The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Interesting developments for this weekend:

- Glock looks set to team up with everybody's favourite moderator at Renault

- Kimi has said it's Macca or nobody for next year, indicating a deal is done.

- Trulli and Sutil are still beaching about their Interlagos crash.

- Nobody likes the underground pit exit, which is taken at racing speed.

I'm hoping for Jenson to sign off his Championship in style.

What time is FP2?

Oh, I see it was earlier! Oops!

What time is FP2?

 

Oh, I see it was earlier! Oops!

Or even more, you ****ing moron.

US$ 400 for a ticket for the weekend. Nobody I know is bothering

Watching at home with Arabic commentary.

They've made a whole big thing about it with fanzones and free music and stuff on the main beach along with stuff happening each evening.

But boy was a lot of behind the scenes stuff lastminute.com breweries and large consumption is an oft used phrase for many of the local outsourced "event organisers". 1 parking space per 3 tickets, so have to park & ride from about 20kms away

They even forgot about laying a Dance Floor for the F1 Ball tonight until the very last moment - all the chicks in frocks doing the Quickstep on sand... still got sorted

Will be all right on the night though and no doubt spectacular

My brother was interviewed for a job at the circuit about 8 weeks ago, and he said he didn't think there was any possibility that the track would be ready on time for this race, there was so much left to do. He reckons they must have had construction workers pulling 24-hr shifts over the last month to finish it.

My brother was interviewed for a job at the circuit about 8 weeks ago, and he said he didn't think there was any possibility that the track would be ready on time for this race, there was so much left to do. He reckons they must have had construction workers pulling 24-hr shifts over the last month to finish it.

Not the last month, more the last 6 months...

The track has been fine for some time and a great deal of the main infrastructure, while not all complete, are at least safe from the public and ok for it to go ahead. But they even Wednesday they were still realising "things they had been trying to get contractors to reduce their prices for" did actually need to be on site BEFORE the race.

An example was the fanzone on the corniche - people and some of the acts turned up to find - "almost nothing" - why? Because one team organising and one team "spending money to get it built" didn't communicate and they had never bothered to answer the increasingly frantic calls from the contractors about getting access to build the approach path to get the staging built on the beach - result day one, screams of anger that the stages weren't built because trucks were stuck in the sand and the reply - "We tried to tell you answer your damned phones!"....

Another rumour was the F1 Ball needed 2,000sqm of flooring laid, they were still arguing about the price from the only available source 3 days after it was supposed to be laid and that as they had "forgotten" to order it in the first place.

Luckily people down here understand this and know it will happen.

But in reality, planning things "holistically" has never been a strong point down here, but the show always goes on, and always looks good.

Not heard good reports of the Beyonce gig down there last night from anyone except her most die hard fans - site was fine but seems to have got a bit of a meh.... Jamiroquai tonight

Kovi quickest in FP2 (hopefully his last race for McLaren)

1 Kovalainen

2 Hamilton

3 Button

4 Vettel

5 Kobayashi (0.8s quicker than Trulli)

Impressed with Kobayashi.

Impressed with Kobayashi.

So was I in the last race. I know he was playing the rookie role, but he showed some character, like he wouldn't be taken for granted. Yes, he was verging on dangerous at times, but that's racing. It's not a knitting contest.

he reminded me a lot of Irvine, brash and arrogant in his style but fun to watch

The race is obviously THE main event, but there's a lot of interesting behind the scenes stuff - showing how different it all is from Silverstone...

Just for background if you're interested.

http://www.timeoutabudhabi.com/knowledge/news

So F1 is just as sanitized for the fans at the circuit these days, as it is for every other aspect of the Sport

How things have changed from the total craziness we used to get up too, following F1 around the world in days gone by

"Major Faisal Mohammad Ali Al Shemmari, chairman of the Media Affairs Committee for the F1 Race at Abu Dhabi Police said that members of the public are not allowed to carry sharp items, fireworks and laser indicators into the venue.

"The public are allowed to carry one bottle of water and it should be kept open. Any food or other drinks are not allowed. A number of restaurants will be provided," he said.

The police are advising against taking children under the age of seven.

Officials recommend the use of ear plugs to soften the high-pitched sounds of the racing cars.

An operations room will be set up at the venue to help the public with emergency situations. Multilingual volunteers will be also be present at the circuit to help.

Prohibited items are those forbidden under the laws of the UAE, for example, firearms, explosives and other weapons.

