Because they can? Its the promotion of it all - they are trying to make F1 more accessible - its a good thing.
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So Latifi is finally official. Hardly a surprise, tbh.
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So with the Latifi confirmation now official, the drivers for the 2020 season are all in place. And after all the speculation and silly season rumours, it turns out that next year’s drive line up is pretty stable. Only two changes, only one of which is an F1 rookie while the other is an F1 returnee.
Mercedes
- Lewis Hamilton - #44
- Valtteri Bottas - #77
Ferrari
- Sebastian Vettel - #5
- Charles Leclerc - #16
Red Bull
- Alex Albon - #23
- Max Verstappen - #33
McLaren
- Lando Norris - #4
- Carlos Sainz - #55
Renault
- Daniel Ricciardo - #3
- Esteban Ocon - #31
Alpha Tauri (Toro Rosso)
- Pierre Gasly - #10
- Daniil Kvyat - #26
Racing Point
- Sergio Perez - #11
- Lance Stroll - #18
Alfa Romeo
- Kimi Raikkonen - #7
- Antonio Giovinazzi - #99
Haas
- Romain Grosjean - #8
- Kevin Magnussen - #20
Williams
- George Russell - #63
- Nicholas Latifi = #TBC
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F1 2020 Calendar
| Round | Date | Grand Prix | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | 19-21 FEB | PRE-SEASON TEST 1 | Barcelona |
| - | 26-28 FEB | PRE-SEASON TEST 2 | Barcelona |
| 1 | 15 MAR | AUSTRALIA | Melbourne |
| 2 | 22 MAR | BAHRAIN | Sakhir |
| 3 | 5 APR | VIETNAM | Hanoi |
| 4 | 19 APR | CHINA | Shanghai |
| 5 | 3 MAY | NETHERLANDS | Zandvoort |
| 6 | 10 MAY | SPAIN | Barcelona |
| 7 | 24 MAY | MONACO | Monte Carlo |
| 8 | 7 JUN | AZERBAIJAN | Baku |
| 9 | 14 JUN | CANADA | Montreal |
| 10 | 28 JUN | FRANCE | Le Castellet |
| 11 | 5 JUL | AUSTRIA | Spielberg |
| 12 | 19 JUL | GREAT BRITAIN | Silverstone |
| 13 | 2 AUG | HUNGARY | Budapest |
| 14 | 30 AUG | BELGIUM | Spa-Francorchamps |
| 15 | 6 SEP | ITALY** | Monza |
| 16 | 20 SEP | SINGAPORE | Singapore |
| 17 | 27 SEP | RUSSIA | Sochi |
| 18 | 11 OCT | JAPAN | Suzuka |
| 19 | 25 OCT | UNITED STATES | Austin |
| 20 | 1 NOV | MEXICO CITY | Mexico City |
| 21 | 15 NOV | BRAZIL | Sao Paulo |
| 22 | 29 NOV | ABU DHABI | Yas Island |
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And here are two perfectly good seats gone to idiots and not Hulk
Also Lafiti was confirmed yesterday
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Yeah, really sad that Hulkenberg is without a seat.
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I think the TBC refers to the fact that we don’t know his race number yet.
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That is a sadness
I really like Hulk and he will be missed.
@Sweepslag - ahhhhh I am having blond moments
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The 2019 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Preview
Wow, how has the year just flown by since the first “Lights out, and away they go!” call in Australia all those months ago? 20 mostly excellent Grands Prix later, and we find ourselves in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi for the 21st and final round of the 2019 Formula 1 season.
Having opened in 2009, the sparkling Yas Marina Circuit celebrates its 10th birthday this year as it plays host to the 11th consecutive Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The twisty 21 corners of the Tilke-designed circuit that winds around and through the glitzy Yas Marina area of Yas Island also serves as a venue for the traditional two-day end of season test session.
It’s at that test session that we’ll see the return to a full-time seat for Esteban Ocon who will be replacing Nico Hulkenberg at Renault for 2020. The test days should also see the formal debut of 2020 Williams rookie, Nicholas Latifi, who steps up to the big boy league from F2 as replacement for Robert Kubica.
The State of the Race
Even though the top spots on both Championship tables have been finalised, there is still some minor placings that will be settled this weekend.
For the drivers it’s mostly about pride – unless you’re George Russell, in which case it’s more desperation not to be the only one who scores a duck this year.
For the constructors there’s still a lot at stake in terms of season standing prize money. (That, and some of the drivers who need to restore their fans’ trust and faith – looking at you Seb!)
Mercedes arrive in Abu Dhabi this weekend as firm favourites to end the year on a suitable high note by securing their sixth straight Abu Dhabi GP win to go with their six consecutive Driver’s and Constructor’s Championships. The only other constructor to have won multiple times (3) in Abu Dhabi is Red Bull.
Those three Red Bull victories all came courtesy of Sebastian Vettel. He is the only other driver besides Lewis Hamilton (4) who has scored multiple F1 wins in the Emirate.
Last Time in Abu Dhabi
Seb’s face 
Pole Position
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:34.794
Fastest Lap
Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:40.867 (L54)
Podium
P1 - Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
P2 - Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
P3 - 
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Here’s a look at the highlights from last year’s race, including Nico Hulkenberg’s scary rollover accident which ended with him upside down against the barriers while flames licked around the rear of his Renault.
