Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2014 Preview: Start Time, TV Times, Weather, Schedule, Odds
The 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is finally here. After eighteen races in a season spanning eight months, it all comes down to this.
Mercedes team-mates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have traded the world title lead all season long. Both go into the race with a chance to be crowned drivers' champion, but only one will be smiling at the end of the third night race of the year.
The venue will be the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, one of the seven emirates which make up the United Arab Emirates. The last time the circuit held a title decider was 2010—this will be its second.
Even with the double points system in place, Rosberg almost certainly needs to win the race to stand a chance. Hamilton only needs to come second.
That would suggest the most likely outcome is a straightforward Mercedes one-two, with Rosberg leading home a cruising Hamilton.
But don't bet on it. The chaotic final-race title deciders of 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012 stand as proof that, even many years after Murray Walker hung up his microphone, anything can happen in Formula One—and it usually does.
Read on for a full preview of the weekend ahead, including TV times, tyre and DRS information, current standings, a circuit map and guide, weather forecast, odds and session times.
Double Points and Title-Winning Requirements
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Double points will be awarded for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, in the format 50-36-30-24-20-16-12-8-4-2 (50 for first place, two for 10th).
Lewis Hamilton's 17-point lead means he has to finish second if Nico Rosberg wins. If Rosberg is second, fifth will be enough. If the German is third, Hamilton must be sixth or higher.
Either man finishing outside those positions is highly unlikely, but Sky Sports F1 tweeted a useful graphic.
"A reminder of the crucial positions for Rosberg and Hamilton this weekend #skyf1 http://t.co/9QCQIHnNuJ pic.twitter.com/aTJ087VqAO
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) November 18, 2014"
Of course, if Hamilton wins, he's champion regardless of where Rosberg finishes.
Current Standings
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As we've already discussed, Lewis Hamilton takes a 17-point lead into the final race of the year. Second guarantees him the title, regardless of what Rosberg does.
Further down the field is another interesting battle. Kimi Raikkonen is on 53 points, and has never finished lower than 10th in the drivers' championship. He needs to outscore Kevin Magnussen by three or more points to steal the Dane's spot.
The current Top 10 are:
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 334 |
| 2 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 317 |
| 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 214 |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 159 |
| 5 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 157 |
| 6 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 156 |
| 7 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 106 |
| 8 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 98 |
| 9 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | 80 |
| 10 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren | 55 |
In the constructors' championship, Mercedes are champions. Red Bull are safe in second, and only a set of highly unlikely results could affect the other positions down to eighth.
But Sauber could well gain a place. They'll need ninth or better to improve their championship standing.
| 1 | Mercedes | 651 |
| 2 | Red Bull | 373 |
| 3 | Williams | 254 |
| 4 | Ferrari | 210 |
| 5 | McLaren | 161 |
| 6 | Force India | 127 |
| 7 | Toro Rosso | 30 |
| 8 | Lotus | 10 |
| 9 | Marussia | 2 |
| 10 | Sauber | 0 |
| 11 | Caterham | 0 |
All championship standings data from Formula1.com.
Yas Marina Circuit
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The Yas Marina Circuit is a curious place. It has elements of both a road course and a street circuit, with two significant straights and a number of 90-degree corners.
Visually, it's spectacular. With the race starting at dusk, the skies soon darken and the cars are racing under floodlights. They pass beneath the awesome, colour-changing Viceroy Hotel, past a yacht-filled marina and along 200 mile-an-hour, shadow-lined straights.
The other night races, in Bahrain and Singapore, don't quite match the beauty of Yas Marina.
But for all its aesthetic majesty, the circuit doesn't often produce good racing. It also lacks that most important asset for a race track to possess—character.
A more worthy recipient of a double-points race would not be difficult to find.
Still, it could be worse.
Turns 1, 2, 3 and 4
A lap begins on the relatively short pit straight. A car on a flying lap will hit speeds in excess of 270 kilometres an hour before braking for the medium-speed left of Turn 1.
