Six things to expect from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Six things to expect from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

The 2020 season comes to a close in Abu Dhabi

Sam Hall

Thursday 10 December 2020 10:30

The 2020 Formula 1 season comes to a close at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix but while the titles have been claimed by Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes, there are still plenty of reasons to be excited for the season finale.

There is always something special about ending the season under the lights of the Yas Marina Circuit and, while this race is no title decider, there remain fights throughout the order and scores that need to be settled.

Valtteri Bottas has not yet secured second position in the championship standings and there is the small matter of the fight for third in the constructors' championship that remains a closely fought three-way battle.

Without further hesitation, here are six things you can expect from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Drivers fighting for their careers

Alex Albon is under pressure to retain his seat at Red Bull and, after George Russell's star turn for Mercedes in the Sakhir Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas may also be feeling the pressure to perform at the season finale.

Despite having competed in one race more than his seven-time champion team-mate Lewis Hamilton, Bottas trails the Briton by 127 points in the drivers' standings and, while Hamilton has registered 11 wins from 15 races, the Finn has 'only' stood on the podium 10 times as a whole.

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At Red Bull, Albon appears to still hold the keys to his own destiny with the team keen to retain a consistent line-up of the Thai British driver and Max Verstappen.

The problem is that while Verstappen is still in with a shout of stealing second away from Bottas in the championship, Albon sits only eighth, on less than half the points of the Dutchman and with an average race finish of eighth across the year.

Charles Leclerc, in a Ferrari four-time champion Sebastian Vettel has failed to master, is five points clear of Albon in sixth.

For both drivers, strong performances are required this weekend if they are to guarantee, contract in place or not, their positions at their respective teams for another year.

Round two for Russell at Mercedes of the return of Hamilton?

One topic has dominated the week between the Sakhir and Abu Dhabi races. Will Russell or Hamilton be in the Mercedes cockpit?

Russell was released on loan by Williams to Mercedes after Hamilton returned a positive Covid test one week ago and was desperately unlucky not to take a first grand prix victory on his first appearance for the team.

Hamilton will soon finish his 10-day period of self-isolation and hopes to make an immediate return but must first return four separate negative tests.

Mercedes is understood to be allowing the maximum time for a decision to be made with a deadline of Saturday morning the latest a call can be made.

Without question, Russell deserves a second weekend with the championship-winning team but whether that will be this weekend, next year or in 2022 is a question only time can answer.

Farewell to a grand prix winner

The Sakhir Grand Prix was a rollercoaster of emotions with numerous drivers in contention to take their first grand prix wins but, as Russell fell by the wayside and Esteban Ocon failed to mount a sustained challenge, it was Perez who finally topped the podium on his 190th start.

It seems incredible to think, given how highly regarded the Mexican is among his peers, that he has no drive for 2021 and faces at least a year on the sidelines.

There is never a guarantee when you leave the paddock that a seat will ever become available again and so the moment the chequered flag falls will be tinged with sadness as we say farewell, for now, to Perez.

Schumacher makes his debut

Mick Schumacher was originally set to make his maiden FP1 appearance with Alfa Romeo at the Eifel Grand Prix earlier this year but, with the session cancelled due to thick fog, this was not possible.

A part of the Ferrari Driver Academy, the Scuderia were keen to get Schumacher an FP1 outing before the season came to a close and, with the German having signed for Haas as a 2021 driver, the decision made sense for all parties.

It will be impossible to read too much into Schumacher's times, although comparisons will be drawn between the German and Pietro Fittipaldi, the Haas reserve driver again filling in for the injured Romain Grosjean.

The fight for third

This battle has kept viewers captivated across the entire season, with the advantage swinging seemingly from race to race between Racing Point, Renault and McLaren.

After the Bahrain Grand Prix where both Racing Point cars retired, McLaren took the advantage but, after finishing first and third in the Sakhir race, Racing Point enters the season finale with a 10 point margin.

Renault, in fifth, are 22 points off third position but a strong weekend and some timely retirements for its rivals could change everything yet again.

Ferrari, who briefly threatened to join the fight after a strong showing in Turkey, have scored only a single point from the past two races and are now 41 points off Renault.

A three-horse race and tens of millions of dollars at stake. Only one team can come out on top in this fight.

Haas hits a century

It seems Haas has hardly been out of the headlines in recent weeks what with driver announcements and Romain Grosjean's incident at the Bahrain Grand Prix but this weekend is a time for celebration for the American team.

Not only will Mick Schumacher make his F1 debut, as mentioned above, but the team will contest its 100th grand prix event.

The team first entered F1 in 2016 and has been on an unpredictable rollercoaster ride ever since, scoring points on debut and with a best result of fourth and fifth for Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen in the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix.