, Felipe Massa, will start his home race from 3rd. He said himself he could've achieved pole, but was held up by another car on his hot lap.

Here's how the full grid line's up for the Brazilian GP!

STARTING GRID:

1. Nico Rosberg / Mercedes-Mercedes / Germany

2. Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain

3. Felipe Massa / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil

4. Valtteri Bottas / Williams-Mercedes / Finland

5. Jenson Button / McLaren-Mercedes / Great Britain

6. Sebastian Vettel / Red Bull-Renault / Germany

7. Kevin Magnussen / McLaren-Mercedes / Denmark

8. Fernando Alonso / Ferrari-Ferrari / Spain

9. Daniel Ricciardo / Red Bull-Renault / Australia

10. Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland

11. Esteban Gutierrez / Sauber-Ferrari / Mexico

12. Nico Hulkenberg / Force India-Mercedes / Germany

13. Adrian Sutil / Sauber-Ferrari / Germany

14. Romain Grosjean / Lotus-Renault / France

15. Jean-Eric Vergne / Toro Rosso-Renault / France

16. Pastor Maldonado / Lotus-Renault / Venezuela 

17. Daniil Kvyat / Toro Rosso-Renault / Russia*

18. Sergio Perez / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico*

* = Driver is serving a grid penalty

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Brazilian GP: Free Practice 3 - Re-Cap & Results

The last Free Practice session was luckily dry. However, the clouds still loomed overhead and it had rained overnight.

Sahara Force India seemed to be struggling, both drivers finishing the session in the final two spots. Sergio Perez hadn't got any track time until FP3, due to Daniel Juncadella crashing his car in Friday's FP1 session.

Mercedes once again finished 1-2, showing the crowd their usual track domination that they've been displaying throughout this whole season. Lewis Hamilton has never had good luck at this circuit, but his form looks promising for the race.

Here are the times from the session.

TIME SHEET:

1. Nico Rosberg - 1:10.446 / Mercedes-Mercedes

2. Lewis Hamilton - 1:10.560 / Mercedes-Mercedes

3. Felipe Massa - 1:10.875 / Williams-Mercedes

4. Valtteri Bottas - 1:11.054 / Williams-Mercedes

5. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:11.188 / Red Bull-Renault

6. Jenson Button - 1:11.210 / McLaren-Mercedes

7. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:11.316 / Ferrari-Ferrari

8. Fernando Alonso - 1:11.399 / Ferrari-Ferrari

9. Kevin Magnussen - 1:11.499 / McLaren-Mercedes

10. Daniil Kvyat - 1:11.834 / Toro Rosso-Renault

11. Sebastian Vettel - 1:11.967 / Red Bull-Renault

12. Pastor Maldonado - 1:12.069 / Lotus-Renault

13. Adrian Sutil - 1:12.184 / Sauber-Ferrari

14. Romain Grosjean - 1:12.235 / Lotus-Renault

15. Jean-Eric Vergne - 1:12.235 / Toro Rosso-Renault

16. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:12.286 / Sauber-Ferrari

17. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:12.324 / Force India-Mercedes

18. Sergio Perez - 1:12.942 / Force India-Mercedes

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Brazilian GP: Free Practice 2 - Re-Cap & Results

The weather continued to be a concern in the second session, as thunder clounds hung around the circuit and threatened to bring rain. Luckily, the circuit stayed dry. However, the forecast does not look that way for Qualifying.

Sergio Perez was unable to get into his Force India and complete any laps due to his car being worked on. Daniel Juncadella who drove his car in the first Practice session, crashed it into the barriers, damaging the front and some components. 

The first of 3 Red Flag's in this session was due to Jean-Eric Vergne being told to pull his car over to a stop, due to mechanical problems. Once the car was cleared from the track, the session resumed.

Fernando Alonso brought on the second flag when his Ferrari had a burst of flamed shoot out from the back. He promptly pulled the car over and got out calmly. He then went on to put the fire out until the marshals arrived to help.

The 3rd Red Flag was caused when Esteban Gutierrez's Sauber came to a stop. His car had been having issues all day. The session resumed when the car was cleared.

It was another Mercedes 1-2, with Nico Rosberg leading the times once again. Here are the rest of the times from the session.

TIME SHEET:

1. Nico Rosberg - 1:12.123 / Mercedes-Mercedes

2. Lewis Hamilton - 1:12.336 / Mercedes-Mercedes

3. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:12.696 / Ferrari-Ferrari

4. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:12.956 / Red Bull-Renault

5. Valtteri Bottas - 1:13.035 / Williams-Mercedes

6. Felipe Massa - 1:13.099 / Williams-Mercedes

7. Fernando Alonso - 1:13.122 / Ferrari-Ferrari

8. Daniil Kvyat - 1:13.254 / Toro Rosso-Renault

9. Sebastian Vettel - 1:13.333 / Red Bull-Renault

10. Kevin Magnussen - 1:13.479 / McLaren-Mercedes

11. Pastor Maldonado - 1:13.497 / Lotus-Renault

12. Romain Grosjean - 1:13.714 / Lotus-Renault

13. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:13.882 / Force India-Mercedes

14. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:13.902 / Sauber-Ferrari

15. Adrian Sutil - 1:14.204 / Sauber-Ferrari

16. Jenson Button - 1:14.209 / McLaren-Mercedes

17. Jean-Eric Vergne - 1:17.171 / Toro Rosso-Renault 

18. Sergio Perez / No Time Set / Force India-Mercedes

For more news and updates throughout the Brazilian GP weekend, follow us on Twitter @F1Insider78

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk

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