26/11/2016
NEWS STORY
Remember qualifying for the controversial 1997 European Grand Prix at Jerez?
Well, if you don't remember, Jacques Villeneuve posted what appeared to be the pole-winning time. Subsequently, Michael Schumacher equalled it, to one-thousandth of a second, only for countryman Heinz-Harald Frentzen to also post the same time.
Ignoring the drama of the following day, surely we can't expect today's qualifying session to be as dramatic, can we?
Earlier, as we expected to see title contenders Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg dominate proceedings as they prepared for a vital qualifying session, we instead had the Ferraris dominate with Sebastian Vettel quickest and teammate Kimi Raikkonen third, the pair split by the ever charging Max Verstappen.
Consequently, the Silver Arrows pair were fourth and fifth, both around 0.3s off the pace. That said, in FP2, when conditions were similar to what we can expect over the next hour, Hamilton's best time was just 0.086s off Vettel's FP3 pace.
That said, both Mercedes drivers encountered brake issues late in the session, with the team opting to change the brakes on the Briton's car.
The big question is; was Mercedes being overly cautious this morning, possibly even turning the wick down, or do Ferrari and Red Bull pose a serious threat.
If you look at it from the marketing point of view - and let's not forget F1 is a multi-billion pound business - what better way for the sport to head into the winter than Ferrari showing signs of a revival.
Then again, would the sport really suffer if its new rising start, Max Verstappen, was to upset the form book.
Fact is, the one under the most pressure today and tomorrow is Hamilton, he is the one who must overcome the 12-point deficit, while Rosberg merely has to keep it on the black stuff, stay out of trouble and bring it home within a couple of places of his fellow Mercedes driver.
But while this is a title decider for the Mercedes pair it is pretty much 'just another race' for the rest. A couple still need drives for 2017 so will hope to impress, while Jenson Button and Felipe Massa would surely lke to bow out with a certain amount of style.
What wouldn't Ferrari give to end the season on a high, while Red Bull will no doubt be keen to see Verstappen leapfrog Vettel to make it 3-4 in the driver standings.
As Fernando Alonso will tell you, it is notoriously difficult to overtake here, especially if the guy in front doesn't want to make it easy, consequently while pole might not be as vital as it is in Monaco, a start from as near the front as possible is.
Ahead of Q1, the air temperature is 26 degrees C, while the track temperature is 30 degrees. The sun is setting.
Toro Rosso will do well to make it to Q2, far less Q3, the Italian team hampered by an issue which has seen Daniil Kvyat suffer two punctures.
The lights go green and the Faenza duo are among the first out, along with Magnussen and the Haas duo.
As Kvyat crosses the line at 43.007, the Mercedes pair head out.
The Russian's time is quickly beaten by Nasr, Sainz, Gutierrez and then Magnussen (42.142) as Grosjean complains of another yet issue.
Button, sporting a helmet that pays tribute to his title-winning season, posts 41.806 to go quickest, much to the delight of his mother who is watching from the back of the McLaren garage.
Hamilton crosses the line at 39.487 having gone quickest in the final two sectors. Rosberg can only manage 40.511, that's 1.024s off the pace.
"Not a great lap," admits the German, "I had two mistakes in there."
A wobble for Raikkonen in T3 as the force India duo go third and fourth.
The Finn posts 40.993 to take fourth, thereby splitting the Force India duo.
As Vettel goes second (40.359), 0.872s down on the pace-setter, the Red Bull duo begin their flying laps.
Verstappen goes third (40.424), while a mistake means Ricciardo can only manage ninth (41.283).
Raikkonen proves there's life in them there tyres by going quickest in S1. Indeed, he crosses the line at 40.338 to go second, albeit 0.851s off the pace.
Bar the Williams duo, currently 8th (Bottas) and 11th (Massa), all the times have been set on the ultras.
With 3:02 remaining, Palmer, Kvyat, Ericsson, Ocon and Nasr comprise the drop zone, with Magnussen, Button and Massa hovering.
Nasr improves to sixteenth, as Grosjean, despite being 10th, sounds utterly despondent. Asked if there is anything the team can help him with, he mournfully replies: "I don't know".
While Nasr returns to the pits, a number of his rivals posts PBs.