Items not to carry to the circuit include any alcohol, food, beverages, glass bottles or containers, any metal flag or banner pole, any flag or banner pole longer than one metre, chairs, benches, stools, any cooler box or hamper or helium balloons.

No pets or animals are allowed, other than a guide dog used to assist a patron with a disability.

Items which could be used as a weapon or firearm - whether imitation or not - are prohibited.

In addition, golf buggies, bicycles, scooters, skateboards and in-line or roller skates, frisbees, prams and strollers, musical instruments and/or amplification equipment including public address systems, distress signals, whistles, loud hailers, horns or bugles, electronic equipment or other broadcast equipment are prohibited."

Apart from firearms, other weapons and animals none of those things are prohibited at Silverstone, so let's not tar all of F1 with the same brush, eh George?

heh....The last time i was at Silverstone, i very nearly got into a fight after making tooo much noise in the campsite after getting back from the Jordon party...Not just one person, ohh nooo...peeps from 'Three' tents got upset...At no later than '1 am' no less!

The writing was already on the wall for F1 for me by then anyway...That just kinda helped seal the deal.

What ever happend to the air horns, fireworks, reving bikes, bands playing and partying all through the night for 3-4 days straight, no matter what curcuit you went to.

I'm guessing some fun could still be had at Monza and maybe Spa could still cut it, and Monaco is, well Monaco ...but apart from that it all looks very bleak for future F1 fans

Thank god for NASCAR!

Go MONTY!

Alonso out in Q1.

Raikkonen 11th.

Kobayashi 12th

Brit 1-2 would be nice.

Nice one Lewis!

Lewis

Vettel

Webber

Barri

Button

Trulli

Kubrica

Heidfeld

Rosberg

Buemi

Not bad looking grid. My 5 favourite drivers/teams in the top 5.

Hopefully Button can validate his WDC with at least a podium.

Not bad looking grid. My 5 favourite drivers/teams in the top 5.

 

Hopefully Button can validate his WDC with at least a podium.

I don't get that reasoning mate. Button validated his WDC by getting more points than anyone else. That's good enough. He could come last and it wouldn't matter a jot.

I know. It's the British way. Not only must he win his title, but he must appear to do it effortlessly.

I don't get that reasoning mate. Button validated his WDC by getting more points than anyone else. That's good enough. He could come last and it wouldn't matter a jot.

 

I know. It's the British way. Not only must he win his title, but he must appear to do it effortlessly.

More for the anti-Button boys who say be has limped to the finish line rather than stamp his name all over the championship. Let's not forget he hasn't won a GP since Turkey...

I don't get that reasoning mate. Button validated his WDC by getting more points than anyone else. That's good enough. He could come last and it wouldn't matter a jot.

 

I know. It's the British way. Not only must he win his title, but he must appear to do it effortlessly.

No question he'd earned it in my book, not least with that great drive at Interlagos.

With so many critics, it would be nice to get another podium, just to show the doubters he's still got it when the car is working.

I think that he will try his hardest to help Barri get up to second in the final table even if it means he himself gives up

a podium place.

Well, your on the spot reporter is just back. 1 hour 15 minutes from the track to my home (95kms) using the Park & Ride system they have set up, not a traffic jam in sight.

Manged to use our contractors passes for the concert to access the area behind the main Grandstand, the F1 fanzone, so I have no idea what goes on on the track anyway so will keep it for future visitors.

The site is an Island all the access routes are by motorway standard 8 lane highways. 3 Park & Rides avoid the hassle of the jams at each of the checkpoints for cars & tickets, they check you as you get on the bus and we were inside.

First thing is it is a complete wasteland around it, except for the roads and carparks. The Yas Islands Hotel complex is really neat - about 6 franchised 4 & 5 star about 100m from the track.

The buses have special lanes and stop at each of the main Stand entrances. A ticket check to get in and then a short walk under the track to the main Grandstand where they have a proper airport style secuity check - not sure if it's to stop nutters or make the tourists feel safe.

The facilties are FAR FAR FAR superior to Bahrain (one cafe serving Sandwiches for 20,000 people when I went).

The F1 zone has collection of stalls displaying sponsors stuff, game zone BEER TENT! - Heineken or Strongbow only Aed 30 for 500cc - about 4.80 a pint - standard for here, wines and spirits on sale. The food places looked in short supply and big queues for water & soft drinks.

F1 official merchandise - Polo's Aed 350 - about US$100 and T Shirts Aed 240 - about 40 quid.

