2015 Abu Dhabi GP - Drivers Press Conference (video)

The drivers press conference was today. If you didn't see it then check out this video! The picture above was taken by me at Yas Marina Circuit.

Bottas puts Williams on top in Abu Dhabi test

Williams' Valtteri Bottas set the pace on the opening day of the season's final Formula One test in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

Fresh from his podium finish at Yas Marina on Sunday, Bottas hit the front early on, spent much of the day at the top of the timesheet, and eventually clocked a lap of 1m 43.396s after improving his own benchmark in the final 15 minutes.

The Finn's progress contrasted with that of McLaren's interim Honda-powered car, its eagerly-anticipated first official runs not coming until the afternoon due to early electrical issues.

When it did appear, the team's official reserve driver and GP2 runner-up Stoffel Vandoorne stopped out on track on only his second lap. The Belgian was able to get out for one final tour in the closing minutes of the session, ending the day with three laps under his belt.

"We'd hoped to get a few more laps today, but we had a fuel data-logging issue that stopped the car a couple of times," Vandoorne explained. "However, the team are already analysing the situation and we'll hopefully cure it ahead of tomorrow. Nevertheless, it's been a very positive day for us. At this stage of development, any lap we complete has a benefit – and it's better to be solving these initial teething problems in November rather than in Jerez next February."

Kimi Raikkonen helped Ferrari finish second overall, while his 2015 team mate and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel spent time in the team's garage meeting his future crew members.

Nico Rosberg was half a second down on Raikkonen in the all-conquering Mercedes F1 W05 Hybrid, which he was driving just two days after the agony of his title defeat. The German completed 114 laps - more than any other driver.

Recently-crowned GP2 champion Jolyon Palmer was fourth fastest after an interrupted day with Force India. An engine issue restricted his morning running, while further technical gremlins meant more time was lost in the afternoon, his car rolling to a halt on circuit and triggering one of several red flags.

The Briton did at least manage to get going in the final hour and jumped into third, only to be demoted when Rosberg edged him by just 0.004s late on.

"I really enjoyed my first experience at the wheel of a Formula One car," Palmer said. "Despite a few technical issues early on, in the end we managed to get back on track and have a solid hour of running, getting up to speed fairly quickly. Sahara Force India is a team that gives young drivers good chances and I would love to get a role with them."

Carlos Sainz Junior, this year's Formula Renault 3.5 champion, was fifth fastest in the Red Bull RB10, fractionally ahead of Will Stevens, driving for Caterham after making his Grand Prix debut with the team on Sunday. Both Sainz and Stevens broke into triple figures in the lap count.

Lotus reserve driver Charles Pic was seventh, with Marcus Ericsson - testing for Sauber, with whom he will race next season - and Toro Rosso's 2015 rookie Max Verstappen rounding out the top nine ahead of Vandoorne.

Verstappen also had an interrupted day as a suspension issue put him into the barriers on only his third lap, though he was able to return to the track in the final hours of the afternoon.

"Unfortunately we didn't get much running in the morning, but in the afternoon we carried out very useful long runs, which helped me with my understanding of how to manage the tyres," he reflected. "To be able to run the car for a longer period than just an hour and a half, which is all I had done so far when running in the FP1 sessions, was definitely a good experience and lap by lap, I got more used to the car."

The Dutchman will stay in the STR9 for the second and final day of the Abu Dhabi test. Stevens at Caterham and Vandoorne at McLaren will do likewise, but the rest of today's field will switch.

Among the new faces will be Ferrari protege and GP2 racewinner Raffaele Marciello, Mercedes reserve driver Pascal Wehrlein, and Alex Lynn, this year's GP3 champion and a member of Red Bull's junior team, who will test for Lotus.

Unofficial Tuesday times from Abu Dhabi:
1. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1m 43.396s, 80 laps
2. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1m 43.888s, 81 laps
3. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1m 44.512s, 114 laps
4. Jolyon Palmer, Force India, 1m 45.516s, 37 laps
5. Carlos Sainz, Red Bull, 1m 45.339s, 100 laps
6. Will Stevens, Caterham, 1m 45.436s, 102 laps
7. Charles Pic, Lotus, 1m 46.167s, 89 laps
8. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1m 46.253s, 95 laps
9. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 1m 47.194s, 55 laps
10. Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren, no time, 3 laps

(source: f1.com)

2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix review

The view from my seat.

