November 28, 2015

F1 Quals: Abu Dhabi 2015

Here's the provisional grid for the 2015 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi.  Stop me if you've heard this one before:

Pos. Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:41.111 1:40.979 1:40.237
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:40.974 1:40.758 1:40.614
3 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:42.500 1:41.612 1:41.051
4 Sergio Perez Force India 1:41.983 1:41.560 1:41.184
5 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:42.275 1:41.830 1:41.444
6 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:42.608 1:41.868 1:41.656
7 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:41.996 1:41.925 1:41.686
8 Felipe Not Nasr Massa Williams 1:42.303 1:42.349 1:41.759
9 Kid Kvyat Red Bull Racing 1:42.540 1:42.328 1:41.933
10 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1:42.911 1:42.482 1:42.708
11 Embryo Verstappen Toro Rosso 1:42.889 1:42.521
12 Jenson Button McLaren 1:42.570 1:42.668
13 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:42.929 1:42.807
14 Felipe Not Massa Nasr Sauber 1:42.896 1:43.614
15 Lettuce Grosjean Lotus 1:42.585 No Time

16 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:42.941

17 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:43.187

18 Sony Ericsson Sauber 1:43.838

19 Will Stevens Marussia 1:46.297

20 Roberto Merhi Marussia 1:47.434


Yup, it's another Mercedes 1-2, with Rosberg taking his sixth pole in a row.  The big news, though, is that Ferrari's Seb Vettel never made it out of Q1.  The team told him that he had gone fast enough to make it to Q2, so he backed out of his final flying lap to preserve tires... and then Jenson Button's McLaren bumped him.  Oy.

Up at the front, Lewis Hamilton actually was quickest in Q1 and Q2; Rosberg just killed it in Q3, though, and that's the only one that really matters.  There's actually a chance that the nearly .40 sec gap will increase, as Hamilton may have his fastest lap thrown out for violating track limits.  He'd still be in 2nd, though.

Other than all that, however, it was pretty much bog-standard.  Which is what I expect Sunday's race to be as well.  But who knows?  Maybe it'll rain.

Posted by: Wonderduck at 11:23 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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1 Force India in 4th is a bit of a surprise.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at November 28, 2015 03:13 PM (+rSRq)

2 How is it Hamilton had a faster time in Q1 and Q2 but is still second?  Or is that just because you only use one table for all three rounds?

Posted by: Rick C at November 28, 2015 06:25 PM (FvJAK)

3 Rick, the table's organized by final qualifying positions. Exactly what position you finish in, for Q1 and Q2, is unimportant if you aren't low enough to get knocked out.

Posted by: Avatar at November 28, 2015 06:44 PM (v29Tn)

4 Steven, if Ferrari hadn't peed Vettel's Q1 down the collective legs of their firesuits, Perez would likely be a more palatable fifth.  The grunt of the Mercedes engines definitely dominates down those two long straights, and reportedly Force India is running a little bit more wing because of that.  It slows them down, but improves handling in the twistybits.

Rick, what Avatar said... the chart shows the final grid positions, but also shows the best time per driver per session.  It's a convenient way to do it, instead of having three separate charts.

Posted by: Wonderduck at November 28, 2015 10:48 PM (zAcee)

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