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The 2009 season F1 season finale at the Yas Marina circuit Abu Dhabi is going to a one of a kind race. The first ever day/night race on a brand new circuit. F1 maniac Sahil Gore does a preview of the two teams he follows.

McLaren go into the last GP of the season, with a one-point lead over Ferrari in the constructor’s championship. Their sole aim this weekend will be to consolidate 3rd place in the championship, and not just for the psychological satisfaction of beating Ferrari. The position is worth 25 million dollars! The revenue received by FOM (Bernie’s company) is distributed among the teams according to their place in the championship and the points they accumulate.

Abu Dhabi (and the Middle East in general) is a very very big market for Mercedes-Benz. It is also the only part of the world today, which can afford the supercars being designed back at Woking (the successor to the legendary McLaren F1 is due in 2011). No wonder then that Whitmarsh has set the target of a victory for his team.

Incidentally, the constructor’s money is equal to half of Kimi Raikkonen’s termination clause. The Finn will receive close to 45 million dollars from Ferrari, for agreeing to prematurely end his contract, to make way for Fernando Alonso.

An interesting incident comes to mind here. In the last race of 2006, Alonso and Schumacher were fighting for the championship. Ferrari’s signing of Raikkonen had been made public two races prior, at Monza. Sometime after the second round of pit stops, Schumacher comes up behind Raikkonen’s McLaren fighting for track position. Michael had to win this race (and hope for Alonso to screw up) to win the championship. When Kimi Raikkonen saw the Ferrari in his mirrors, he went on the radio, asking his team if he could let Michael through. Not only did it shock the McLaren engineers, but it also rattled a few reports that got hold of this news. He was politely asked to defend his position, which he did, for a couple of laps, until the inferior McLaren was out braked by the Ferrari into the first corner.

 

A recent comment made by McLaren Team Principle Martin Whitmarsh is also of relevance here: “Knowing Kimi, he will be extremely motivated to beating Ferrari in the future”.

 

 

 

Now, Raikkonen has publicly stated that McLaren are his only option for 2010. The contract isn’t signed yet (or at least not publicly disclosed) due to disagreements over his salary. Will an extra 25 million help McLaren make up their minds? And if they have already signed him on, will he be more loyal to his future team in the last race of the season? McLaren paid Sauber a lot of money in 2001 to break Kimi’s contract and signed him for 5 years. I think it’s only fair that he repay the faith they showed in a 6 month old F1 prodigy, and snub the team that has thrown him out for being ‘boring’. Ron Dennis must be smiling for the first time in 2009.

 

Red Bull have many reasons to smile, as they head to Abu Dhabi with a guaranteed 2nd place in the Championship. 2009 has been their best season in Formula 1. They had their first pole, first victory and first fastest lap. Then they had seconds and thirds and a few more of these as well. They also have a homegrown champion-in-the-making, who many believe will go on to become bigger than Schumacher himself.

Adrian Newey repaid the faith that Dietrich Mateschitz had put in him (actually, he just about justified his salary for the last few years). Mark Webber finally put to rest all the questions about his talent. Now we know for sure that he is not world champion material.

The team will no doubt be disappointed at having come so close to winning both championships. But the season has been way better than they could’ve imagined 12 months ago. They must now carry this momentum into 2010 and prove that 2009 was not a one-off. They have to match McLaren and Ferrari at their best, and yet manage to fight for the championship. But first, lock that boy in for 10 years in an ironclad contract.

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