Would say of the crowd 80% were "not locals". Loads of Airhostess types in their clubbing outfits, women dreaming of Ferraris in D&G shades and Ballgowns FFS? Blokes in the standard Baseball cap T Shirts Cargo shorts and trainers. Think the chicks thought it was Ascot without the hats - was a bit odd, but damn, they looked good! Quite a few kids with their folks as well

The stands operate a scanner to get in through turnstiles so we couldn't get in, found a couple of spots where we could see the cars go by in practice and take pictures of some blurs.

ALL the volunteers, security etc were amazingly helpful and friendly - unusual for down here, they looked like they had been trained.

We had our beer and wandered up to the North Stand end by the big Red Ferrari World building. Very little in the way of facilities up there but a much better place to watch from than down by the Paddock in the stands and we found a good spot to watch and do the artistic photos of car with setting sun. Should think people up here found the shortage of "merchandising" etc a pain, there are buses that run you down to the Fanzone.

The after party (which is actually why I blagged the contractors passes) was held in front of the Ferrari building - it made for the most spectacular gig venue I've seen down here, sort of like a U-Shaped Wembley Stadium gig set up. Easy to get booze but the food and toilets got swamped, someone said they waited an hour for a burger so shows the lack of food in the circuit. Concert was better than fantastic but not as good as Coldplay. Afterwards they had a holding pen of Buses back to the Park & Ride and we actually got on a bus as some in the stadium were still singing we want more.

Summary. It was a heck of a race against time, but those Abu Dhabi boys have REALLY built something special. I could fully understand Ecclestone's comments about Silverstone pulling their socks up, if you take out the History of the British GP it is like comparing the new Wembley to Nottarf Krap. I actually think the boys down the road have shown their younger upstart a thing or two about how to do things properly. I think they've created something quite amazing down there. Hope it all goes well & safely tomorrow

I went to Bahrain and it was pants and it put me right off. Yet as you drive into the site at Yas Island, you can see it is something special, wish I was bl**dy going tomorrow now. Darn it

Well, your on the spot reporter is just back. 1 hour 15 minutes from the track to my home (95kms) using the Park & Ride system they have set up, not a traffic jam in sight.

 

Manged to use our contractors passes for the concert to access the area behind the main Grandstand, the F1 fanzone, so I have no idea what goes on on the track anyway so will keep it for future visitors.

 

The site is an Island all the access routes are by motorway standard 8 lane highways. 3 Park & Rides avoid the hassle of the jams at each of the checkpoints for cars & tickets, they check you as you get on the bus and we were inside.

 

First thing is it is a complete wasteland around it, except for the roads and carparks. The Yas Islands Hotel complex is really neat - about 6 franchised 4 & 5 star about 100m from the track.

 

The buses have special lanes and stop at each of the main Stand entrances. A ticket check to get in and then a short walk under the track to the main Grandstand where they have a proper airport style secuity check - not sure if it's to stop nutters or make the tourists feel safe.

 

The facilties are FAR FAR FAR superior to Bahrain (one cafe serving Sandwiches for 20,000 people when I went).

 

The F1 zone has collection of stalls displaying sponsors stuff, game zone BEER TENT! - Heineken or Strongbow only Aed 30 for 500cc - about 4.80 a pint - standard for here, wines and spirits on sale. The food places looked in short supply and big queues for water & soft drinks.

F1 official merchandise - Polo's Aed 350 - about US$100 and T Shirts Aed 240 - about 40 quid.

Would say of the crowd 80% were "not locals". Loads of Airhostess types in their clubbing outfits, women dreaming of Ferraris in D&G shades and Ballgowns FFS? Blokes in the standard Baseball cap T Shirts Cargo shorts and trainers. Think the chicks thought it was Ascot without the hats - was a bit odd, but damn, they looked good! Quite a few kids with their folks as well

 

The stands operate a scanner to get in through turnstiles so we couldn't get in, found a couple of spots where we could see the cars go by in practice and take pictures of some blurs.

 

ALL the volunteers, security etc were amazingly helpful and friendly - unusual for down here, they looked like they had been trained.

 

We had our beer and wandered up to the North Stand end by the big Red Ferrari World building. Very little in the way of facilities up there but a much better place to watch from than down by the Paddock in the stands and we found a good spot to watch and do the artistic photos of car with setting sun. Should think people up here found the shortage of "merchandising" etc a pain, there are buses that run you down to the Fanzone.

