Note: Calculations made prior to Saudi GP
Title Fight
Mercedes vs. RedBull
The two title rivals separated by just 5 points. The balance could go to either of them. However the main focus of these two teams will be to secure the Driver’s Championship, as the new regulations will bring in uncertainty that would unsettle the grid noticeably.
Lewis Hamilton the reigning world champion will be looking to maximise the potential of the W12 with his quite fresh engine which was first used in Brazil and has run only in two races till now i.e. Brazil and SaudiArabia GP
His Finnish teammate will have plenty of engine options to choose the most reliable one from. Valterri having taken double the freely available engines this season will try his utmost to support his team to win both the titles.
To support Max in the race Sergio Perez will put to use all the tyre management and racecraft as he can in the RB16 he has been driving from the start of the season. While having Perez retire early in the SaudiArabian GP was not good for the championships, it meant that the mileage he would have put on otherwise from the race was saved. So a slightly higher engine mode seems possible.
Since this is the title decider, I would expect the engines to be cranked up to their highest power mode in which they would finish the race. A possibility would also be that one of the four drivers takes a fresh engine along with the penalty and sets it to self-destruction mode to challenge the tidal or support their teammate. It would be extreme but isn’t unlikely due to the amount of wear the engines have taken from the intense title fight all season long, but this possibility cannot be ruled out.
So will the Brackley outfit finish the turbo hybrid era in total dominance taking their eighth title, equaling the number of titles by a single team sharing the spot with Mclaren (3rd most titles by a team) or will the Austrian energy drink company win against their first dual with the Mercedes, returning to its former glory after a drought of 6 years since their last title with Sebastian Vettel in 2014?
A battle 244 points behind
Ferrari vs. Mclaren
P3 (-4)
Both teams started small as racing teams and now world class automobile manufacturers, both stumbled while chasing the title and now close to recovery to the front of the grid. Separated by 39.5 points, the teams will fight for that P3 position in the standings.
The Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz look settled in the SF21 with the last update brought at monza, in the energy departments to be giving them an edge over Mclaren who shifted development to 2022 before the prancing horses did. The triple header was where the papaya coloured team fumbled with their point scoring record in this season. The team which will be running a special livery featuring art from a local artist would be aiming to score enough points to overtake the scarlet scuderia, to make it two P3 constructor finishes in a row.
Ferrari would look more poised to take the honours owing to the better race management in the latter parts of the season, but you never know the fate of hand and how the drivers would take to the newly modified circuit in Abu Dhabi.
Whatever the result of this duel, it would show the significant improvements both teams have made from lack of competitiveness in recent years; pulling away from the rest of the mid-field and being closer to the front runners than we have seen in a while. Two iconic teams, one position.
121
Alpine vs. AlphaTauri vs. AstonMartin
P5 (-7)
Alpha Tauri started the season with high expectations of themselves with team principal Franz Tost targeting a P3 finish in the constructors table. Which was not a tall order, looking at the package the Italian team based in Faenza having a strong package this season. But where the points have been lost in extracting performance from the setup and numerous incorrect decisions from the pitwall. The weather in Abu Dhabi isn’t expected to cause any trouble, that would certainly be good knowing that for Pierre. The Frenchman lost big points opportunities due to incorrect strategies especially in wet weather conditions.
Alpine have been looking strong in the recent races. Being able to get their car setup working well and taking opportunities in front of them: HungarianGP, Alonso’s podium in Qatar and the almost podium for Esteban in SaudiArabia
Aston Martin haven’t been impressive in the later half of the season, often struggling with car setup and numerous mistakes by the drivers. They do have potential as shown by the podium finishes achieved in Baku and Hungary(Note: Sebastian was disqualified after the race due to insufficient fuel). But this puts the Silverstone based team in position such that mathematically only a P6 or P7 finish is possible in the constructors championship.
Williams vs. Alfa Romeo vs. Haas
P8(-10)
The back runners separated by 11-12 points. Have participated in the action ahead of them quite often, taking risks more than those ahead could afford to. But points won’t come easy unless one of them finds a way to sneak into the top 10 from an opportunity from the cars ahead of them.
Williams does have a good car but operates in a very narrow window. What they have been consistent at, are the right strategies to get good points. A double points finish at Hungary was evidence that the team has started its recovery journey from the bottom of the table. Also the podium finish for george at the “BelgianGP” gave them a good lead during the season, while the others had to count their points one-by-one.
Alfa Romeo has dropped the ball a few times. Mainly broken radios for Antonio, the Italian who wouldn’t have a seat next season missed out on positions to grab some good points in races. While Antonio has been impressive with delivering qualifying performances, his race pace has been not upto the experience that Kimi puts out. The Finnish driver who will finish his F1 career this season has decided to retire and would surely try to give the team a good final race to remember.
Haas: A season-long test session for them. Getting in two rookies used to the systems in F1 has been an intense process for them. Committing to developing their 2022 car.
Thank You for reading!
Find me at @devaslooper on Twitter
and
our team at @_TFSofficial
Make sure to stay tuned for more by following The Fastest Sector on all social media!
About The Author
Leave a Reply