The race was a bit disappointing because of Nico Rosberg's technical difficulties. I would have wanted them to fight for the win till the end. Why does this never happen?

The last time when Lewis Hamilton won the championship in 2008 it was very close that Felipe Massa would have won it all. Still it would have been more nice if they would have fought for the win at the top and not so that Lewis got the minimum points and Felipe won.

I love the fact that Lewis won the last race this year. It's much cooler! It shows how much he deserved the championship.

If we talk more about the race then I must say that Felipe Massa had a great start! Nice to see that he has had a bit better results finally. He lost to his teammate in the final standings but it doesn't look as bad now because of the good results in the end part of the season.

Valtteri Bottas took a podium again and was 4th in the final championship standings (leaving drivers like Jenson Button, Kimi Räikkönen, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso behind him). Very good if you ask me! Mercedes and Red Bull were better than them but he still managed to keep Vettel behind him.

Valtteri's start was a disaster though. He has had bad starts several times this season. He said that he has had problems with his clutch this season more than once and he hopes that Williams fixes the issue for the next season.

Jenson Button showed that he's still got it but he can't get better results with that car. Let's hope that he will stay for next season. I don't wanna see the next year without Button. I have nothing against Kevin Magnussen but I just prefer the 2009 champion. He is a bigger character.

Now let's see my predictions and the results:

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - WRONG. It was the other Mercedes.

Race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - CORRECT
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes - WRONG. He had technical problems. Felipe Massa was 2nd
3. Valtteri Bottas, Williams - CORRECT

Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes - WRONG. It was Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo.

Surprise: Kimi Räikkönen. Leave him alone he knows what he's doing! - I was personally not surprised by his position. It was a typical finish for his worst season ever.

I changed my predictions later for the predictors league. I was still sure that my original predictions would stick but I had to take a risk. The guy in front of me in the standings had almost the same predictions as me so if we would have gotten the same points I would have stayed second in the standings. My goal was to win so I changed the top3 order to ROS, BOT, HAM. It did not pay off so I dropped to 5th in the final standings (which is almost the same for me as 2nd. Winning is the most important thing!).

The F1-4-LIFE PREDICTORS LEAGUE continues in 2015!

The rules:

POINTS:  1st - 3  2nd - 5  3rd - 10 

HOW IT WORKS: the aim of the game is simply predict who comes where in the race (top3). A total of 18 points can be won on a race day. If you get winner and and 3rd place right but 2nd wrong you get 13 points same if you get 1 correct. eg. 2nd you get 5 points. If a driver wins the race and you said he would come 2nd or 3rd no points would be awarded. Same if he came in another position, and you predicted that wrong. A table will be posted up every race weekend. The point scoring system will change once the cars become more competitive. Everyone will say a merc 1,2 so it won't be close or fun. 

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR PREDICTIONS: send an email to f14lifeblog@gmail.com or message the Facebook page to submit your predictions. You have until lights out to make them. If you submit them when the race has started they won't count. So be quick! like the Mercedes. 

THE PRIZE: the winner of the league will win themselves a admin place on the F1 4 LIFE page along side AE, JT, MW & MH. If you don't want to be an admin you are welcome to participate anyway. We may also come up with some other prize if it helps. 

That's it for today and if you want to send me feedback then email me: f14lifeblog@gmail.com

Sainz Jr handed Red Bull Abu Dhabi test outing

Formula Renault 3.5 champion Carlos Sainz Jr will join Daniel Ricciardo in Red Bull's line-up for the final Formula One test of 2014 in Abu Dhabi.

Sainz, who won seven times en route to becoming the youngest champion in FR3.5 history this year, will drive on the first day of the two-day test, which will be held on the Yas Marina circuit on November 25-26.

It will be the Spaniard's second test for Red Bull, following his appearance in last year's young driver session at Silverstone, when he completed 35 laps in the RB9. He also drove for Toro Rosso in the same test, and more recently completed a demonstration run in the Red Bull RB8 as a reward for leading the FR3.5 championship at the halfway point of the season.

Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost said recently that Sainz was one of four drivers in contention for a 2015 race seat with the team, alongside rookie Max Verstappen.

Meanwhile, McLaren have announced that they will part company with long-term test and reserve driver Gary Paffett at the end of the season. The split coincides with McLaren moving from Mercedes to Honda power for 2015, as Paffett remains part of the German manufacturer's factory DTM programme.

