Will anyone but Vettel finally lead a lap again?
Not since Lewis Hamilton's season-changing retirement midway through the Singapore GP on September 23 has any driver other than Sebastian Vettel led a lap in F1.
Will Red Bull wrap up the Constructors' Championship?In all honesty the answer to this particular question is something of a formality given the way Red Bull have dominated the last month. Four straight wins from Sebastian Vettel, combined with a return to form for Mark Webber, has lifted the team to the brink of their third straight constructors' crown - a feat only previously achieved by F1 luminaries Ferrari, McLaren and Williams. With 91 and 101 points leads over Ferrari and McLaren respectively heading to Yas Marina, and only a maximum of 129 points left to play for, the mathematics are relatively simple: Ferrari must outscore Red Bull by six points this weekend (owing to the fact the latter would win on the countback of race wins rule should they end up tied), or McLaren claim 15 more than the reigning Champions, to take the 'fight' on to Austin. On current form that appears a rather tall order.
JG
Who will win that all-important sixth place in the constructors' table?Force India's 'home' race was, on the whole, a fairly muted affair. Concerns off the track occupied the attentions of the local media but while Vijay Mallya swanned through the paddock as if without a care in the world, Paul di Resta was wearing his heart on his sleeve. Busy grappling with a car in which he had no confidence at all, the Scot was the first to admit that he was having a tough time of it. Nico Hulkenberg saved the day with another strong race result, one which helped close the gap slightly to Sauber, who picked up no points at all in India.
The deficit now stands at 23 points and with 93 on offer, claiming sixth place in the Constructors' Championship remains a difficult task - but not an impossible one. On the face of it, this weekend's race certainly represents an opportunity for them given the similarity between the Yas Marina track and those in Valencia and Singapore. Both have proved happy hunting grounds for Force India this year. Di Resta will be stringly motivated to hit back this weekend, while Hulkenberg is clearly riding the crest of a wave at the moment. Can they close the gap?
MW
Will Abu Dhabi finally hit the sweet spot?The form of a certain Sebastian Vettel may have something to do with the ultimate answer to this, but ahead of its fourth staging, for all its bright lights and world-class facilities the Yas Marina circuit remains largely unloved by the watching F1 millions. The go-kart-like layout around the hotel at the back of the circuit may be a good place to watch the sport's stars wrestle with their cars, but come race day you want rather more than that. To be fair, with the aid of two DRS zones, things improved substantially in terms of overtaking last year with 50 - yes, fifty - wing-assisted passes during the course of the 55 laps with six further 'normal' overtakes. But in a glass completely full or completely empty kind of way, the fact the two zones were situated on the circuit's back-to-back long 'straights' meant any move in the first was often immediately cancelled out in the second - as Webber in particular discovered to his frustration. It therefore felt overly artifical and not particularly fulfilling. What might finally do the trick for Yas Marina, however, is an overdue wheel-to-wheel Vettel/Alonso duel. Here's hoping.
JG