 

The after party (which is actually why I blagged the contractors passes) was held in front of the Ferrari building - it made for the most spectacular gig venue I've seen down here, sort of like a U-Shaped Wembley Stadium gig set up. Easy to get booze but the food and toilets got swamped, someone said they waited an hour for a burger so shows the lack of food in the circuit. Concert was better than fantastic but not as good as Coldplay. Afterwards they had a holding pen of Buses back to the Park & Ride and we actually got on a bus as some in the stadium were still singing we want more.

 

Summary. It was a heck of a race against time, but those Abu Dhabi boys have REALLY built something special. I could fully understand Ecclestone's comments about Silverstone pulling their socks up, if you take out the History of the British GP it is like comparing the new Wembley to Nottarf Krap. I actually think the boys down the road have shown their younger upstart a thing or two about how to do things properly. I think they've created something quite amazing down there. Hope it all goes well & safely tomorrow

 

I went to Bahrain and it was pants and it put me right off. Yet as you drive into the site at Yas Island, you can see it is something special, wish I was bl**dy going tomorrow now. Darn it

Rule uno.

Rule uno.

Well, I didn't bother taking pictures because

1) The GF has a mean Right Hook and (even trying to say - doesn't she look that Bond Girl in.... ouch didn't work)

2) Flickr is a banned site down here and nobody else has ever told me any other way to post pics using IE....

May change my Avatar to a KoL gig pic when I finish downloading all the video. Brilliant gig and all I had to do was pretend I was an erection specialist.

No, honest, the mate who got me the passes erects the stages and stuff (Scaffolding Co) now one of the biggest stage builders in the world, so the GF thought he was being serious when he told her to tell security if she was questioned that "she was here to make sure all the erections were still standing"

PMSL when she nearly fell for it at the first security checkpoint (hence the OTHER reason I couldn't look too close)

But it is a hell of a place they've built

Did see 2 red Ferarris zoom past the bus on the way in about an hour before practice (them new ones) each with an obligatory WAG in the passenger seat - sweet and on the way down was overtaken (actually wooshed) by a Bentley Convertible, a Maserati and a Porsche nose to tali being chased down by a Toyota Tercel holding up a yellow Lambo

That WAS funny

Well, I didn't bother taking pictures because

 

1) The GF has a mean Right Hook and (even trying to say - doesn't she look that Bond Girl in.... ouch didn't work)

 

2) Flickr is a banned site down here and nobody else has ever told me any other way to post pics using IE....

 

May change my Avatar to a KoL gig pic when I finish downloading all the video. Brilliant gig and all I had to do was pretend I was an erection specialist.

 

No, honest, the mate who got me the passes erects the stages and stuff (Scaffolding Co) now one of the biggest stage builders in the world, so the GF thought he was being serious when he told her to tell security if she was questioned that "she was here to make sure all the erections were still standing"

 

PMSL when she nearly fell for it at the first security checkpoint (hence the OTHER reason I couldn't look too close)

 

But it is a hell of a place they've built

 

Did see 2 red Ferarris zoom past the bus on the way in about an hour before practice (them new ones) each with an obligatory WAG in the passenger seat - sweet and on the way down was overtaken (actually wooshed) by a Bentley Convertible, a Maserati and a Porsche nose to tali being chased down by a Toyota Tercel holding up a yellow Lambo

 

That WAS funny

What a dull day by all accounts. No way near as good as watching the qualifying whilst setting up my new PC and then reading about it afterwards online.

Alonso out in Q1.

Yeah, stunning. From WCC to third from last in the Championship in 3 short years. What a fall from grace. As an aside, has anyone ever seen a modern era F1 car start a race heavier than Romain's Renault will tomorrow? 710kg, that's over 100kg of fuel on board, with Alonso only one lap shorter. Could be interesting.

As we get no English Language coverage over here, has anything been discussed about the different conditions track temperatures tyre performances as it gets dark and the track cools? Yesterday the track temp hit about 51C, I'm no buff but doesn't the grip etc get affected? making for possibly interesting race strategies?

Anyway off to watch now I know the commentary word for word

dirka dirka jihad Jihad LoooooWEEEEs Harrrmeelton, Jeansan Booton, Kurvaaalinen, dirka dirka soft compound jihad jihad one stop strategy Alonso, Alonso Alonso habla habla shukhran

Lovely track, lovely setting. Race was an utter bore until the final few laps. Once again, the following car performs less well than the leading car once the following car catches it. They must address this in the design rules for next season. And perhaps the races could be shorter..? Say, around 40 laps instead of 70 odd..? The only thing to stop me nodding off [all season] once again is a British World Champion. Well done Jenson.

