The stakes are high for Valtteri Bottas. He’s had a difficult second half of the season with Mercedes but victory in the final race could see him end the year on a high.
He’s on pole position, as he was in Brazil two weeks ago. But on that occasion he was too timid at the first corner, allowing Sebastian Vettel through into a lead he was never going to relinquish.
Hamilton’s chances of passing him on track are not great, as he hinted at after qualifying. However Hamilton does have the advantage of having a fresher engine in his Mercedes having been able to fit one in Brazil following his crash in Q1.
Mercedes were comfortably ahead in qualifying as expected. But much of that can be put down to their usual one-lap advantage on Sunday, as their superior second sector times hint at.
Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo on row two will be counting on splitting the two Mercedes drivers at the start if they are to have any chance of threatening them for victory. Their race stint pace looks good enough for this to be a possibility, though as this is expected to be a straight one-stopper they won’t have much room to manoeuvre unless the Safety Car comes out.
There’s a tremendous battle brewing behind the ‘big six’. Renault are back on form after a rough few races, though question marks remain over their reliability in the hot conditions, and only Nico Hulkenberg was able to qualify where the car belonged. The Force Indias are poised for another fraternal battle and have Felipe Massa close behind.
Fernando Alonso is one ‘new tyre pole’ in 11th which he’s not dissatisfied with. “It’s not worth making it into Q3 to be ninth or 10th and then start on a scrubbed set when the guy just behind you can start on fresh tyres,” he said. “Tomorrow we’ll be that guy, and we’ll take advantage of the situation.”
Given their straight-line speed disadvantage of up to 15kph McLaren’s best hope is to head for the pits early if they can and stretch that second stint. They won’t have to worry as much about tyre life at the start of the race and will have a slight grip advantage over those one worn rubber. Expect the usual combative first lap from Alonso.
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Qualifying times in full
| Driver | Car | Q1 | Q2 (vs Q1) | Q3 (vs Q2) | |
| 1 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1’37.356 | 1’36.822 (-0.534) | 1’36.231 (-0.591) |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’37.391 | 1’36.742 (-0.649) | 1’36.403 (-0.339) |
| 3 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1’37.817 | 1’37.023 (-0.794) | 1’36.777 (-0.246) |
| 4 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1’38.016 | 1’37.583 (-0.433) | 1’36.959 (-0.624) |
| 5 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1’37.453 | 1’37.302 (-0.151) | 1’36.985 (-0.317) |
| 6 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1’38.021 | 1’37.777 (-0.244) | 1’37.328 (-0.449) |
| 7 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1’38.781 | 1’38.138 (-0.643) | 1’38.282 (+0.144) |
| 8 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 1’38.601 | 1’38.359 (-0.242) | 1’38.374 (+0.015) |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon | Force India | 1’38.896 | 1’38.392 (-0.504) | 1’38.397 (+0.005) |
| 10 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1’38.629 | 1’38.565 (-0.064) | 1’38.550 (-0.015) |
| 11 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1’38.820 | 1’38.636 (-0.184) | |
| 12 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Renault | 1’38.810 | 1’38.725 (-0.085) | |
| 13 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | 1’38.777 | 1’38.808 (+0.031) | |
| 14 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1’39.395 | 1’39.298 (-0.097) | |
| 15 | Lance Stroll | Williams | 1’39.503 | 1’39.646 (+0.143) | |
| 16 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1’39.516 | ||
| 17 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | 1’39.724 | ||
| 18 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber | 1’39.930 | ||
| 19 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1’39.994 | ||
| 20 | Brendon Hartley | Toro Rosso | 1’40.471 |
Sector times
| Driver | Sector 1 | Sector 2 | Sector 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valtteri Bottas | 17.047 (4) | 41.090 (1) | 38.094 (1) |
| Lewis Hamilton | 16.927 (1) | 41.109 (2) | 38.239 (2) |
| Sebastian Vettel | 17.000 (2) | 41.334 (3) | 38.371 (3) |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 17.166 (5) | 41.417 (4) | 38.376 (4) |
| Kimi Raikkonen | 17.006 (3) | 41.434 (5) | 38.446 (5) |
| Max Verstappen | 17.206 (6) | 41.546 (6) | 38.576 (6) |
| Nico Hulkenberg | 17.339 (10) | 41.974 (10) | 38.774 (7) |
| Sergio Perez | 17.315 (8) | 41.585 (8) | 39.310 (11) |
| Esteban Ocon | 17.350 (11) | 41.568 (7) | 39.400 (13) |
| Felipe Massa | 17.229 (7) | 41.750 (9) | 39.327 (12) |
| Fernando Alonso | 17.499 (16) | 41.990 (11) | 38.831 (8) |
| Carlos Sainz Jnr | 17.442 (13) | 42.053 (13) | 39.096 (10) |