The run-off area is very forgiving, so some drivers may take a risk into this corner on the opening lap. If it goes wrong, they've got a free escape route on the outside.
After a short straight, the cars enter what is actually a very nice set of corners. Turn 2 is a flat-out left-hander with an uphill slope, and it leads straight into the fast right of Turn 3. This one was flat in 2013 cars, but may require a lift in 2014.
This exit of corner leads into the entry of Turn 4, a flat-out, downhill left taken at around 250 kilometres an hour.
A short straight follows.
Turns 5, 6 and 7
The drivers then hit the brakes for the left-right chicane comprising Turns 5 and 6. The first part is slightly quicker, and some brave kerb-riding is essential for a good lap time.
A quick squirt of the throttle later comes the slow hairpin left of Turn 7. The cars will drop down to around 60 kilometres an hour through here, aiming for the best possible line.
A good exit is essential here, because it leads out onto the incredibly long main straight.
Turns 8, 9 and 10
A full thirteen seconds after flooring the throttle, the drivers hit the brakes hard for the second chicane, a tight left-right. Apex speed in the first part is generally slower here, compromised to facilitate a better exit from the second.
This is important, because Yas Marina's second-longest straight follows.
It has a pronounced left-hand curve at the beginning, and this is Turn 10.
Turns 11, 12, 13 and 14
The second left-hand kink towards the end of the straight makes passing slightly harder. The exit of the support pits are on the driver's right as he brakes from more than 300 kilometres an hour for the third and final chicane of the lap.
Again, it's slow; first left (Turn 11), then right (Turn 12), then left again (Turn 13). Apex and exit speed from the off-camber final left is most important here.
A very short straight follows before another off-camber corner, this one a slow, 90-degree left as the track enters the street-style section around the marina.
Turns 15, 16 and 17
After a short straight comes Turns 15 and 16, essentially a double right-hander. Taken at full-throttle, these corners exit into the braking zone of Turn 17—a slow, 90-degree right.
The car is not quite balanced when the drivers hit the brakes, and errors at this corner are not uncommon.
Turns 18 and 19
The awe-inspiring Yas Viceroy Hotel is on the left as the drivers give the throttle a quick squirt before braking again for the slow, 90-degree left of Turn 18.
The track passes beneath the hotel and it's back on the brakes for another slow 90-degree left, this one Turn 19.
Despite the street-circuit style of this section, Turn 19 is the only place the cars really come close to the barriers. They shouldn't, though—it's more than a car's width away from the permitted racing surface, and the track-limits police may have a word.
Another short straight follows.
Turns 20 and 21
Turn 20 is a tricky medium-speed right taken with lift off the throttle, and it always looks like one of the hardest corners to get exactly right. Taking lots of kerb on the outside appears the best way to get through here.
A few seconds later comes the slow-medium right of Turn 21, the final corner. Once safely through, the drivers are on the pit straight. The track dips down just before the timing beam and the end of the lap.
Pit Lane
The pit lane entry is on the inside between Turns 20 and 21. It runs alongside the pit straight on the right, then uniquely passes under the circuit just before Turn 1. The exit is on the outside of Turn 3.
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Tyres and DRS
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Tyres
Yas Marina has a fairly smooth surface, and the corners are mostly on the the slow-to-medium side. The beginning of the lap sees a lot of heat and energy go through the tyres, but from then on it's mostly straights and 90-degree corners.
Tyre supplier Pirelli is bringing the red-marked supersoft and yellow-marked soft compounds. The company says this pairing should be well-suited to the circuit's demands.
The winning strategy in 2013 was a two-stopper, but the Force Indias went for one and did well. For cars which qualify poorly, this could prove an excellent way to score some decent points.
