In the round-up: Amid rumours he will replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull next year, Liam Lawson says he does not even know if he will be on the Formula 1 grid.
In brief
Lawson in the dark over F1 future
Lawson ran 10th early in yesterday’s race before being passed by potential future team mate Max Verstappen. His evening fell apart when his team failed to secure his front-left wheel at a pit stop and he received a 10-second stop-go penalty.
Asked afterwards whether he would return to F1 for his first full season next year, Lawson said: “I don’t know.
“I’ve given it everything, honestly, in every single session that I’ve driven the car,” said the RB driver. “So the decision is up to them. We’ll see.”
Gasly proud to end season without damage
Pierre Gasly said he was pleased to achieve three targets in the final race of the season, one of which was completing the season without incurring any damage.“We had one target coming in Abu Dhabi, which was to secure that sixth in the constructors’ [championship],” he said. “The target was achieved.
“There was also the drivers’ championship with Nico [Hulkenberg], we were within two points coming into the last race, so we knew whoever would beat the other will get that 10th spot in the championship, which I managed to get in the end.
“And we kept our nose clean the entire season for no damage. So it was the three targets completed.”
Haas dejected after strong first lap
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu admitted he was disappointed by the team’s slump in fortunes during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
“At the end of lap 1 it was looking great because Nico was in P5 and Kevin [Magnussen] had another amazing first lap from P14 to P7. Then unfortunately on Kevin’s first stop it was slow and that’s unfortunate as our pit crew has been amazing this year, but on this critical moment it meant Kevin came out in traffic, so that really compromised his race.
“As Kevin was stuck in traffic, we pitted him again and on his out-lap Bottas locked up and damaged Kevin’s car. He was very unlucky, I wanted Kevin to sign off well, as he’s done so much and he’s a part of the family, but we couldn’t finish with a points-scoring position with him.
“On Nico’s side he drove really well, but being in traffic all the time is really difficult. The execution of his one stop race was very good, and in normal circumstances coming home in P8 and scoring another four points would be a thing to celebrate, so I think we did the best job we could with Nico.”
The result meant Haas finished seventh in the constructors’ championship, one place behind rivals Alpine.
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Thoughts of a champion (Formula 2)
Gabriel Bortoleto: 'We have been through a lot of things since the beginning, where we struggled a lot in Jeddah and Australia, where I had a very big crash. The team never gave up, I never gave up as well, and from that moment on, I think we deserved every single point we achieved in this championship. We had luck, but we also created our own luck, with our pace, with our work, the extra hours we did in the sim, all the extra hours we had, the late nights working on the simulations for new things to bring the car in the right window for the new tracks that were coming up for me and for the team as well. '
Jones to mark special Adelaide anniversary (Auto Action)
'Forty years on from the first Adelaide Formula 1 grand prix, (Alan) Jones will drive the same F1 car on the same streets.'
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Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
Comical end to the Formula 2 title fight as Isack Hadjar is left on the line at the start.The commentators fail to notice and spend the entire first lap misidentifying Pepe Marti as Hadjar.#F2
— Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine.bsky.social) 8 December 2024 at 09:31
Lewis Hamilton's pass on George Russell on the last lap of their final race together as team mates means he has scored the most points of the two Mercedes drivers over their three years together.
#F1 #AbuDhabiGP #RaceFans
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet.bsky.social) 8 December 2024 at 15:55
Honestly I feel like getting absolutely hammered with @LandoNorris and @ZBrownCEO would be an awesome experience 😂 congrats guys! @McLarenF1 👏 #f1
— Conor Daly (@ConorDaly22) December 8, 2024
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Comment of the day
Will Hamilton disprove the doubters again with his second change of Formula 1 team?
When Hamilton jumped ship from McLaren to Mercedes, I too was a doubter. But then Mercedes went on to produce a monster of a car.
The question now is can Ferrari produce a monster too? And can Hamilton deliver once more? The prospect of a Ferrari championship will be spectacular no doubt – eighth drivers’ championship and ending the longest championship-less streak of Ferrari.
I am a doubter again. But I won’t mind being wrong again.
