ABU DHABI GP – FRIDAY PRACTICE
Friday 1 November 2013
CAR 1, SEBASTIAN VETTEL
First Practice Session: Position: 3, Best Time: 1:44.499, Laps: 18
Second Practice Session: Position: 1, Best Time: 1:41.335, Laps: 35
“It’s difficult to say today how we compare to the others, we know the Lotus is quick here, but we also had decent pace today. It’s not always so easy at this circuit with the conditions changing throughout the day; we start in the sun and finish at night and the track temperature changes during that time. But, no big issues, so I’m pretty happy.”
CAR 2, MARK WEBBER
First Practice Session: Position: 4, Best Time: 1:44.712, Laps: 20
Second Practice Session: Position: 2, Best Time: 1:41.490, Laps: 32
“The second session today was more representative of the race and qualifying than the first, due to the time of day and temperatures. It was a lot about the tyres today; I think the soft tyre will hold out better here than it did last week. It wasn’t a bad feeling for the first day, we got the information we needed, so let’s see how we get on tomorrow. We’ll go through everything tonight and try to understand the car on both tyre compounds.”
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PRESSURE POINTS
From the outside it might seem that all the stress of a race weekend funnels towards the race start, but the truth is that moments of intense pressure strike different team members at different times. This race, Team Manager Jonathan Wheatley explains that for him the pressure is most acute in the moments just before a pit stop…
“The period leading up to any pit stop is always very stressful – there’s a lot of talk happening on the radio, a lot of strategy discussion going on and so forth. I call the pit stop and the 30 seconds before the car comes in get pretty tense. Once the stop is underway, it’s out of your hands. A little bit like a football manager, when you put your team on the pitch you can’t do any more about it. The guys are incredibly professional and they train well. In the few moments before the stop you’ve got a load of different things to think about. You’re making sure you’ve got the crew in position, making sure they know exactly what’s happening during that stop, that they’re prepared to make the correct adjustments to the car and that they’ve got the right tyres! That’s when it really gets tense.
“When that decision is made, your attention is almost totally on that moment. Of course, you have to keep an ear out for what’s happening on track as well as you might have the other within five seconds and you might decide to bring both in, or that may be the strategic decision.
You can’t afford to miss anything.”
Ends//
3 Comments
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c.king
on November 2, 2013What a difference only 0.2 of a second makes. 50 laps x 0.2 =10 seconds a typical winning magin. Mark, you have been great in F1 and it has been a pleasure following your career with RBR. Good luck in the future.
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John
on November 3, 2013Mate,
Well done on quali. This proves they did indeed sabotage your car in some way in 2010 at Abu-dhabi. You matched vettel on this circuit and red bull made you believe you had equal treatment. Ram him up the arse if he passes you tomorrow.
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Walter.
on November 3, 2013Well done Mark on a brilliant poleposition
All the very best.Tomorrow before the start,
VISUALISE the entire race , from start to finish.
FEEL yourself grabbing the perfect start,Making the perfect pitstop , crossing the finish line First!Think of Every problem that you will come across during the race,and face it head on , and overcome it.
Feel the satisfaction when you cross the finish line and dwell on what you have just acheived.
Dont worry about anything , or anyone else.
FOCUS,
On what you have to do to get to the first corner,
if you dont get there first , it doesnt matter , there will be 1000’s of corners to get round before the race is won.then Relax,and get in the groove, and run YOUR race.
Remember
The starting lights are nothing to be feared .
Because you are focused on what you have to do.
There are No nerves,No sweaty palms, just Calmness .
You can’t wait , for that light to turn green ,because you love to race!
That’s why you put up with the BS and the politics behind the scenes,
Your above that!
You have lost many races for two long, some through your driving, but a lot due to ,Other Reasons”.
So in these last three races,
DO WHAT YOU DO BEST !
When the red turns to green,
You are on auto pilot ,
You know instinctively what to do ,
Relax,Breath,takeoff !!!!!!!!!!!!What ever happens during the race , be confident, overcome any problem , move on to the next lap,
Don’t ever give up untill you cross the finish line.
Remember ,
Do the little things well,And the rest will Follow .And above all else, ENJOY ! yourself.
That’s why you started all this,REMEMBER !
It doesn’t matter if it seems that everyone is against you,
Because ,
They probably are!
But at the end of the day,
WHO CARES !!!!!
It’s just a race! It’s that simple! Take out the money, the politics, at the end of it all you do it for the love of the game.
The only reason your leaving is because you have team bosses that have no idea what pure sport is all about.
Im a kiwi so usually I love watching an Aussie go down, but the way you get back up time and time again,impresses the hell out of me.
So thank you for making f1 a great sport to watch, and get excited over.
Do the best you can do , be the best you can be.
It’s a shame we won’t be seeing you next year.
Just do what you do
For you! And your pit crew,and all those that are really, on your , side .
They are on your shoulder with you through every lap,watching out for you untill the finish line.
JUST DO WHAT YOU LOVE TO DO AND HOPEFULLY BY THE END YOU COME 1ST.If you don’t win,it doesn’t matter.As long as you do your very best then , what happens , happens! If you lose then hopefully it’s fare and square,
Don’t worry about the politics.
When money’s involved,
Sportsmanship goe’s out the window.
And in those circumstances You can never win
When the race has already been decided !
You are , unfortunately just a pawn in their overpriced chess game.
Its just a shame the race is usually run before the flag drops, but at the end of the day,who cares, we all know what makes a true champion.
It would have been great to see you in a team next year that would have given you a chance , at the very least, a level playing field.
Vettel v webber, worth the price of admission .
Farrari would have been a good fit.
All the best for the future Mark.
KICK SOME BUTT!
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