2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Yas Marina, Dec 10 - 12

[dans79]

It makes no sense on this track, you can't defend track position, many straights, DRS, track position is very useless here.

I wouldn't say useless, but the removal of all the really slow turns/chicanes will make passing easier. Not to mention the track is very wide in some of the overtaking zones, so you can't realistically block very well either!

[El Scorchio]

Maybe bottas should change his engine and help the team..

TBH I don't the team would want to risk having him not up the front of the grid. There's no way they'll want two Red Bulls right next to Hamilton with no Bottas there.

BOT is very fast around here, so why not they choose to split strategies with his car setup towards qualy and HAM towards the race and be the fastest or way faster in the top speed traps?

They could do- in order to try and go 1-2 on the grid. I think the start may be the most difficult part of the race to manage, so they'll want to try and make sure as best they can to negotiate a drama free one. 1-2 seems the best bet.

[atanatizante]

VER has more drawbacks than HAM at this race:
- a 7th race old PU
- a wrecked gearbox, presumably
- the main tyre in this one-stop race - namely the hard C3 tyre - is mighty on the W12 car
- the new track changes, both for nullifying the traction zones and S3 twisty sections where RB16B`s downforce superiority should have prevailed. Thus this track is transformed from a rear limited track to a front limited track working against them
- his only chance of winning is to set up his car more towards qualy, as he did in Saudi but this would slow him in the race as we could see that last Sunday ... had he will do the other way around he could end up 3rd in qualy and then it`s a very good chance that HAM win could be a walk in the parc starting from the first row
- W12`s squat trick will be reinforced again here and there are big chances to have a big impact as it did in Turkey
- last but not least, the morale of being 2nd in the last 3 races and knowing they have a slightly slower car adds up big time!
...
Just feel free to add had I missed something ...
---

[El Scorchio]

Actually, I'm unclear on the gearbox situation. Can they not change it between races without incurring a penalty? Surely they can?

[nimoraca]

Actually, I'm unclear on the gearbox situation. Can they not change it between races without incurring a penalty? Surely they can?

They can't, it has to last certain number of consecutive races (6 I believe). It does not work the same way as with engines, where you have a pool of engines and you can choose which one to use.

[El Scorchio]

Actually, I'm unclear on the gearbox situation. Can they not change it between races without incurring a penalty? Surely they can?

They can't, it has to last certain number of consecutive races (6 I believe). It does not work the same way as with engines, where you have a pool of engines and you can choose which one to use.

Thanks! That's right- only after a DNF.
However I hope after completing a full race distance after the impact with the wall it should be fine for one last race.

[Big Tea]

Actually, I'm unclear on the gearbox situation. Can they not change it between races without incurring a penalty? Surely they can?

They can't, it has to last certain number of consecutive races (6 I believe). It does not work the same way as with engines, where you have a pool of engines and you can choose which one to use.

There must be some sort of pool as they use a 'friday gearbox'. Or is it for races only?

[RZS10]

Someone correct me if i'm wrong, but the sporting regulations (page 23) only speak of "races" so technically they could just use the gearboxes there, but for obvious reasons they have to have them in the car in quali (parc fermé) and given that no one wants to do the swap between sessions on saturday they have them in the car in FP3 already - but on friday they can use any of the old gearboxes since there's no mention of any pool or any limit - the expception being the first few races where they only have one gearbox i assume, so friday gearboxes only become a thing past the initial six race sequence.

[Big Tea]

Someone correct me if i'm wrong, but the sporting regulations (page 23) only speak of "races" so technically they could just use the gearboxes there, but for obvious reasons they have to have them in the car in quali (parc fermé) and given that no one wants to do the swap between sessions on saturday they have them in the car in FP3 already - but on friday they can use any of the old gearboxes since there's no mention of any pool or any limit - the expception being the first few races where they only have one gearbox i assume, so friday gearboxes only become a thing past the initial six race sequence.

Thanks, makes sense to me

[nimoraca]

Actually, I'm unclear on the gearbox situation. Can they not change it between races without incurring a penalty? Surely they can?

They can't, it has to last certain number of consecutive races (6 I believe). It does not work the same way as with engines, where you have a pool of engines and you can choose which one to use.

There must be some sort of pool as they use a 'friday gearbox'. Or is it for races only?

Races and qualifying sessions, free practice sessions are exempt from this rule.