Oh well done Kobayashi again.

Yeah, stunning. From WCC to third from last in the Championship in 3 short years. What a fall from grace. As an aside, has anyone ever seen a modern era F1 car start a race heavier than Romain's Renault will tomorrow? 710kg, that's over 100kg of fuel on board, with Alonso only one lap shorter. Could be interesting.

It wasn't.

Just back from work, forgot to record the race, although that appears to have been a good thing. Great to see another win for Red Bull, hopefully they can be a bit more consistent next year. Assuming Macca and Ferrari get their acts together (and if Kimi goes back to McLaren), the WDC could be an 8 horse race next season.

Kudos to Kobayashi too. Finishing ahead of Trulli in his second race is quite an achievement.

Do you reckon next year's car will be better Ponty? I'd hate to see Kubica stuck in dog again.

Just back from work, forgot to record the race, although that appears to have been a good thing. Great to see another win for Red Bull, hopefully they can be a bit more consistent next year. Assuming Macca and Ferrari get their acts together (and if Kimi goes back to McLaren), the WDC could be an 8 horse race next season.

 

Kudos to Kobayashi too. Finishing ahead of Trulli in his second race is quite an achievement.

 

Do you reckon next year's car will be better Ponty? I'd hate to see Kubica stuck in dog again.

It's all relative. The R30 will be better than the R29 but it's all about how much better everyone else's 2010 car is than their 2009 models. We do have the most economical engine though, and that has to help with no refuelling. Plus, despite their b*tching, Red Bull have managed to win 6 races with Renault Power and haven't had to take a penalty for an engine change.

It's all about our aero team.

There was an Aussie Impresssionist called The Twelth Man. His forte was to do a spoof of the Aussie "Wide World of Sports" show, which went on to be a spoof of most things to do with Cricket Commentators.

His funniest was doing Richie Benaud reporting on an Allan Border era test against India, totally non-PC but the names were very funny (pm for some but I don't want to be breaking no rules with all the mods on this thread)

Anyway, in his Wired World of Sports version circa the 80's the "Studio" went over to Murray Walker reporting on a GP... A few lead in jokes about James Hunt (RIP) and the punchline I still recall every time I watch a GP these days....

These F*cking cars just keep f*cking going round and f*cking round it's so f*cking boring... In a perfect Murray impression it summed up F1 of late.

Will try and find the link

How true, someone should find the clip

These F*cking cars just keep f*cking going round and f*cking round it's so f*cking boring... In a perfect Murray impression it summed up F1 of late.

 

Of late..?

And I thought I had a lousy memory.

It was one of the dullest races I can remember. It was as bad as the last MotoGP race.

It says a lot about F1 , when the highlight was one car being quite close to another car for about 2 laps.

It says a lot about F1 , when the highlight was one car being quite close to another car for about 2 laps.

Oh yeah, you can judge an entire sport on 1 bit of 1 event. Bit like saying:

"It says a lot about football, when the highlight was 1 player being sent off to knock the ball away from an opposing player" (with reference to Birmingham/Citeh yesterday)

It was one of the dullest races I can remember. It was as bad as the last MotoGP race.

Agreed Ponty, but MotoGP has dull moments and is generally interesting. F1 has interesting moments, but...

It says a lot about F1 , when the highlight was one car being quite close to another car for about 2 laps.

You could say stuff like that about a lot of sports though.

"It says a lot about darts when the highlight was a lardy northerner throwing a dart at a small piece of cork."

"It says a lot about tennis when the highlight of the match was an Eastern European lesbian hitting a small ball slightly wide of a white line."

"It says a lot about golf when the highlight of the game was an incredibly rich South African hitting a small ball into a lake."

Tbh, I think Hatch makes a relevant point. For all the noise and back slapping that goes on about F1, it is often woefully uninteresting as a race. As a spectacle, it is brilliant. But that's not what it's all about is it..? If you say yes it is, then you lost the idea of F1, IMO. For very many years now, it has been the Emperor's clothes. If we all say how brilliant it is, perhaps it will be. Well it isn't. It's processional and there's little overtaking. And the last couple of seasons have been a lot better than average. Jenson Button showed in the last few laps how he could chase up on another car. It was pretty good watching him do it. Then the cursed aero problems came in [for pete's sake, sort that out, F1] of the following car, and he couldn't get by.

