Formula 1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Preview and Tips

Just a week after the action from New Delhi we have the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in the UAE this weekend. The race starts at midnight AEDT on early Monday morning.

With three races remaining, Sebastian Vettel has strengthened his grip on the Drivers’ Championship, picking up his fourth win in a row last week. The German has a 13 point advantage over Fernando Alonso with 75 points still up for grabs.

This article previews the race and looks at the betting odds.

2012 Season Results

Below are the 2012 season results to date.

Driver and Constructor standings

Vettel’s fourth consecutive win sees him extend his lead at the top of the championship. Alonso did well to come second last week to limit the damage to fall only seven points further behind. There are 75 points still up for grabs so we are guaranteed that the title race will come down to at least the last two races.

1 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) – 240
2 Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) – 227
3 Kimi Räikkönen (Lotus) – 173
4 Mark Webber (Red Bull) – 167
5 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) – 165
6 Jenson Button (McLaren) – 141
7 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) – 93
8 Romain Grosjean (Lotus) – 90
9 Felipe Massa (Ferrari) – 89
10 Sergio Perez (Sauber) – 66

Red Bull now hold a commanding lead in the Constructors’ Championship, with Ferrari handicapped by Massa’s poor season. Only ten points separate Ferrari from McLaren with Lotus requiring a strong showing in Abu Dhabi to remain in contention for second spot. To highlight the gulf that exists between the top four teams and the rest of the pack, 4th place Lotus have almost twice as many points as Mercedes.

1 Red Bull Racing-Renault – 407
2 Ferrari – 316
3 McLaren-Mercedes – 306
4 Lotus-Renault – 263
5 Mercedes – 136
6 Sauber-Ferrari – 116
7 Force India-Mercedes – 93
8 Williams-Renault – 59
9 STR-Ferrari – 21
10 Marussia-Cosworth – 0
11 Caterham-Renault – 0
12 HRT-Cosworth – 0

Yas Marina Circuit

The Yas Marina Circuit has hosted Grand Prix racing since 2009. It is one of a long line of circuits designed by German architect Hermann Tilke. The circuit is located on the man-made Yas Island, about a half hour drive from Abu Dhabi.

The circuit was designed to be “an Arabian version of Monaco”, with numerous tight corners and sections of the track that pass by the marina and the Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi Hotel. The circuit has few potential overtaking spots. Turn 5 is a chance if the car has good speed coming out of turn 4. Turn 8 at the end of the long straight is another spot, along with turn 11 at the end of the long curved section.

While it is known for its slow corners, the circuit’s tight corners at the end of the straights are hard on braking – a factor that forced Hamilton’s retirement in 2009.

The event is a day-night race, starting at 5:00 PM local time.

Below are the most recent results in Abu Dhabi.

2012 News and Titbits

Sebastian Vettel has denied that he has signed any agreement to join Ferrari in the future. The BBC previously reported that Ferrari have a deal in place with the German, with an option for Vettel to join them in 2014. Vettel has said: “There is nothing to tell, nothing I have signed. It is amusing. I don’t know where it came from.”

Kimi Raikkonen will remain in Formula 1 with Lotus for the 2013 season. He signed a two-year deal but needed to satisfy performance clauses to remain with the outfit for a second campaign. Raikkonen is currently third in the drivers’ standings.

Sauber have signed Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg for 2013. Sauber will announce their second 2013 driver at a later date, leaving Kamui Kobayashi’s future uncertain.

Toro Rosso have announced that drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne will remain with the team for next year.

Abu Dhabi Prix Preview

With few overtaking opportunities in Abu Dhabi, qualifying is extremely important. Since the race was added to the Formula 1 calendar in 2009, no driver has won from outside the front row of the grid. Only mechanical issues have stood in the way of pole winners and a podium finish. In 2009 Vettel won from 2nd on the grid after pole winner Hamilton retired with a mechanical issue. In 2010 Vettel won from pole position and in 2011 Hamilton won from 2nd on the grid after pole winner Vettel retired with a left rear puncture.

As with most races, the best time to improve track position is during the first lap. Alonso overtook Button and Webber on the first lap last year and managed to keep them at bay for the rest of the race. For this reason it’s hard to fancy the chances of persistent slow starts like Webber.

Tyre supplier Pirelli have brought the medium and soft tyres to this race – the same as last year.

Abu Dhabi Prix Betting

Below are the latest betting odds (subject to change). Click here to compare live Indian Grand Prix odds across a range of Australian and international bookmakers.

Once again it’s hard to look past Sebastian Vettel. He has two pole positions and two race wins in the three years of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and he has won the last four Grands Prix this season. He will be on the radar of most punters, however, and if he fares well in practice his qualifying and race odds will shorten drastically.

One word of warning is that we seem to get more retirements in Abu Dhabi than most races. In the three Grands Prix at this venue, only one pole winner has finished the race. As with all new circuits, it’s difficult to read into trends but reliability is something to keep in mind.

Keep an eye out for the fast starting Alonso if he fails to make the top three in qualifying. He has a strong track record of improving his position during the opening lap so the odds on him to make the top 3 would be worth looking at in this scenario.