| Stoffel Vandoorne | 17.427 (12) | 42.022 (12) | 38.926 (9) |
| Kevin Magnussen | 17.469 (15) | 42.121 (15) | 39.586 (14) |
| Lance Stroll | 17.335 (9) | 42.087 (14) | 39.973 (18) |
| Romain Grosjean | 17.454 (14) | 42.302 (16) | 39.758 (16) |
| Pierre Gasly | 17.765 (19) | 42.303 (17) | 39.656 (15) |
| Pascal Wehrlein | 17.650 (18) | 42.450 (19) | 39.801 (17) |
| Marcus Ericsson | 17.625 (17) | 42.373 (18) | 39.996 (19) |
| Brendon Hartley | 17.855 (20) | 42.450 (19) | 40.154 (20) |
Speed trap
| Pos | Driver | Car | Engine | Speed (kph/mph) | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sergio Perez | Force India | Mercedes | 331.8 (206.2) | |
| 2 | Felipe Massa | Williams | Mercedes | 329.4 (204.7) | -2.4 |
| 3 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | Mercedes | 329.0 (204.4) | -2.8 |
| 4 | Esteban Ocon | Force India | Mercedes | 328.5 (204.1) | -3.3 |
| 5 | Lance Stroll | Williams | Mercedes | 327.9 (203.7) | -3.9 |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | Mercedes | 326.3 (202.8) | -5.5 |
| 7 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | Ferrari | 325.6 (202.3) | -6.2 |
| 8 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | Ferrari | 324.5 (201.6) | -7.3 |
| 9 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | Ferrari | 324.2 (201.4) | -7.6 |
| 10 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | TAG Heuer | 322.7 (200.5) | -9.1 |
| 11 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | Ferrari | 322.5 (200.4) | -9.3 |
| 12 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | TAG Heuer | 322.2 (200.2) | -9.6 |
| 13 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | Ferrari | 321.2 (199.6) | -10.6 |
| 14 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber | Ferrari | 321.0 (199.5) | -10.8 |
| 15 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | Renault | 320.1 (198.9) | -11.7 |
| 16 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Renault | Renault | 319.1 (198.3) | -12.7 |
| 17 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | Renault | 318.3 (197.8) | -13.5 |
| 18 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | Honda | 316.3 (196.5) | -15.5 |
| 19 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | Honda | 315.8 (196.2) | -16.0 |
| 20 | Brendon Hartley | Toro Rosso | Renault | 314.2 (195.2) | -17.6 |
Over to you
Who’s going to win the final race of the year? Can Bottas end his difficult second half of the season on a high?
Share your views on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in the comments.
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Strontium (@strontium)
25th November 2017, 21:40
There’s an artificial rule I wouldn’t be sorry to see the back of – not that we will. It’s a disadvantage for being ahead
Ruben
26th November 2017, 0:18
I remember Grosjean’s 2016 Bahrain Qauli. The team was actually celebrating that he got out into Q2 making him the first guy on new tires which he exploited beautifully by finishing fifth.
That rule has to go. In recent races we’ve seen from top teams starting at the back that a long first stint on a harder compound pays dividends at the end of a race when you can take a softer set much longer compared to the guys who started on them.
Vettel 4th in Malaysia, Verstappen 4th at USA and Hamilton recently in Brazil. All started on harder compounds so in hindsight those drives are overhyped if you know you can start from the back and still have a shot at the podium if you have the car for it normally.
Joao (@johnmilk)
26th November 2017, 11:03
Pretty much every tyre rule there is, are a bit of a joke if you ask me
Frederick Mann (@myst)
25th November 2017, 22:33
Better than Kovalainen, but:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/formulaone/6473980/Heikki-Kovalainen-warns-of-favouritism-towards-Lewis-Hamilton-at-McLaren.html
Kribana (@krichelle)
25th November 2017, 22:33
Now that is what you should have done two weeks ago Lewis. Instead of putting it at the pitlane and forcing Valterri to do all the work. All Lewis needs to do is take out Seb and Valterri can have an easier race. Though that is very stupid and brainless.
Jere (@jerejj)
26th November 2017, 7:14
The distance to turn 1 on this circuit is similar to the distance into turn 1 in Brazil, and we all know how it went there for Bottas. Hopefully, he will manage to stay in the lead going into turn 1 this time around.
David BR (@david-br)
26th November 2017, 12:11
You’re right. The first corner at Abu Dhabit is usually heavily disputed. Under normal circumstances, if Hamilton has even a slightly better getaway, I’d expect him to take the lead, and maybe even Vettel getting past Bottas. So I just wonder whether Hamilton/Mercedes may try protecting Bottas rather than racing each other. Then again maybe not. Bottas’s chances of taking 2nd place in the championship are really down to a Vettel DNF so I imagine Hamilton will storm off if he can and they’ll work out the points and positions at the end of the race if Bottas could grab a totally unlikely second overall.