[Bill_Kar]

VER has more drawbacks than HAM at this race:
- a 7th race old PU
- a wrecked gearbox, presumably
- the main tyre in this one-stop race - namely the hard C3 tyre - is mighty on the W12 car
- the new track changes, both for nullifying the traction zones and S3 twisty sections where RB16B`s downforce superiority should have prevailed. Thus this track is transformed from a rear limited track to a front limited track working against them
- his only chance of winning is to set up his car more towards qualy, as he did in Saudi but this would slow him in the race as we could see that last Sunday ... had he will do the other way around he could end up 3rd in qualy and then it`s a very good chance that HAM win could be a walk in the parc starting from the first row
- W12`s squat trick will be reinforced again here and there are big chances to have a big impact as it did in Turkey
- last but not least, the morale of being 2nd in the last 3 races and knowing they have a slightly slower car adds up big time!
...
Just feel free to add had I missed something ...
---

Agreed.

Just, I'm unsure whether being quali-oriented is the best choice for RB or not. Granted, they are with their backs to the wall, but Race will be much more important since it's even easier to pass now.

But on the other hand, if Mercedes dominates front row, and Lewis turns first, there's a possibility you might never see him again, that's also a problem.

[rogazilla]

VER has more drawbacks than HAM at this race:
- a 7th race old PU
- a wrecked gearbox, presumably
- the main tyre in this one-stop race - namely the hard C3 tyre - is mighty on the W12 car
- the new track changes, both for nullifying the traction zones and S3 twisty sections where RB16B`s downforce superiority should have prevailed. Thus this track is transformed from a rear limited track to a front limited track working against them
- his only chance of winning is to set up his car more towards qualy, as he did in Saudi but this would slow him in the race as we could see that last Sunday ... had he will do the other way around he could end up 3rd in qualy and then it`s a very good chance that HAM win could be a walk in the parc starting from the first row
- W12`s squat trick will be reinforced again here and there are big chances to have a big impact as it did in Turkey
- last but not least, the morale of being 2nd in the last 3 races and knowing they have a slightly slower car adds up big time!
...
Just feel free to add had I missed something ...
---

Agreed.

Just, I'm unsure whether being quali-oriented is the best choice for RB or not. Granted, they are with their backs to the wall, but Race will be much more important since it's even easier to pass now.

But on the other hand, if Mercedes dominates front row, and Lewis turns first, there's a possibility you might never see him again, that's also a problem.

Just to add, VER had PU3 and PU4 for the final races. We simply don't know how RBR Honda used those engines. So this final race, he could be using an engine that's gone though 4 races or 7.

[Jolle]

About the gearboxes and why they are exempt from FP. If they would have to run a sealed gearbox, most teams wouldn’t run FP or very little FP sessions because a GB degrades a lot with milage and possible crashes. They can use a serviceable unit for the Friday.

[NathanOlder]

I think Red Bull might have to make a play like Jeddah and go for a qualifying setup again. Surely track position is realistically a better tactic than hoping for a safety car on a track with tonnes of run off and less silly corners to trip over other cars?

I dont think it will work in Abu Dhabi , the only reason it worked in Jeddah was because it was hard to fire up the tyres in a single lap and get them in to the right operating window.

[Bill_Kar]

VER has more drawbacks than HAM at this race:
- a 7th race old PU
- a wrecked gearbox, presumably
- the main tyre in this one-stop race - namely the hard C3 tyre - is mighty on the W12 car
- the new track changes, both for nullifying the traction zones and S3 twisty sections where RB16B`s downforce superiority should have prevailed. Thus this track is transformed from a rear limited track to a front limited track working against them
- his only chance of winning is to set up his car more towards qualy, as he did in Saudi but this would slow him in the race as we could see that last Sunday ... had he will do the other way around he could end up 3rd in qualy and then it`s a very good chance that HAM win could be a walk in the parc starting from the first row
- W12`s squat trick will be reinforced again here and there are big chances to have a big impact as it did in Turkey
- last but not least, the morale of being 2nd in the last 3 races and knowing they have a slightly slower car adds up big time!
...
Just feel free to add had I missed something ...
---

Agreed.

Just, I'm unsure whether being quali-oriented is the best choice for RB or not. Granted, they are with their backs to the wall, but Race will be much more important since it's even easier to pass now.

But on the other hand, if Mercedes dominates front row, and Lewis turns first, there's a possibility you might never see him again, that's also a problem.

Just to add, VER had PU3 and PU4 for the final races. We simply don't know how RBR Honda used those engines. So this final race, he could be using an engine that's gone though 4 races or 7.

Absolutely.

I also think, if one of the two teams crank up the engine more, it is RB. So, not only MV's PU has more races in its back, it might even exceed a little bit the limit. That said, of course I don't want the title to be decided by reliability issues, but I definitely get that RB might have the temptation to do it nonetheless.