2014 Abu Dhabi GP - Yas Marina

[MercedesAMGSpy]

Lewis needs to give it all in quali. Pole? Fantastic. P2? Great. Then survive the start and bring the car home. No need for glory runs or taking huge risks. Nico needs to do that to win the race.

[Multi21]

Only problem I can see for Hamilton is possibility of messing his lap in Q3 and maybe drop behind one williams which could be set up really fast on the straights

i dont see this being an issue, the only time the williams were ever a threat to Merc was in Austria and both drivers jumped ahead either on track or under cutting in the pitstops. A merc driver behind a williams would harass him until the latter either runs out of tires or makes a mistake. And honestly if i was a Williams driver, i would not want to be the one blamed for ruining a great championship battle.

[Manoah2u]

Only problem I can see for Hamilton is possibility of messing his lap in Q3 and maybe drop behind one williams which could be set up really fast on the straights

i dont see this being an issue, the only time the williams were ever a threat to Merc was in Austria and both drivers jumped ahead either on track or under cutting in the pitstops. A merc driver behind a williams would harass him until the latter either runs out of tires or makes a mistake. And honestly if i was a Williams driver, i would not want to be the one blamed for ruining a great championship battle.

Not to mention that Williams has a Mercedes engine in the back and Wolff's girlfriend Susie is part of the Williams team....
And i'm not sure whether by now he sold it all, but until recently he had still a stake in Williams shares.....

[Jonnycraig]

Not to mention that Williams has a Mercedes engine in the back and Wolff's girlfriend Susie is part of the Williams team....

Nope. She's a Mercedes reserve driver now.

[tranquility2k4]

Something else to add to the equation - I'm not sure if anyone has yet mentioned the possibility of Rosberg purposely backing up Hamilton into the cars behind. If Rosberg is leading Hamilton and they have Williams or Red Bulls behind and it's especially hard to overtake, then his only chance for them to have a go at Hamilton may be for him to drive really slowly through sector 3, where it's near impossible to overtake, then leave Hamilton vulnerable through sectors 1 and 2 - if this does happen then things could get nasty.

One other thing - has anyone considered the true reason as to why McLaren has delayed their talks until at least 1st Dec? Add to that Toto has now said he intended to sit down with Lewis on the Monday or Tuesday (24th/25th Nov) after the race regarding any new contract talks. Could this be a sign of A. Alonso holding out until he knows more about those contract talks and B. Lewis possibly going back to McLaren.

There were rumours a month or two ago that Lewis had signed for McLaren again, but there's been nothing on that recently. The whole cryptic words in their statement of an "optimal" driver line up may actually include Lewis, if not for 2015, then for 2016. Lewis may feel that if he wins the championship this year at Merc, then he has no more to prove and may switch to McLaren. Alternatively, he may think that if he is at Merc for another year then he should have 3 titles and will have reached his career ambition, after which, he may as well sign up for a new challenge at McLaren. Lewis' career is likely to go on a fair bit longer than the older Alonso's and so McLaren may be thinking for the long-term they'd rather have the former on board. Could this also be why Alonso still thinks he has a chance at going to Merc. Lewis would not come out with anything about this in public as it would harm his championship fight.

[astracrazy]

Something else to add to the equation - I'm not sure if anyone has yet mentioned the possibility of Rosberg purposely backing up Hamilton into the cars behind. If Rosberg is leading Hamilton and they have Williams or Red Bulls behind and it's especially hard to overtake, then his only chance for them to have a go at Hamilton may be for him to drive really slowly through sector 3, where it's near impossible to overtake, then leave Hamilton vulnerable through sectors 1 and 2 - if this does happen then things could get nasty.

I don't think that would happen. Rosberg would just be making himself bait for Lewis as well in sector 1 and 2.

Toto has now said he intended to sit down with Lewis on the Monday or Tuesday (24th/25th Nov) after the race regarding any new contract talks.

The Monday/Tuesday thing is a non story. They were always going to sit down after the season and why would they hang about and do it a week or two later - everyone wants to go off on the winter break i would guess

[Just_a_fan]

I think the contract delay is far simpler than that - by delaying the talks the team allow Hamilton to concentrate on driving. No accusations of distraction on their part. Also, by delaying the talks they get a chance of a lower fee; if Rosberg wins the title then they can say to Hamilton "why should we pay you more than the current champion?".