@PinakGhosh
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Myles Woerner, Samuel Tatipamula and Julien!
SPArtacus
9th December 2024, 1:45
That comment is either pure diplomacy re: the Perez situation or to get Liam’s social media base riled up and come out in force on social media to pressure RBR into finally axing Checo and giving him the Red Bull seat. I doubt he has much to worry about after Perez went 18 straight races without producing one decent result.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
9th December 2024, 3:12
Just curious – how was Lawson allowed to continue for a full lap with a wheel that was not properly attached? Loose tires can bounce and climb things and they can plow through 100 people.
SPArtacus
9th December 2024, 3:25
Because all your worst theories are true. Red Bull and RB are allowed to do anything they want without consequence. They even allow them 5 min window before each race to randomly tear out as much wiring from their competitors’ cars as they can.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
9th December 2024, 3:35
Maybe I’ve been watching racing for too long but I fail to understand how missing a double yellow flag results in a 10 second stop/go penalty but you can drive a loose wheel for a full lap.
Crawliin-from-the-wreckage- Special Unhinged Edition (@davedai)
9th December 2024, 3:52
More little birdies and stars in front of your eyes.
Carl Parker (@mysticarl)
9th December 2024, 18:28
Same as Albon I think earlier in the year so the penalty was at least consistent – 10 second stop/go for unsafe release and I’m sure the team will get a decent fine too.
To be fair not slowing for a double waved yellow is VERY bad and I’m happy really that not doing it is a severe penalty.
Carl Parker (@mysticarl)
9th December 2024, 18:29
Next time I’ll read down the list before replying! :)
Jere (@jerejj)
9th December 2024, 6:51
@freelittlebirds Don’t forget Albon was equally allowed to do a full lap in Imola.
Antz (@antznz)
9th December 2024, 7:44
@freelittlebirds I’m pretty sure there are locks on the hub that catch and hold an unthreaded nut now. Pushing a nut on secures the wheel even if it isn’t threaded, which is why the wheel moved so little on his lap. Happy to be corrected if this isn’t the case!
anon
9th December 2024, 10:51
Whilst that mechanism is in place, it’s not completely infallible – Perez had an incident back in 2018 where the wheel came off, for example.
It would probably depend on what exactly happened – in the two more recent cases of Albon earlier this year and Alonso in 2022, the wheel nuts were not fully tightened, but were still tight enough to hold the wheels in place provided the driver stuck to slow speeds. In that situation, drivers have been allowed to return to the pits on the basis that the wheel was still being at least partially restrained by the wheel nuts.
However, if the wheel nut has failed entirely and it’s only the clips that are holding the wheel in place, then the drivers usually are expected to stop as soon as they find somewhere safe to do so.
If Lawson was in the former situation then, whilst still a bit risky, it would have been in line with what other drivers have done previously.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
9th December 2024, 13:31
@Anon
Thanks for the information. First, I’m not sure the driver should be in a position to determine the safety. I think I saw Lawson doing 260kmh when he was talking about the wheel. I’m not sure if he slowed down after that or how much.
Albon got a significant penalty.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
9th December 2024, 13:29
Didn’t Albon get a stop/go penalty? Did Lawson get one? I might have missed it.
Jere (@jerejj)
9th December 2024, 15:13
@freelittlebirds Yes, both did, but Lawson’s went unseen on the world feed.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
9th December 2024, 16:33
@jerejj thanks, that answers my question. That makes perfect sense but it didn’t during the race.
Also I don’t think the wheels have any fastening mechanisms other than the wheel net as was suggested as they would probably delay pit stops if they got stuck.
UNeedAFinn2Win (@uneedafinn2win)
9th December 2024, 6:11
Here we are then, time for a break
Celebrate something if you are inclined to do so , and have a better 2025
Remember to support your local tracks and drivers.
Rolex 24 is just six weeks away
SPArtacus
10th December 2024, 6:23
I love your username.
Jere (@jerejj)
9th December 2024, 6:51
He’ll almost certainly continue in the B-team, at the very least, given his general performance level.
I think Gasly is the only full-season driver who didn’t suffer exterior damage in any session.
