Balaclava Image Deep Throttle Logo
Auto Racing History Image
HOME THOUGHTS ESSAYS RANKINGS HISTORY
About Us
Russell's Ramblings
IMSA Thoughts
Photos
F1 Schedule
Master Schedule
Debunking Myths
News Links
Shopping
Ed Donath Archive
Guestbook
In Association with Amazon.com

2018 Abu Dhabi Thoughts

THE BIG PICTURE: Overall, an interesting and entertaining season.

TRACK: There was more passing this year. But, this track still should never be the season finale, no matter how much money they pay.

EVENT: Still made up of all tourists except for a few locals in the luxury suites.

QUALIFYING: Hamilton remains hot, Vettel remains second fiddle, Leclerc remains impressive, and Vandoorne remains behind Alonso.

RACE: In the end, the race results mirrored the season. Hamilton with a comfortable win. Vettel providing the false impression of being competitive but never really having a chance. Their respective teammates nowhere in sight. Verstappen providing the fireworks as a sometimes contender and ever so slightly having the better of Ricciardo. The rest of the field falling into place after the top six positions are locked away.

START: Clean up front but messy behind them as Verstappen drops down the field when his car doesn't accelerate, Ricciardo and Leclerc duke it out, and Grosjean, through no fault of his own, sends Hulkenberg into a wild, scary barrel roll.

HAMILTON: Last race he sort of lucked into the win. This race, it was all his. No longer does anything seem to make him back off anymore.

BOTTAS: The worst race of his career. With Ocon as Mercedes' new test driver, Valtteri will be looking over his shoulder all of 2019...

VETTEL: Somehow, needs to get his swagger back by Australia.

RAIKKONEN: So much for a Ferrari sendoff. Now onto Sauber to do ... something.

VERSTAPPEN: This time his fight with Ocon was for position. This time, Max kept it (relatively) clean. A little too late for that...

RICCIARDO: No final shooey at Red Bull. It will be awhile before we see one with Renault.

SAINZ: Speaking of Renault, nice run for Carlos in his last race there.

HULKENBERG: Not a nice roll for Nico.

LECLERC: Yeah, we sound like a broken record. We can't wait to see what Charles will do at Ferrari. Watch your back, Vettel...

ERICSSON: A career no one will remember. But hey, Marcus will.

SAUBER: They made up huge ground on Racing Point and McLaren. Definitely a team to keep an eye on next year.

PEREZ: Will be very interesting to see how Sergio is treated when the new owner's son occupies the other seat.

OCON: While Esteban waits. And waits. And waits...

HAAS: A great start to the season, a troubled middle, and a petered out comeback down the stretch.

GENE HAAS: We understand why Gene has a bug up his ass over how Force India turning into Racing Point all went down with the prize money. But Haas is starting to crossover into the territory of pettiness and vindictiveness.

ALONSO: A career of might have beens due mostly to his own implosions and a bit of a first lap nutter (Spa, 2012) and horrid Ferrari strategy (Abu Dhabi, 2010).

VANDOORNE: The can't miss talent missed. A lesson concerning the "hype train."

HARTLEY: The feel good second chance story didn't end very well for Brendon.

SIROTKIN: The old, "I'm breaking up with you, you're not breaking up with me" excuse. Whatever...

KUBICA: The fairy tale comes true. Now, we'll have to see if reality matches the dreams.

F2: George Russell wins the championship and is heading to Williams. Lando Norris takes runner up and is heading to McLaren. Alexander Albon finishes third and is heading to Toro Rosso.

MOTHERS: Let's not forget the wonderful folks at Mothers Polish. Things have gone so smoothly with ESPN's coverage, it's easy to forget a majority of that reason is due to Mothers sponsoring commercial free race and qualifying coverage. And, ESPN has gotten better in choosing the right moments for commercials in the practice sessions and when to leave the coverage at the end.

WORD OF THE WEEKEND: Donuts.

STAT OF THE WEEKEND: 2 -- Only two teams (Mercedes and Haas) are keeping their 2018 driver lineup intact for 2019. Alonso leaves F1 with just two championships. Hamilton winds up the year winning twice after clinching the title when he's never before won a single race in the same year after clinching.

HISTORICAL STAT OF THE WEEKEND: The only drivers to win Abu Dhabi outside of four-time winner Lewis Hamilton and three-time winner Sebastian Vettel are drivers with Finnish blood in them: Kimi Raikkonen (2012), Nico Rosberg (2015), and Valtteri Bottas (2017).

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: Nico Hulkenberg's dramatic description trapped in an upside down car, "Holy shit, I'm hanging here like a cow!"

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: Whether you find it humorous, exasperating, or proof of why Alonso's political maneuvering cost him a more stellar career, it was all there when he responded to the team's urging to get that last point, "I have 1,800 points."

SCHEDULE: Lots to look forward to in 2019. The biggest questions are will the new aero rules really improve the racing (we think a little bit), Honda has improved but will they make the next quantum leap (we don't think so) for Red Bull's satisfaction (their big mouths will ruin another engine relationship), and most importantly at which race will Ferrari shit the bed again (we'll give them to Singapore this time)?

Copyright © 2018 by Deep Throttle. All Rights Reserved.



RACE RESULTS
  Driver Laps
1. Hamilton 55
2. Vettel 55
3. Verstappen 55
4. Ricciardo 55
5. Bottas 55
6. Sainz 55
7. Leclerc(R) 55
8. Perez 55
9. Grosjean 54
10. Magnussen 54
11. Alonso 54
12. Hartley(R) 54
13. Stroll 54
14. Vandoorne 54
15. Sirotkin(R) 54
NC. Gasly(R) 46
NC Ocon 44
NC Ericsson 24
NC Raikkonen 6
NC Hulkenberg 0

Time of Race
1:39:40.382

Margin of Victory
2.581 sec.

