Fernando Alonso says his qualifying result puts him in a good position to win the world championship today.
Links
Abu Dhabi GP – Conference 3 (FIA)
“I’m confident. I’ve been confident for the last five months of the championship. Now there’s one day to go. We knew this weekend would be difficult, arriving with Red Bull very dominant in the last three or four grands prix. Now we’ve past Friday, we did some set-up work and some interesting runs with the tyres etc. We’ve past Saturday with a good qualifying in terms of championship positions. Now there is only one more cross to put: Sunday.”
Q&A with Mark Webber (Autosport)
“I could have crashed in Spa when it was sprinkling in Q3 but I didn’t – I got pole position. As you say, mate, it is over 12 months of hard work. You cannot just pin one point. You are never in with a chance of winning the world championship if you are not performing over the whole season, which is what I have done and why I am in with a chance of winning the championship. To criticise one qualifying session – if you look at some qualifying sessions of Fernando this year, they were not so good. It happens. For sure it is disappointing, but it’s where I qualified and it is where I start the race and it is a long grand prix tomorrow. But for me to sit there tomorrow night and say, ‘I didn’t win the championship because I didn’t qualify second on the grid’… is wrong.”
Comment of the day
What’s happened to Robert Kubica, asks Victor:
Whereas his first part of the season was exceptional, the second was much worse.
Although to be fair, he had more bad luck: he was doing very good in the British GP, in Singapore he got a puncture and in Japan he lost a wheel whilst being on course for a strong podium finish.
Nonetheless, he has been poor in Hungary, Italy and Brazil (although if your car hits the rev-limiter on the straight the car can hardly be considered to be set-up properly). Korea was not exceptional either, but on the other hand that race highlighted his strengths, i.e. knowing the car’s limit and staying out of trouble. Abu Dhabi probably won’t be one of his better races either.
Victor
Thanks also to Enigma for a Comment of the Day nomination via Twitter.
From the forum
Godfrey wants to see bigger numbers on the cars.
Happy birthday!
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On this day in F1
Brett Lunger turns 65 today. The American driver made 34 F1 starts in the seventies, starting out as James Hunt’s team mate at Hesketh at the end of 1975.
In a four-year career he never scored a point, his best finish coming at Zolder in 1978 when he finished seventh (which would be worth six points today) driving a privately-entered McLaren M25.
Lunger’s racing was financed by his wealthy family – he was an heir to the DuPont family who made a fortune in the chemicals industry.
Although he didn’t achieve much in F1 he is best remembered for being one of the driver who pulled Niki Lauda from the flaming wreck of his Ferrari at the Nurburgring in 1976
Image © Ferrari spa
Jake
14th November 2010, 0:11
today’s the day !!! =D
US_Peter (@us_peter)
14th November 2010, 1:04
I really can’t believe it’s already here. Can’t wait to see how it all pans out!
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
14th November 2010, 10:59
I can’t wait, but at the same time, I am not looking forward to it! I don’t know if I’ll be able to bear to watch! It’s also quite sad that it is nearly over now… :(
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
14th November 2010, 0:37
last F1 sunday :(
that’s sad! what am I gonna do next????
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
14th November 2010, 2:11
Wait for 2011 to start.Yeah it’s sad but look at the brighter part we still have 2 hours of full throttle action.
Fixy (@)
14th November 2010, 10:57
Next GP in 119 days (race day) – but then there’s the car launches, the tests and the Free Practises…
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
14th November 2010, 0:40
I also wonder what happened with Kubica. But i think it’s all about Renault not keeping up with the other teams. They were safe in 5th at the constructors, they couldn’t challenge Mercedes and they were already too far ahead of FI and Williams.
So maybe they dropped in performance a bit, despite some highlights at practice here and there. Certainly Suzuka’s qualy was more about Robert than the car.
Alex Bkk
14th November 2010, 0:42
oops, re: Brett Lunger you dropped you s “one of the driver”
Alex Bkk
14th November 2010, 0:52
lol I made a typo too… haha
David-A (@david-a)
14th November 2010, 0:45
So, shouldn’t he have set his car up properly?
Icthyes (@icthyes)
14th November 2010, 8:59
My thoughts exactly.