DRS
There will be two DRS zones at the 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Per the FIA, the first will have its detection point 40 metres before Turn 7. The activation point will be on the main straight, 390 metres after Turn 7 (around a third of the way along). It will end with braking for Turn 8.
The second zone's detection point will on the second main straight, 50 metres after Turn 9. The activation point will be a few seconds later at Turn 10, and the zone will end at Turn 11.
Weather Forecast
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Abu Dhabi has a hot desert climate, with warm winters and hot summers.
November, lying at the end of Autumn, typically sees daytime highs of around 30 degrees Celsius and just 0.3 millimetres of rain.
The upcoming weekend is set to see entirely average conditions, but because the race starts at sunset the temperatures will drop off throughout. Air temperature won't change much—one or two degrees between lights out and chequered flag—but the track temperature will vary significantly.
The tarmac is warmed by the sun during the day. Robbed of this heat source, it loses upwards of five degrees of temperature during the race.
The weather won't change, but BBC Weather will have the latest.
Odds
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Lewis Hamilton completes a clean sweep of the 2014 season. He has been the pre-practice favourite for every grand prix this year. Nico Rosberg has been second favourite every time.
On this occasion, Valtteri Bottas is third.
The favourite 10 drivers are:
| Lewis Hamilton | 19-20 |
| Nico Rosberg | 6-4 |
| Valtteri Bottas | 22-1 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 25-1 |
| Felipe Massa | 28-1 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 40-1 |
| Fernando Alonso | 66-1 |
| Jenson Button | 100-1 |
| Kevin Magnussen | 150-1 |
| Kimi Raikkonen | 250-1 |
Selected Others
Curiously, Hamilton is an even stronger favourite for pole position. He's 4-5, with Rosberg 11-8 and Bottas 20-1.
But it's the race that matters. Reliability could prove crucial, and Hamilton probably fears a DNF more than his rival. He's 1-10 to be a classified finisher, the same as Rosberg.
Both Mercedes cars are 16-1 to retire on the first lap.
And at the rear of the field, Caterham are back so Sauber shouldn't be last. Adrian Sutil is 10-1 to break the Swiss team's points duck. Esteban Gutierrez is 12-1.
All odds sourced from Oddschecker.com, and correct at the time of publication.
TV Times and Session Times
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As always, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend will consist of three free practice sessions, qualifying and the race.
The session times are as follows:
| Practice One | Friday | 1 p.m. |
| Practice Two | Friday | 5 p.m. |
| Practice Three | Saturday | 2 p.m. |
| Qualifying | Saturday | 5 p.m. |
| Race | Sunday | 5 p.m. |
All times given are Abu Dhabi local time (GST). Formula1.com has a handy one-click tool to convert them to your own time zone.
TV Times
In the United Kingdom, live coverage of all sessions will be provided by Sky Sports F1 and the BBC across BBC One and Two. Their programming times are as follows (all times GMT):
| Practice One | Friday | 9 a.m. | 8:45 a.m. | 8:55 a.m. (Two) |
| Practice Two | Friday | 1 p.m. | 12:45 p.m. | 1 p.m. (Two) |
| Practice Three | Saturday | 10 a.m. | 9:45 a.m. | 9:55 a.m. (Two) |
| Qualifying | Saturday | 1 p.m. | 12 p.m. | 12:10 p.m. (One) |
| Race | Sunday | 1 p.m. | 11:30 a.m. | 12:10 p.m. (One) |
The BBC will provide free-to-air highlights (times here).
In the United States, live coverage of selected sessions will be provided by the NBC Network. Live coverage of second practice begins at 8 a.m. on Friday (NBCSN), with live qualifying coverage at 8 a.m. on Saturday (CNBC).
Live race coverage begins at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday (NBCSN), with the race itself starting at 8 a.m.
All NBC times given are Eastern Time.
Enjoy the weekend!
Thank you for reading this and my other previews this season. Feel free to follow me on Twitter for occasional updates on new articles, or if you have any F1-related questions or comments.
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