Safety Car
1 for 4 laps

Virtual Safety Car
1 for 3 laps

Lead Changes
3 among 3 drivers

Lap Leaders
Lewis Hamilton, Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas

Fastest Race Lap
Sebastian Vettel

Pole Position
Lewis Hamilton

CURRENT STANDINGS
  Driver Pts.
1. Hamilton 408
2. Vettel 320
3. Raikkonen 251
4. Verstappen 249
5. Bottas 247
6. Ricciardo 170
7. Hulkenberg 69
8. Perez 62
9. Magnussen 56
10. Sainz 53
11. Alonso 50
12. Ocon 49
13. Leclerc(R) 39
14. Grosjean 37
15. Gasly(R) 29
16. Vandoorne 12
17. Ericsson 9
18. Stroll 6
19. Hartley(R) 4
20. Sirotkin(R) 1

  Team Pts.
1. Mercedes 655
2. Ferrari 571
3. Red Bull 419
4. Renault 122
5. Haas 93
6. McLaren 62
7. Racing Point 52
8. Sauber 48
9. Toro Rosso 33
10. Williams 7
EX Force India (59)
 
 

2024 Thoughts
Bahrain Saudi Arabia Australia Japan
China Miami Emilia Romagna Monaco
Canada Spain Austria Great Britain
Hungary Belgium Holland Italy
Azerbaijan Singapore United States Mexico City
Sao Paulo Las Vegas Qatar Abu Dhabi

2023 Thoughts
Bahrain Saudi Arabia Australia Azerbaijan
Miami Emilia Romagna Monaco Spain
Canada Austria Great Britain Hungary
Belgium Holland Italy Singapore
Japan Qatar United States Mexico City
Sao Paulo Las Vegas Abu Dhabi

2022 Thoughts
Bahrain Saudi Arabia Australia Emilia Romagna
Miami Spain Monaco Azerbaijan
Canada Great Britain Austria France
Hungary Belgium Holland Italy
Singapore Japan United States
Mexico City Sao Paulo Abu Dhabi

2021 Thoughts
Bahrain Emilia Romagna Portugal Spain Monaco
Azerbaijan France Steiermark Austria Great Britain
Hungary Belgium Holland Italy
Russia Turkey United States Mexico City
Sao Paulo Qatar Saudi Arabia Abu Dhabi

2020 Thoughts
Austria Steiermark Hungary Great Britain Anniversary
Spain Belgium Italy Tuscany
Russia Eifel Portugal Emilia Romagna
Turkey Bahrain Sakhir Abu Dhabi

2019 Thoughts
Australia Bahrain China Azerbaijan Spain
Monaco Canada France Austria
Great Britain Germany Hungary Belgium
Italy Singapore Russia Japan
Mexico United States Brazil Abu Dhabi

2018 Thoughts
Australia Bahrain China Azerbaijan Spain
Monaco Canada France Austria
Great Britain Germany Hungary Belgium
Italy Singapore Russia Japan
United States Mexico Brazil Abu Dhabi

2017 Thoughts
Australia China Bahrain Russia
Spain Monaco Canada Azerbaijan
Austria Great Britain Hungary Belgium
Italy Singapore Malaysia Japan
United States Mexico Brazil Abu Dhabi

2016 Thoughts
Australia Bahrain China Russia Spain
Monaco Canada Europe Austria
Great Britain Hungary Germany Belgium
Italy Singapore Malaysia Japan
United States Mexico Brazil Abu Dhabi

2015 Thoughts
Australia Malaysia China Bahrain
Spain Monaco Canada Austria
Great Britain Hungary Belgium Italy
Singapore Japan Russia United States
Mexico Brazil Abu Dhabi

2014 Thoughts
Australia Malaysia Bahrain China
Spain Monaco Canada Austria
Great Britain Germany Hungary Belgium
Italy Singapore Japan Russia
United States Brazil Abu Dhabi

2013 Thoughts
Australia Malaysia China Bahrain
Spain Monaco Canada Great Britain
Germany Hungary Belgium Italy
Singapore South Korea Japan India
Abu Dhabi United States Brazil

2012 Thoughts
Australia Malaysia China Bahrain
Spain Monaco Canada Europe
Great Britain Germany Hungary Belgium
Italy Singapore Japan South Korea
India Abu Dhabi United States Brazil

2011 Thoughts
Australia Malaysia China Turkey
Spain Monaco Canada Europe
Great Britain Germany Hungary Belgium
Italy Singapore Japan South Korea
India Abu Dhabi Brazil

2010 Thoughts
Bahrain Australia Malaysia China
Spain Monaco Turkey Canada
Europe Great Britain Germany Hungary
Belgium Italy Singapore Japan
South Korea Brazil Abu Dhabi

2009 Thoughts
Australia Malaysia China Bahrain
Spain Monaco Turkey Great Britain
Germany Hungary Europe
Belgium Italy Singapore
Japan Brazil Abu Dhabi


Archived CART/Champ Car Thoughts
Site Index | Search | Contacts | Ad Rates |


Copyright © 1999-2024 by Deep Throttle. All Rights Reserved.
The names, logos, and taglines identifying Deep Throttle are proprietary marks of Deep Throttle. All other trademarks and service marks are property of their respective owners. Deep Throttle is an independent electronic publication and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any series, team, driver, or sponsor. Privacy Policy.