Kubica is simply over-rated. People were talking like he would do Spa results (not sure how gaining two positions from a crash and then losing one by the simplest pit error ever is a result) every weekend. I’m sorry, he’s not that good.
In a car that he clearly doesn’t like, Rosberg has impressed me more.
Cacarella
14th November 2010, 1:14
Is News of the World invited to all the FIA press conferences? I thought they were considered a tabloid or something similar in the UK?
Scalextric
14th November 2010, 3:46
Austin 2012 expecting us playboys and princes to show up.
Hallard
14th November 2010, 4:10
from that statesman article:
“…and his personal collection of cars includes a Ferrari 997 GT3.”
A what now?
Scalextric
14th November 2010, 4:55
That sounds like an expensive version of this
Maciek
14th November 2010, 8:48
On the subject of Kubica – I wouldn’t put it down to anything more than overperforming in the first half and a motivation drop closer to the end of a season when 1) his team messed up here and there 2) there hasn’t been that much to actually drive for as far as immediate rewards and, maybe most important, 3) he’s had no internal competition from his team mate.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
14th November 2010, 9:02
Here’s one to keep an eye on – the UK MET office now say there’s a 25% chance of showers at Yas Island ahead of the race.
Radar here: http://www.almiyah.gov.ae/radars/index.htm
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
14th November 2010, 10:11
http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=394565&FS=F1
According to Willi Weber, Nico Hulkenberg is leaving Williams.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
14th November 2010, 10:19
Original story (in German): http://www.express.de/sport/motorsport/motorsport/-nico-huelkenberg-verlaesst-williams-/-/4595266/4831838/-/index.html
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
14th November 2010, 10:33
Yeah, I don’t read German. Or speak it. I can speak a bit of Russian and some Romanaian, and understand them a little more if someone is speaking it, but I can’t read either.
Fixy (@)
14th November 2010, 10:59
Yes, but where is he going to?
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
14th November 2010, 11:50
Doesn’t say. The article makes it clear that we’ll know in a week. I think a lot will depend on his performance in the Pirelli tests.
Calum
14th November 2010, 10:33
No luck! Guess who’s parents are dragging him off to town instead of letting them stay at home for F1?
The joys of still being a minor. :/
2.5 hrs till race, I might be Back in time
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
14th November 2010, 10:36
Hey, I have a training day and an exam tomorrow.
bananarama
14th November 2010, 10:58
That sucks .. what kind of exam is it? Maybe we can all come together and help you :-P I’ve got a degree in physics and econometrics to offer and am currently writing a thesis in politics, so I guess there are a couple of things I can help out with :-)
Hamish
14th November 2010, 11:40
Yea, I think when you’re on this side of the globe and are a religious F1 fan every 2nd of 3rd Monday at work seems to be non-productive.
I think the two countries that have it the worst are New Zealand and West Coast America. Spare a thought for those guys when you Brits whinge about having a few races that aren’t that convenient to your liking.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
14th November 2010, 11:49
Cost Accounting. It’s pretty much the most important exam I’ll ever sit, because I need to pass this in order to graduate. If I don’t pass, I’ll be forced to take a year off and do a single subject. To make matters worse, I failed it last year and I have a poor track run with math subjects. That said, I’ve got a new lecuturer who is very cool.
I also have a Resident Fellow (kind of a surrogate carer) training day.
Ads21 (@ads21)
14th November 2010, 10:41
That is frankly child abuse, do they not understand that this is the most important grand prix of all time?!
Forget Save Chip we need a Save Calum campaign!
giorgio
14th November 2010, 10:52
At least your parents know where you are! My mom thinks I’m in class, but I’m actually bailing out and sitting in a farm (a room with 120 computers)! :)
Just got here, preparing everything to watch the race. Got myself a coke, lunch, got my laptop for Live Timing and twitter, and a local computer for streaming. Oh the joy ;)
Paul
14th November 2010, 10:59
Hope you make it back m8
mateuss
14th November 2010, 10:49
Two things:
1) Brazil edit is up on F1.com
2) Lewis is on twitter @IamLewis4real
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
14th November 2010, 10:56
Not that the Brazil edit is anything special… :(
mateuss
14th November 2010, 11:58
Exactly what I thought :(