The last race of the 17 race 2009 F1 season is here. A spectacular new facility at Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi (in the United Arab Emirates). Unfortunately, the 2009 drivers' championship and the constructors' championship have already been decided so nothing hinges on this race.

I also find it slightly unusual that this race is entitled the 'Abu Dhabi' Grand Prix. Abu Dhabi is an emirate within the UAE (i.e. a semi-autonomous state ruled by the Emir and the Abu Dhabi Government within the federal nation of the UAE of which the city of Abu Dhabi is the capital). It is rather like having a Californian GP, a New South Wales GP or an Ontario GP. Usually, Grand Prix races are held by a country or on a continent (e.g. European GP). Monaco and Singapore are sovereign city states that are not part of a federal nation. But I guess, since Abu Dhabi alone is paying the USD 100 million price tag to Bernie Ecclestone, then it gets its name on the race. Smiley

The only thing that matters now is that those drivers who don't yet have a race seat for 2010 will want to use this opportunity to talk to the key people in other teams in order to find something for next year.

Meanwhile, IMO I think victory has gone to Jenson's head:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8315844.stm

No doubt, he is a very good driver when provided with a quick car (that is set up exactly to his liking). As we know, when the car ran well, he capitalised to the max. But when the car wasn't right, he really struggled. Truly great drivers can muscle a bad car around a circuit and still extract something from it.

It is much more likely than not IMO that Brawn may never again hold such a huge performance advantage in the first half of a F1 season. As we know, it happened due to the massive rules changes from 2008 to 2009 and the fact that other teams didn't develop the double decker diffuser technology. The rules changes from 2009 to 2010 are not so far-reaching. As such, repeating this achievement is going to be very hard - probably impossible.

Already, we can see that Brawn no longer has the fastest car at the end of the 2009 F1 season. At various points in the 2nd half of the 2009 F1 season, Red Bull and McLaren have stood out - depending on the circuit, track temperatures and weather conditions.

Personally, I wish Jenson well but I expect a return to dominance by Ferrari and McLaren with Red Bull remaining very competitive.

Next year, I expect a seriously tough battle between Ferrari (Alonso and Massa), McLaren (Hamilton) and Red Bull (Vettel). Somehow, I expect to be listening to the Spanish and Italian national anthems a lot next season Smiley

Williams, Toyota, Renault, Brawn IMO will simply be in the midfield.

I expect Force India (not because of lack of speed but because of their drivers), Toro Rosso plus the new entrants to F1 in 2010 to all be at the back of the grid.


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Rennteam Moderator - 997.1 Carrera S Coupe GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen collection