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Despite
a difficult qualifying which left Fernando Alonso down
on the third row of the grid in fifth place, the
Spaniard produced another solid performance in Brazil on
Sunday, to do what he has always said was required if he
is to win the Drivers’ championship and finished on the
podium in third place. He has also been proved right in
the statement he has stuck with for almost half a season
now, namely that the maths would only be done at the
very final race in Abu Dhabi. Now, just seven days on
from the Sao Paolo race, that time has come and every
member of Scuderia Ferrari knows what it must do. “We
must do the maximum we can,” said Team Principal Stefano
Domenicali before leaving Brazil. “It’s clear that at
this point we still haven’t achieved the most difficult
part of all but we will do everything that we can until
the very end.” Clearly, with only this final round in
Abu Dhabi remaining, the maths that Fernando is so keen
on are now simpler than ever, as a second place for the
Spaniard on Sunday, whoever wins the race, will be
enough to bring the Drivers’ crown to Maranello. “What
is clear is that, because we are leading, the others
have to do more than us,” reckoned Domenicali. “If we
end up in the middle of the two Red Bulls it’s clear
that we will achieve the result we need. But as always,
the key is to concentrate on our own efforts throughout
the weekend and not worry about what the others are
doing.”
Last year in Abu Dhabi the Red Bulls were the dominant
force, although by then, with no chance of taking the
two titles which had already been assigned to the Brawn
team and their driver Jenson Button, the Scuderia had
ceased development on the 2009 car. “This time, clearly
we have continued our development, so I’m convinced
we’ll be in there fighting,” said Domenicali. “But let’s
not forget that Red Bull has won a lot this year and
taken many pole positions and has already won the
constructors championship. That proves they’ve worked
better than anyone and they’ve made the quickest and
most competitive car. But we are still there ready to
fight at the last race for the drivers’ championship.”
Indeed the Scuderia will be keen to shine this weekend,
given that it has strong links with this part of the
world, through its partnership with companies such as
Mubadala and Etihad, while Yas Island is also home to
the world’s very first Ferrari theme park. Last year, it
was very much still a building site, but now the
attraction is ready for business.
Last year’s inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was not a
particularly easy weekend for the Scuderia, with Kimi
Raikkonen finishing down in twelfth place while
Giancarlo Fisichella was sixteenth. Felipe Massa will be
making his debut here this year, as he missed the race
in 2009, recuperating from his Budapest accident,
although he was at the Yas Marina circuit as a
spectator. The 5.554 kilometre circuit is certainly a
competent venue and while Singapore can claim to host
the sport’s only night race, Abu Dhabi is home to
Formula 1’s only day-to-night race. The lights above the
grid go out at 17h00 local time and as darkness falls
around forty five minutes later, the artificial
floodlights come on to illuminate the track. The circuit
has several unique features, with the track passing
underneath a hotel, while the pit lane exit is in a
tunnel. Last year’s race marked the end of an era in a
couple of respects, as it was the final event to feature
refuelling: Jarno Trulli had the “honour” of being the
last driver to make an F1 refuelling stop when he came
in on lap 42 of the 55 lap race and Abu Dhabi was also
the final event to use the old scoring system, with just
10 points allocated to the winner.
The 2009 edition of this race also brought the curtain
down on the season, but it was only the seventeenth
round of the championship, whereas this year’s second
ever Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is the nineteenth time the
twenty four cars have done battle. It has been a long
and demanding season for everyone and this final leg has
been particularly busy. The long trip from Brazil to the
Middle East means that teams will have less time than
usual to get set-up and ready for the first practice
session on Friday. However, the facilities and working
conditions – apart from the heat – are excellent in what
is without doubt the most modern of any circuit in the
world today. Those facilities will be much appreciated
as the Yas Marina circuit will be home to the teams for
a further week after the Grand Prix. The following
Tuesday and Wednesday will see a “Young Driver Test
Session” during which Scuderia Ferrari’s F10 will be
driven by Jules Bianchi, the French youngster who is a
student of the Ferrari Driver Academy and competed in
GP2 this year. Then, on Friday and Saturday, it will be
time for the teams to have their first experience of
running on tyres provided by Pirelli, who will be the
sport’s sole tyre supplier as from the start of 2011, as
Bridgestone leaves Formula 1 after thirteen years. So
Abu Dhabi not only represents the final showdown of the
2010 season, it is also the starting point for the 2011
championship.
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