(source: f1.com)

2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix preview

Wow! The season's last race is almost here. A little while ago we were all waiting for the season to start and now it's almost over! Time flies when we are having fun. That means when we are watching F1 every other weekend.

I was supposed to go to Abu Dhabi again this year but didn't get good tickets in time. I also didn't get any cheap flights from Finland. Should have bought the tickets months before! The two other times I have been there I have also reserved in the last minute. This time I wasn't that lucky. It would have been nice to visit Dubai as well. I love that city!

Not much to say so I will talk about the same things as last year:

The Yas Marina track has hosted the Abu Dhabi GP 5 times in it's history so it's quite new. The facilities are one of the best in the world at least for me as a spectator. It is the only GP that has daylight and dark in the same race.

In 2010 Sebastian Vettel won his first world championship when Alonso couldn't get pass Vitaly Petrov. It was one of the most moving moments of Vettel's career when he cried on the podium.

After winning his first championship in 2010.

In 2011 he had already won the championship when the Formula One circus returned to Abu Dhabi. That race he retired right after the start and the whole crowd in Abu Dhabi cheered. The sound was quite loud, trust me, I was there.

In 2012 Sebastian started from the back of the grid but managed to get 3rd place. Alonso was second and Kimi Räikkönen took the maiden victory for the new Team Lotus. Everybody remembers the classic radio conversations between Kimi and Alan Permane(?)

Here is a video with the radio conversations:

They made t-shirts of Kimi's comments.

Last year Sebastian Vettel had already secured his championship before Abu Dhabi. This year the story is different. It is between two friends, teammates and almost brothers, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton is leading the championship but when Bernie Ecclestone came up with the most stupid rule in F1 history (double points in the last race) Nico Rosberg has good chances of becoming world champion. Nobody can say who will win. In my opinion Hamilton deserves to be champion even if Rosberg would win it all.

Now let's see my predictions:

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

Race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
3. Valtteri Bottas, Williams

Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

Surprise: Kimi Räikkönen. Leave him alone he knows what he's doing!

Post your own predictions to our F1-4-LIFE PREDICTORS LEAGUE!

The rules:

POINTS:  1st - 3  2nd - 5  3rd - 10 

HOW IT WORKS: the aim of the game is simply predict who comes where in the race (top3). A total of 18 points can be won on a race day. If you get winner and and 3rd place right but 2nd wrong you get 13 points same if you get 1 correct. eg. 2nd you get 5 points. If a driver wins the race and you said he would come 2nd or 3rd no points would be awarded. Same if he came in another position, and you predicted that wrong. A table will be posted up every race weekend. The point scoring system will change once the cars become more competitive. Everyone will say a merc 1,2 so it won't be close or fun. 

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR PREDICTIONS: send an email to f14lifeblog@gmail.com or message the Facebook page to submit your predictions. You have until lights out to make them. If you submit them when the race has started they won't count. So be quick! like the Mercedes. 

THE PRIZE: the winner of the league will win themselves a admin place on the F1 4 LIFE page along side AE, JT, MW & MH. If you don't want to be an admin you are welcome to participate anyway. We may also come up with some other prize if it helps. 

That's it for today and if you want to send me feedback then email me: f14lifeblog@gmail.com

McLaren to bring in major updates before Abu Dhabi

McLaren will introduce a 'major upgrade' package before the end of 2014 in a bid to capitalise on their current resurgence and aid their preparations for next year's Formula One world championship.

The team introduced a similarly significant set of updates in Singapore and, after refinements in Japan and Russia, have moved up the competitive order, outscoring all but Mercedes and Red Bull over the last two Grands Prix.

While team principal Eric Boullier played down the significance of McLaren's revival in terms of their constructors' position, he said developments over the last three races will be critical to establishing a platform for success next year and beyond.

"We are not chasing championship position, we are chasing the final restructuring of the team; to be ready to build on the new structure, to be competitive sooner rather than later," Boullier said during a McLaren-Mercedes phone-in.

"The reason [for the upturn] is the major upgrade which we brought to Singapore. It is true we have another major upgrade coming before the end of the season. It is not designed to bring advantage for the double points [available in Abu Dhabi], it is more about building the foundations for the future. One hundred percent [of 2014 developments] are applicable to next year's car."

Asked whether overhauling Ferrari was a consideration for McLaren - the two teams are now separated by just 45 points - Boullier added: "It is more about bringing the momentum back to the team and getting some good results in the last three races.

