According to the official Formula 1 site, we are just more than 14 hours away from the start of the Abu Dhabi race weekend.
And it is shaping up to be a classic. Ummm… right?
Here’s what the race at Abu Dhabi has going for it:
One last race. Four drivers who still could win the world drivers’ championship. Two of those drivers on the same team, leading to lots of speculation about how free they will be to compete. (According to the team? 100% free.) A two-time champ in Fernando Alonso trying to bring the WDC back to Ferrari in his maiden season with the sport’s most stories team. But he does have that engine to worry about, don’t forget.
And all four drivers have looked pretty strong during the past couple of races — with some major offs and issues, here and there.
That would seem to add up to one of the most exciting races in recent — or maybe all — F1 history. This could be another last-lap finish to the season, only with three or four drivers pushing to get that last, critical position.
What might be going against the race is the track. Abu Dhabi is still too new, in my opinion, to proclaim it good or bad, but I’m not sure it is the track we’d all wish Formula 1 was heading to for this crucial weekend.*
Do you think given its layout that qualifying will be the decider, baring something unforeseen?
And where … in these final hours … would you rank this race in terms of your excitement heading into the weekend?
* It might muddy the waters too much, but for me, the biggest factor that is tamping down my excitement is the drivers involved. I’m not really rooting for any of them. If push comes to shove, do I say I want Mark Webber to win? Maybe. But none of them move me. They just don’t. (More on this, likely, come off season.)
