Much of the talk around Formula One racing in recent years has revolved around Britain’s Lewis Hamilton and Germany’s Sebastian Vettel, who are both outstanding drivers. Their rivalry has made for some great racing but there could soon be a new championship to decide.
In Abu Dhabi, the champions will clash in a head-to-head battle for the F1 championship on Sunday.
Hamilton leads the championship with six wins but Vettel, who boasts two victories, will be a threat to his hopes. Hamilton will no doubt want to make it eight victories this season while Vettel will want to add to his tally to narrow the gap.
They are expected to race a one-two again, the same finish that they had in Melbourne.
The Mercedes-powered cars are slower than the Ferrari-powered cars but since the introduction of a new turbo hybrid system, drivers have managed to make it work in both teams. The two-stop strategy takes place early in the race, so the drivers will be able to switch to their engines at the end of the race to produce more of a surge.
They will again be on a knife edge in Abu Dhabi but it would be remiss to rule out Mercedes, who have done a good job of gaining ground on Ferrari over the past two years.
The BBC and FOX SPORTS will have all the action this weekend on Sundays during F1’s opening six races.