Formula One gears up for one final dance in 2017, with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix set to see the curtain fall on yet another season. Join The Roar for a live blog of the race, starting from 12am AEDT.
Both championships have already been decided, with Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes AMG team collecting the silverware, though Abu Dhabi represents one final chance to regain pride for some.
There will be 55 laps available for the likes of Ferrari, Red Bull, or Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas to claim top honours.
Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel share three wins apiece in Abu Dhabi, with the last three events having been won by the Silver Arrows. Ferrari meanwhile have yet to win here, whilst their driver Kimi Räikkönen is the only other winner amidst the field.
Abu Dhabi’s track in question is the technical 5.5km Yas Marina circuit, situated on the manmade colossus that is Yas Island. This race is unique to Formula One in that it is started in the twilight and finishes in the darkness.
Bottas for the first time in his career finds himself on pole position for consecutive races, heading off his teammate Hamilton.
Championship runner-up in Vettel qualified third, being unable to challenge the mighty Mercs. The German leads Daniel Ricciardo on the second row, who was able to split the Ferraris.
There are critical battles to look out for in the mid-field however, with 6-points separating Toro Rosso, Renault and Haas in the constructor’s championship for sixth position.
In the driver’s standings, Felipe Massa in his final grand prix finds himself fighting to keep tenth place with Williams teammate Lance Stroll and Nico Hulkenberg.
It is the final race also for Toro Rosso and Renault as partners, as with McLaren and Honda – with the two teams swapping engine suppliers in 2018.
For Renault crucially, Hulkenberg will start from seventh, whilst Fernando Alonso in the McLaren will have the familiar company of Carlos Sainz, starting just outside the top ten.
Can Bottas then hold off the challenge of Hamilton and the Ferraris to win his third race of the season? Or will the experienced hands of Vettel and 2017 world champion end up ahead?
Tune in on The Roar for live blog coverage of the Abu Dhabi finale from 12am AEDT, as we get set to farewell another season of Formula One.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Well that about wraps up the Formula One live blog coverage on The Roar for 2017. Thank you all so much for joining me throughout the year and it was a great pleasure as always blogging each grand prix. Formula One has revealed it's new logo for 2018 and the anticipation for the new year itself is building. I'll be back in March for the curtain raiser from here in Melbourne, but until then - I hope everyone has a great summer! Ciao.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
-------- DRIVER'S -------- 363 - Lewis Hamilton 317 - Sebastian Vettel 305 - Valtteri Bottas 205 - Kimi Räikkönen 200 - Daniel Ricciardo 168 - Max Verstappen 100 - Sergio Perez 87 -- Esteban Ocon 54 -- Carlos Sainz 43 -- Nico Hulkenberg 43 -- Felipe Massa 40 -- Lance Stroll 28 -- Romain Grosjean 19 -- Kevin Magnussen 17 -- Fernando Alonso 13 -- Stoffel Vandoorne 8 --- Jolyon Palmer 5 --- Pascal Wehrlein 5 --- Daniil Kvyat 0 --- Marcus Ericsson 0 --- Antonio Giovinazzi 0 --- Jenson Button
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Roar Guru
----- CONSTRUCTOR'S ----- 668 - Mercedes AMG 522 - Scuderia Ferrari 368 - Red Bull Racing 187 - Force India Mercedes 83 -- Williams Mercedes 57 -- Renault Sport 53 -- Scuderia Toro Rosso 47 -- Haas Ferrari 30 -- McLaren Honda 5 --- Sauber Ferrari
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
RACE REPORT The 2017 Formula One season at last came to an end, with Valtteri Bottas claiming his third win of the season, taking victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. A clinical drive from the Finn from pole position, with a regulation one-stop strategy, saw the dominant victory achieved – as second for Lewis Hamilton completed a one-two finish for Mercedes AMG. There was no answer to the Silver Arrows’ pace all weekend from Ferrari, as Sebastian Vettel had to contend with a lonely third and Kimi Räikkönen elevated into fourth. Daniel Ricciardo had occupied fourth initially, though was forced onto the sidelines with a hydraulics failure on his Red Bull. Bookended by retirements, the Aussie’s season is made poorer now that he drops to fifth in the driver’s standings – with Räikkönen assuming fourth. The sister Red Bull car of Max Verstappen struggled all weekend, unable to find balance in the RB13. A lonely fifth was all that the Dutchman was able to muster. Renault usurped Toro Rosso for sixth in the constructor’s standings too, with a sixth-place finish from Nico Hulkenberg securing the crucial placing for the French manufacturer. Carlos Sainz was in contention for the points also, though a pit-stop fumble saw the Spaniard retire from the race – with a wheel coming loose. Another double-points finish for Force India capped a stellar season where fourth in the constructor’s standings was attained, with Sergio Perez leading Esteban Ocon across the line in seventh and eighth. Fernando Alonso was ninth to score points in McLaren’s final race with Honda as their engine supplier, whilst Felipe Massa in his final grand prix was tenth for Williams – signing off from the sport on a high. There was no such luck for the Sauber drivers in Pascal Wehrlein and Marcus Ericsson, who both face certainty over their futures in the sport. Fourteenth and seventeenth were all that could be managed from the Saubers.