"If the performance on our car is good and we can deliver some strong races like Russia we will see if we can take back another championship position - I would be delighted to. [But] I don't think we have a clear target this year other than rebuilding the team and getting ready to fight back as soon as possible."

McLaren's return of fourth and fifth places in Sochi was their best team result since the Australian season opener back in March, when Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button claimed second and third - which remain McLaren's only podiums of the 2014 campaign to date.

(source: f1.com)

Philippe Gurdjian, 1945 - 2014

Former French Grand Prix promoter Philippe Gurdjian has passed away at the age of 69. Born in the suburbs of Paris in 1945, Gurdjian also helped establish a number of new F1 events, including those in Malaysia and Abu Dhabi.

Gurdjian began his career in advertising and was a keen gentleman racer, competing several times in the famed Le Mans 24 Hours in the 1970s and ‘80s. He took charge of the French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard in 1985 and in 1991 oversaw its transfer to Magny-Cours, where it remained until 1998.

He went on to organise the Spanish Grand Prix for a time, and played a major role in bringing Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit and Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit to the F1 calendar in 1999 and 2009 respectively.

Among Gurdjian’s other notable achievements was overseeing the transformation of Paul Ricard into a high-tech testing facility, earning the venue the first FIA Institute Centre of Excellence Trophy for its outstanding safety standards. He was awarded a prestigious French Order of Merit in 2006.

(source: f1.com)

All the stuff I got in the 2013 Abu Dhabi GP

Some of you people reminded me that I never posted pictures of the 2013 stuff that I got from Abu Dhabi. Sorry about that! But no worries because here they are now.

Here is everything in one big picture.

I got into the concerts with this. There was one for each day but I only kept one.

Advertisement for Ferrari World

My ticket to Ferrari World

Ferrari World's park map

..this is what it looks like on the inside.

The 2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix event guide

..and the back side.

There was a schedule on the inside.

A mini map of the area

..and a little better guide of the area.

You had to wear these if you spent the whole weekend listening to F1, GP2 and Supercars.

The most important thing to have - the tickets to the event!

It was really hot all weekend just like always so they gave free water bottles all the time to everybody.

Even the water bottles made it clear that you were following Formula One.

That was it for today! Tomorrow I will post the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix preview.

My trip to Ferrari World last month

So here are some pictures I took at Abu Dhabi's Ferrari World last month. If you have any questions just ask me below this post or on the F1 4 LIFE Facebook page.

At the gates of the park.

The Ferrari stores entrance.

Alonso's car from 2010.

Ferrari stores second entrance.

A Formula One car from 1955.

Alonso's and Massa's suite and helmet replicas with autographs.

Ferrari's own fragrance for men.

Helmets inside the Ferrari store.

Ferrari gear for kids.

Alonso's car again. Were are Massa's or Raikkonen's cars?

This is a car that I would like to own.

In the middle of Ferrari World.

I was drooling..

I saw a guy with a tattoo like this when I went to see the Abu Dhabi GP earlier this year.

Nice but I like the red Ferrari's more.

A very nice restaurant.

These three photos were hanging on the wall at the Ristorante Cavallino restaurant:

Sorry about the reflection. It was a sunny day as usual in Abu Dhabi.

Comparing the weights

An engine. More info in the next picture.

People could sit in this car and a professional photographer took a picture.

Artwork on the walls. Two more pictures below.

Kids could "drive" small Ferraris around this landscape.

Take a picture with your friends in different cars.

The Ferrari legends of our time.

And legends before the 80's.

The British and American Ferrari legends.

The first Ferrari legends in Formula One.

Motor homes

Guess who's car? Alonso's..

More Ferrari stuff for sale.

Sit down and feel like Stefano Domenicali.

A simulator.

Games.

A theatre that showed Ferrari related movies.

Wow! How many of you know what this is? This was a Grand prix car from before the F1 series. I posted a documentary earlier about this car.

Nostalgia

  

Michael Schumacher's old car. Who knows the year of this car? 

Felipe Massa's actual helmet, cap and gloves with autograph.

Parts from real F1 cars that have been in use.

More parts.

Massa's shoes and gloves.

Alonso's gloves.

  

A real F1 steering wheel.

This is how long people waited to take a ride on the world's fastest roller coaster. I didn't have time :(

Take a guess. What is this car?

Here we have... two Ferraris having sex?

On the way out.

From outside I took a picture of the world's fastest roller coaster.