Button improves to ninth with a 41.158, while Palmer and Wehrlein also both improve, a mistake in T18 appearing to consign Magnussen to an early bath.
"That was all I could offer today, sorry," sighs Kvyat.
Quickest is Hamilton, ahead of Raikkonen, Vettel, Verstappen, Rosberg, Perez, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Massa and Button, who utters a "woo-hoo!" when informed.
We lose both Toro Rossos, both Saubers, Magnussen and Ocon.
Check out our Saturday gallery from Abu Dhabi, here.
Hamilton is first out for Q2, with Raikkonen, Rosberg and Vettel close behind.
Hamilton posts 39.382 while Rosberg responds with a 39.490, Raikkonen 39.629 and Vettel 40.034.
Elsewhere, the Red Bulls head down the pitlane on supers.
As the Bulls begin their flying laps, Bottas goes fifth (41.356) and Wehrlein sixth (42.947).
A 40.429 sees Ricciardo go fifth, though teammate Verstappen posts 39.903 for fourth moments later. The Dutch teenage is only 0.521s off the pace on the supersofts.
Hulkenberg goes seventh and Perez eighth as Hamilton gets frustrated behind a slow Masa.
A 41.717 sees Alonso go eleventh, ahead of Gutierrez, Grosjean, Palmer, Wehrlein and Button.
With 4:40 remaining, all sixteen drivers are in their garages.
Verstappen emerges for a second run, while Hamilton, Rosberg, Raikkonen and Vettel have settled for what they've got. The force Indias have also opted not to run again.
Both Red Bull drivers are now on ultras but Ricciardo is old that he may be asked to slow down.
Alonso improves to tenth after being demoted by Bottas, which sees the Finn eliminated.
There are no significant improvements, though Massa makes the cut unlike his Williams teammate. Fellow retiree Button also fails to make it through.
Quickest is Hamilton, ahead of Rosberg, Raikkonen, Verstappen, Vettel, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Perez, Masa and Alonso.
We lose Bottas, Button, Gutierrez, Grosjean, Palmer and Wehrlein.
The lights go green and Hamilton leads the way, followed by Hulkenberg and Rosberg.
Hamilton begins his flying lap however, Rosberg and Raikkonen go quicker in S1.
In S2 Hamilton sets the pace and again in S3, crossing the line at 39.013. Rosberg can only manage 39.359 while Raikkonen posts 39.634.
Hulkenberg posts 40.501 but is demoted by Vettel, Verstappen and Ricciardo, the Bulls splitting the Ferrari duo.
As Perez goes eighth, ahead of Alonso, Massa is the only driver that is going for a single run.
Ahead of the final assault, just 0.346s separates the Mercedes duo.
Hamilton reports vibration on "these tyres" and asks his crew to check that it is "these tyres".
Vibration or not, Hamilton leads the way as the final charge gets underway. Though Rosberg isn't far behind, nor is Hulkenberg.
All ten drivers are on track for the final shoot-out of the year.
Rosberg goes quickest in S2, with Raikkonen not far off the pace.
Hamilton is quickest in S2 while Rosberg loses ground as does Raikkonen.
At the line it's 38.755 for Hamilton while Rosberg can only manage 39.058, again the German is 0.303s off the pace.
A mega-lap from Ricciardo sees the Red Bull driver leapfrog Raikkonen, while Vettel leapfrogs Verstappen who runs wide at T11 bringing out the yellows.
"Nice work Lewis, P1, great job mate, great job".
Indeed it was a superb lap from the Briton.
"How much the gap to Lewis," asks Rosberg.
Consequently, Hamilton will start from pole, ahead of Rosberg, Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Vettel, Verstappen, Hulkenberg, Perez, Alonso and Massa.
Bottas will start eleventh, ahead of Button, Gutierrez, Grosjean, Palmer, Wehrlein, Kvyat, Magnussen, Nasr, Ocon, Sainz and Ericsson.
Well we didn't get the three-way tie of 1997, though Nico and Kimi were certainly trying.
Now let's hope for an equally thrilling race tomorrow, with none of the controversy of Barcelona... or Jerez.
May the best man win.
Check out our Saturday gallery from Abu Dhabi, here.