There's huge potential real excitement in F1, not just drummed up hype. And season after season it is largely wasted. I still watch in hope that one day they'll finally sort it out.

Tbh, I think Hatch makes a relevant point. For all the noise and back slapping that goes on about F1, it is often woefully uninteresting as a race. As a spectacle, it is brilliant. But that's not what it's all about is it..? If you say yes it is, then you lost the idea of F1, IMO. For very many years now, it has been the Emperor's clothes. If we all say how brilliant it is, perhaps it will be. Well it isn't. It's processional and there's little overtaking. And the last couple of seasons have been a lot better than average. Jenson Button showed in the last few laps how he could chase up on another car. It was pretty good watching him do it. Then the cursed aero problems came in [for pete's sake, sort that out, F1] of the following car, and he couldn't get by.

 

There's huge potential real excitement in F1, not just drummed up hype. And season after season it is largely wasted. I still watch in hope that one day they'll finally sort it out.

Brasil was a great race, and that was only 2 weeks ago. Also, only yesterday, Button was following Webber so closely that his front wing was under the diffuser of the RBR car. Can't follow? My arse. Scared to crash trying to overtake? Yes, probably.

Brasil was a great race, and that was only 2 weeks ago. Also, only yesterday, Button was following Webber so closely that his front wing was under the diffuser of the RBR car. Can't follow? My arse. Scared to crash trying to overtake? Yes, probably.

True. Is Button had been following Webber like that needing the extra points to get the Championship, then you can bet he would have tried that extra 1% to get by. I was saying to my Dad at the time that you could imagine Ross on the radio to Jenson say "For ****s sake dont bin it now with 2 corners to go, just give Webber some pressure but DONT risk a crash"

Brasil was a great race, and that was only 2 weeks ago. Also, only yesterday, Button was following Webber so closely that his front wing was under the diffuser of the RBR car. Can't follow? My arse. Scared to crash trying to overtake? Yes, probably.

And that is exactly the response I was expecting. You can point to one instance, or one race, and everything's supposed to be alright. Even the experts after this last race were saying how the double diffuser had got around the aerodynamics, and so still made it too difficult to get close enough to overtake.

I'm sorry mate, but there's no two ways around it. It isn't as exciting as it ought to be, and they've got to sort it out. Pretty soon someone respected enough will say, actually guys, this isn't as good as it was 20 or 30 years ago, time we stopped kidding ourselves, and made the racing really great to watch again.

Because that what it needs. Well they've made a start in the right direction from next year. No more refuelling. Great. At least that means the owness is much more in the hands of the driver. I'd also like to see the end of Car/Pit radio. Only allow what can be put onto a information board at the end of a lap. That puts it into the drivers hands even more, and mistakes can happen. Mistakes mean drama, and that's more excitement.

The only way to decrease the aero effect on the car behind is to allow ground effects once more. Unfortunately corner speeds will increase to unsafe levels once more. I think it says a lot that 2000-2009 has been the first decade without a driver fatality and it's coincided with the aero war. Personally I think the aero regs are just about right and I agree about the double diffuser. It was clearly outside the spirit of the new regs and it's no coincidence that the best of the DDD cars won the championship in the first 7 races of the season. It's also no surprise that Brawn is bleating about the diffuser now it's of no advantage any more. I don't think it's the difference in overtaking though. Kobayashi proved that a bit of recklessness will get you past, but strategies call for cars to make it to the finish nowadays. Gung-ho manoeuvres lose races while conservativeness wins championships - ask Jenson. The biggest problem nowadays is the the Tilke tracks which are too narrow, especially on corner exits. Interlagos has noticeably wider corners and the overtaking is always awesome there.

Hot news just in from Yas Marina.

Apparently the cleaners found 47 people still fast asleep in the stands having been that way since Friday Practice.

More follows after I get the linky thing to Time Out Abu Dhabi working properly

Tilke's tracks look good on paper. Long straights with hard braking zones. They just don't have the soul of Spa, Monza, Silverstone or Suzuka. With Spa and Interlagos I think changes in elevation play a large part, as do local weather patterns.

Tilke's tracks look good on paper. Long straights with hard braking zones. They just don't have the soul of Spa, Monza, Silverstone or Suzuka. With Spa and Interlagos I think changes in elevation play a large part, as do local weather patterns.

I'll have to check but I'm sure I read somewhere in our pre-race notes on Abu Dhabi that the Yas Marinas track featured a change in elevation equivalent to an 18 storey building.