Alonso isn't a factor in these talks and neither is McLaren. Hamilton wants to win - McLaren don't look like they could win an argument at the moment, never mind the title! Mercedes will be happier to keep Hamilton with Rosberg than get Alonso. Alonso doesn't take kindly to being on equal terms with his team mate, something that both Hamilton and Rosberg seem happy to do. Alonso isn't what Mercedes need - too much politics / mind games for Toto's taste I think.

[astracrazy]

Also, by delaying the talks they get a chance of a lower fee; if Rosberg wins the title then they can say to Hamilton "why should we pay you more than the current champion?".

Rubbish.

"I know you won more races last year than Nico and you had more dnf's last season than in him. In fact a dnf cost you the title last year. But because of that, we are going to pay you less than him from now on"

[Phil]

Re: Nico backing up Hamilton into the cars behind; Lewis might be mighty around Abu Dhabi, but I somewhat feel that Nico will outqualify him, if only because he might not want to overdrive the car and risk going off or damaging his car. Remember; Last year in qualifying, he damaged his suspension going over a kerb, so I think he will be playing it rather safe this time. Depending on how close (or not) the next best team is, we might be even looking at a 2nd row start.

From Nico's point of view; I'm not sure how much he really wants that WDC on the basis that there's a large chance he'll get it by help of the double points. Driving intelligently (and strategically) to get his WDC rival outside the 2nd spot might not go down well in how his WDC (if he pulls it off) together with the double points is perceived. After Spa, he is probably more concious about what and how he behaves on and off track. Having said that; I can see Nico trying to achieve a dominant victory and let faith and fortune decide the rest.

Things would definately be more interesting, I think, if Lewis puts it on pole and Nico attempts to catch him up, possibly attempting risky maneuvers to pass him. Nico, has nothing to lose in this case, so the onus would be on Lewis to pull out and not risk damage. One way or the other, I think the WDC decider will be close and I wouldn't be surprised if Nico ends up clinching it by either a very chaotic race or unfortunate circumstances on Lewis's car. I hope I'm wrong!

[astracrazy]

It will go one way or another. Either be a complete trouble free race and Lewis will secure it by just following Nico home and the mercs being way ahead. Or there will be a really chaotic race and one of them just clinches it like a 2008 style finish caused by a dodgy pitstop and Lewis just overtaking P3 on the last lap lol

or i guess it could be a complete anti-climax and be over on lap 1 if nico crashes out

[WaikeCU]

I think Mercedes still have the upperhand in race pace. So no matter how, Lewis could settle for 2nd with ease if he's not going for the win. During the season both drivers were neck and neck, but they were pushing far more when they were good on fuel consumption, especially the 2nd car chasing for the lead. Now, Lewis doesn't have to chase for the lead, unless he wants to seal the WDC in style that is.

[ChrisDanger]

As for 'lewis being happy' at Mercedes and showing all the signs he's inteding to stay; i'll summerize that in the words
of another driver;

"I am staying with Ferrari." "I am loyal to Ferrari". "I will end my career with Ferrari" - Fernando Alonso.
Does anybody still remotely believe 'Nando will be driving for Ferrari in 2015??

In other words, words mean squat. It's about what happens, not what is being said.

Maybe Alonso is retiring from driving but staying with Ferrari in some other position. You can't say until he does something contrary.

[Manoah2u]

still doesn't change this remark

words mean squat. It's about what ( actually ) happens, not what is being said.

[nim_peter]

Mercedes in place of Redbull, Hamilton in place of Mark Webber and Rosberg in place of Vettel, hope it is not a repeat of 2010.

[Phil]

2010 was quite an extraordinary race; To think that Vettel, who was in 3rd (and 15 points behind Alonso in 1st position), would win the WDC by securing a win while both Alonso and Webber (8 points behind Alonso and 7 ahead of Vettel) finished in 7th & 8th. It's also extraordinary if you consider that at the start of the race, Alonso qualified 3rd, only behind Vettel and Hamilton and would have been enough to secure the WDC - if only it hadn't been for that slow start and later slipping behind the Renaults on an alternative strategy...

Guess it shows nicely how many things can happen during a race... Of course, this year, the Mercedes is way more dominant vs. the close field between McLaren, RedBull and Ferrari of 2010.