Also, a notable race for Fernando Alonso who ended is F1 career (for the time being) after 17 seasons and 314 F1 GPs at Yas Marina last year.
The Yas Marina Circuit
The twenty-one corners twist through Yas Island off the Abu Dhabi coast, passing by the marina and through the Yas Hotel Abu Dhabi with its striking lighting façade, and winding its way through several long straights and tight corners. The circuit has five grandstand areas and its pit lane exit runs underneath the track.
- Seating Capacity – 41,093
- Corners – 21
- Length – 5.5 km
- Longest straight – 1.14 km
- Elevation change – 10.7 m
- Race lap record – 1:40.279 ( Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull Racing, 2009)
In addition to last year’s Hulkenberg accident, the Yas Marina Circuit has seen several other scary accidents in its short life, curiously all of them involving German drivers. (It’s okay. I only use organically grown, free-range, ethically harvested tin foil for all my conspiracy hats.)
Tyre Talk with Mario
For the 21st and final grand prix of the year, Pirelli is bringing the very softest combination of tyres in its range: C3 as the White hard, C4 as the Yellow medium, and C5 as the Red soft. These are well-matched to the smooth surface of the Yas Marina circuit, providing the optimal compromise between performance and grip at a race that starts in the late afternoon and ends in the evening. After the grand prix, testing begins for next year with all the teams.
- Yas Marina is almost exactly average for the season when it comes to severity, with smooth asphalt and a well-balanced mix of corners that is more about traction and braking than lateral forces.
- Historically, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has been a one-stopper, with low wear and degradation. This looks set to be the case again this year, with the hardest choice a step harder than in 2018 (when supersoft, ultrasoft, and hypersoft were chosen). Last year, Lewis Hamilton won the race by going from ultrasoft to supersoft quite early, under a virtual safety car.
- There’s been a harder tyre choice made compared to previous seasons at a few races this year: this is to help drivers to push to the maximum during each stint, rather than manage their pace to guarantee a one-stopper.
- With the race going through until the evening, track temperatures tend to fall quite drastically as the race progresses. As the car gets lighter on fuel, this can alter the pattern of tyre behaviour to potentially increase stint lengths. It also means that the FP1 and FP3 sessions aren’t particularly representative.
How’s the Weather?
Sunny. Hot. Dry. That pretty much covers the weather forecast for the weekend. Perhaps the only thing for teams and drivers to keep an eye may be the wind speed. Depending on its direction and gusts, it could have an impact on both the long straight and some of the tighter corners. And it also blows a lot of sand onto the circuit, making grip levels a little tricky to predict at times.
Synchronise Your Watches
The UAE runs in a time zone 2 hours ahead of us. But with most of the running at Yas Marina taking place in the cooler temperatures of late afternoon and evening, the race schedule works out quite well for us.
The Digital Race Programme
F1 Media have been very generous to us long-distance fans of the sport this year, with more free digital race programmes available than ever before. This final race of the year is no different with another 120-odd full-colour fact-filled digital pages waiting for you to download and devour wherever you get your best reading done.
Featuring the Championship winning Mercedes team and their drivers on the cover, this edition has feature articles on Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris, a features some insight into the lives of F1’s Technical Directors.
2019 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX – free digital race programme
And, that is it for the Formula 1 Preview Posts for this year Race Fans. Thank you for all the positive and supportive comments throughout the season. It is a bit of a mission sometimes to get these posts compiled and posted ahead of the start of a race weekend but knowing that they’ve been appreciated by MEWbs makes the effort worthwhile.
I’ll leave you with one final fun stat fact for the year (with the continued hope that George Russell can score that one elusive point this weekend):
The 2014 Abu Dhabi GP featured the last Williams double podium in F1, which gave them the record for the Most Points Scored by a Team in a Single Grand Prix. Felipe Massa’s P2 and Valtteri Bottas’ P3 gave the team a total of 66 points thanks to the (thankfully short-lived) double points system for the season finale. It’s a team record that is unlikely to ever be broken.
The 2019 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Preview
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thanks for all the post throughout the year i can not wait for next years 
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Nooo!!! Don’t let it end!!!
Side note, Valtteri’s marriage is ending 
I wonder how much his personal life influenced his driving. He had a cracker start to the year, and then dipped quite a bit. I will sound insensitive, but this might just be what he needs to release him to drive at his best without distractions. Is this his plan to beat Lewis?
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It wouldnt surprise me
Its the same for Vettel - I suspect his personal life - aka wife and kids - he is missing media time this race due to his 3rd child having been born.
I really would prefer him to call it a day - Ferrari is now Leclercs not Vettel - same that Max took over at Red Bull and Lewis at Merc
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Wow. I’m jealous!
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I really hope that that’s just the test engine, like what happened with the Torro Rosso cars two weeks ago.
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Possibly. Most teams tend to cycle older PU’s back in for the practice sessions, to save mileage on the newer ones for the race. We’ll find out soon enough. Bottas has already incurred a bunch of penalties and will start from the back.
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