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Roar Guru
STANDBY FOR RACE REPORT AND FINAL 2017 STANDINGS
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Roar Guru
PODIUM INTERVIEWS - Hosted by Martin Brundle & David Coulthard: BOTTAS - "It is a really important win for me." "Couldn't be happier to end the season like this." HAMILTON - "Big, big congratulations to Valtteri." "I gave it everything." VETTEL - "I had nowhere to go and I couldn't go any faster." "We had stronger pace in the second part of the race."
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
RESULTS FROM THE 55-LAP ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX 1 V. Bottas 2 L. Hamilton 3 S. Vettel 4 K. Räikkönen 5 M. Verstappen 6 N. Hulkenberg 7 S. Perez 8 E. Ocon 9 F. Alonso 10 F. Massa 11 R. Grosjean 12 S. Vandoorne 13 K. Magnussen 14 P. Wehrlein 15 B. Hartley 16 P. Gasly 17 M. Ericsson 18 L. Stroll RET C. Sainz RET D. Ricciardo
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Roar Guru
VALTTERI BOTTAS WINS THE ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX! LEWIS HAMILTON completes the one-two finish for Mercedes AMG. And 2017 runner up in SEBASTIAN VETTEL scores one last podium in third.
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Roar Guru
Lap 55/55: FINAL LAP
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Roar Guru
Lap 54/55: 2 LAPS TO GO
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Roar Guru
Lap 53/55: 3 LAPS TO GO Nervous faces at Renault too, with Hulkenberg in sixth and as it stands, scoring enough points for the French manufacturer to take away P6 in the constructor's standings from Toro Rosso. It would be Renault's best result in the standings since returning to the sport in 2016 as a works team.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 52/55: 4 LAPS TO GO Bottas now plugs in the fastest lap of the race, with a 1:40.750.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 51/55: Vettel sets the fastest lap of the race with 1:41.244. He is 20 seconds off Hamilton though, so third is what the German will have to settle for.
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Roar Guru
Lap 51/55: 5 LAPS TO GO
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Roar Guru
Lap 50/55: BOT HAM VET RÄI VER HUL PER OCO ALO MAS GRO VAN MAG WEH HAR GAS ERI STR are the remaining runners with 6 laps to go in 2017. Sainz and Ricciardo are out of the race.
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Roar Guru
Lap 49/55: Hamilton closing right up now! Alonso lets the leading the pair through, as we see Hamilton right up behind his teammate.
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Roar Guru
Lap 48/55: 1.5 seconds between Bottas and Hamilton then, with Alonso the next back marker coming up for the Silver Arrows to get past.
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Roar Guru
Lap 47/55: Hartley in that battle for P13, has fallen 1.3 seconds now of the P14-placed Wehrlein.
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Roar Guru
Lap 46/55: Affairs unchanged out the front.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Lap 42/55: Magnussen, Wehrlein and Hartley all scrapping away for P13 at the moment, with the Haas on top for now.