Winning the drivers’ championship for the eight in the championship’s oldest team would be a great way to make up for the 2021 loss.
dasdd
9th December 2024, 13:31
Which is simply not true, but okay – everyone is already copypasting it.
SPArtacus
10th December 2024, 6:24
Fill us in the, ddsassd.
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
9th December 2024, 10:12
That Marti / Hadjar commentary bumble was something I’ve not seen / heard since Murray Walker was doing it pretty much every other race.
The advertising ‘bridge things’? at Abu Dhabi are larger than at other tracks and the positioning of them does obscure the view from certain TV angles (remember to use DHL). Crofty and Martin also seemed to miss Yuki’s ‘stall’ in the F1 race.
We all make mistakes and commentary is probably harder than they get credit for, perhaps if Murray was commentating Hadjar might be F2 champion now.
Craig
9th December 2024, 11:21
It is indeed the case commentary is harder then we give it credit for. They’ll have a lot of information, more then us, but their focus on the first lap would have been on the main feed and they were probably thrown by Martins fluffing his start which blocked the view of Hadjar (who could have been any of the Red Bull Juniors at a glance, seeing as their liveries are largely the same)
Jere (@jerejj)
9th December 2024, 11:29
@bernasaurus The advertising bridges aren’t any larger than elsewhere, if anything, the other way around if compared visually & I don’t find their positioning any more obstructing either, so I don’t quite know what you’re getting at.
As for Yuki’s stall, I was unaware of it until the replay footage since I focused solely at the front as per usual with starts & the first few corners, although I did notice one of the back starters swerving around towards the pit wall in the background.
MichaelN
9th December 2024, 12:02
Providing commentary that is both useful, and accessible is indeed hard. There will be hundreds of thousands of people, millions even, watching who all have different ideas and interest and levels of experience.
But it would be a lot easier if these guys realised they don’t have to fill every second of coverage with their yammering. The start rarely needs commentary, especially not the shouting at the top of your lungs kind.
Le Jimster (@lejimster82)
9th December 2024, 14:29
He was unlucky with the pitstop and then the penalty. I think he might have sneaked a top 10 finish otherwise. During his post-race interview he said it was one of his best performances in F1 and that his pace was really strong. I had to go back and look at his lap times vs Tsunoda and he really did have great race pace.. It’s just a shame it didn’t result in anything. I would say it was a similar type of pace advantage to what he had in Texas.
It’s quite interesting because I think Tsunoda has overall done a better job during the time together as team mates (which is to be expected) but Lawson has shown hints he’s able to reach a higher level than Tsunoda, which doesn’t surprise me if I’m honest.
Antz (@antznz)
10th December 2024, 2:46
I agree with this. Mexico and Vegas are two of the lowest grip tracks and hardest for newer drivers. I checked and all the newer drivers performed relatively worse at those races than they would most weekends.
I think Liam looks like he is more aggressive wheel to wheel? He also kept it out of the walls in all his appearances.
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
9th December 2024, 14:35
I thought the reason RIC got replaced late in the season was because LAW was guaranteed a seat. That guarantee was only for the last part of a season. I am confused.
Jere (@jerejj)
9th December 2024, 15:14
Yes, initially only for the last six rounds, but next season was always more or less a mere formality as long as he performed decently.
MarkWebber (@markwebber)
9th December 2024, 16:03
Bluesky isn’t happening, it’s a wasted effort
SPA
10th December 2024, 6:27
Show your crystal ball. Naturally, the odds are heavily against it, but we’ll have to wait and see.
SPArtacus
10th December 2024, 6:27
Show your crystal ball. Naturally, the odds are heavily against it, but we’ll have to wait and see.
jenc (@jens)
9th December 2024, 20:39
That first lap by Kevin Magnussen was really stellar. He have had so many great race starts. Sad to see him go…
SPArtacus
10th December 2024, 6:29
What an unfair way to go. Though I was never a huge K Mag fan, that was really sad to see, especially since he’s been doing so much better lately.
stefano (@alfa145)
9th December 2024, 23:35
wait, this is already the longest championship-less streak for Ferrari?