Abu Dhabi 2014 (Final Round) - F1 Prediction League

Welcome to the Abu Dhabi GP prediction league thread! 

A fantastic weekend is in store with the title hanging in the balance. There are many defining battles throughout the field past the battle for the title, including the battle for fourth in the championship between Vettel, Alonso and Bottas. There are other questions surrounding the weekend, will this be Button's last F1 race!? Hopefully not as he still has tons of talent. Will Alonso be confirmed at McLaren? And will Vettel see out the end of his Red Bull career in style? 

Given the positions in the championship, Sangan is in the nice place of only having to score 12 points or so to win the league (out of a possible 25). It's all dependent on season and midseason too as 9 points is enough if they stay static. Don't forget the Constructors championship is still up for grabs too, Sangan and Dragan sit pretty in those standings too but Marussia could still turn this around.

Happy to accept new entrants (the rules/FAQ thread may be of help) and hoping to see all of our established players back for the final race. Please just make a comment at the end of my post using the template later in this thread. There's one final opportunity to win a race this season - who will take this golden opportunity!?

For new players, please stipulate whether you want to join Toro Rosso, Force India or Caterham. Team places will be given on a first come, first served basis.

Read on for the random questions, championship standings and a template to post picks.

Championship Standings

Here’s a round-up of the current driver’s and constructor’s championship positions (with some minor amendments as season had a few changes):

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Random

Thanks to everyone who has helped so far on random this year! As this is the season end random, there are a few more questions than usual. Hopefully most of these questions won't be too taxing.

Category 1: Super Sectors

Sector 1

1) Which team will have the best time through sector 1 in qualifying: Williams, Red Bull or Ferrari. Which of the two drivers from your picked team will be quicker?
2) Taking their best time from the whole of qualifying, which teams will set the overall fastest time with the following handicaps:
 

Sector 2 

1) Which team will have the best time through sector 2 in qualifying: Red Bull, Ferrari or Force India? Which of the two drivers from your picked team will be quicker?

2) Pick a driver who will be quickest through the speed trap in sector 2.
3) Will there be any DRS overtakes within the top 4 positions in the race?

Sector 3

1) Which team will have the best time through sector 3 in qualifying: Toro Rosso, Force India or Lotus? Which of the two drivers from your picked team will be quicker?
2) Who will be on pole - Hamilton, Rosberg, or anyone else?
3) Who will the race - Hamilton, Rosberg, or anyone else?
4) Will Sauber or Lotus score any points in the race?

Scoring

The idea for this random category is to score the lowest possible time overall. The 'slowest player' will receive 0 points for this category, with each player above them scoring an additional 2 points (if 15 players involved, the top player will score 28 points).

For each team selected in part 1 of Sectors 1, 2 and 3, their best time in qualifying is used as the basis for the scoring in this category. An additional reduction in time of 0.1 seconds is given if the driver you pick sets a faster time than their teammate in that sector. 

The following rules apply to the other parts:

S1P2: the difference between the best pick and your pick is added to your time. In the event of no times being set by a team, the team will be assigned the equal worst time difference.
S2P2: The top ten picks will get time decreases in this sector. There is a maximum of 0.5 seconds overall, each position difference reduces the time cut by 0.05 seconds.
S2P3: The correct answer is a further 0.1 seconds deduction to your time.
S3P2 and S3P3: The correct answer is a further 0.2 seconds decuction for Hamilton and Rosberg picks. If anyone chooses the field a 0.4 second deduction can be gained. If any driver is ahead after half distance (strategy adjusted) and they retire through no fault of their own (mechanical issues), they will score half points. No other drivers will score a time deduction in this category. If Hamilton and Rosberg take each other out the field will win the category regardless of whose fault it is. 
S3P4: The correct answer is a further 0.2 seconds deduction.

Category 2: Season Finale Questions

1) Who will 'win' qualifying - Button or Magnussen? (2 points)
2) Predict the order of the three drivers battling for 4th in the Driver's Championship (Vettel 159, Alonso 157 and Bottas 156) (2 points for a driver being placed correctly, 1 point for a driver placing one away). 
3) Which team will finish in the highest position relative to their current Constructor's Championship position (excluding poor Marussia)? (best - 5 points, 2nd - 4 points, 3rd - 3 points, 4th - 2 points, 5th - 1 point. The position of the highest classified car is taken (rather than total points), for example if the order is Hamilton (Mercedes), Vettel (Red Bull), Ricciardo (Red Bull) with a Rosberg retirement, Mercedes are classified 1st as they have the highest placed car. Ties are resolved by the team with the highest position)

Tie-break

The tie-break is category 1, the player with the best time will win any eventual points ties. Time of posting will be the second tie-break, if necessary.

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Template

 
Hamilton, Rosberg and Mercedes banned.

Feel free to post picks in the following format:

Qualifying: 
Race: 
Constructors: 
Random:
Category 1
S1P1: Team - [Williams/Red Bull/Ferrari]. Driver - X.
S1P2: [Mercedes/Red Bull -1.4 seconds/McLaren -1.7 seconds/Ferrari -1.8 seconds/Toro Rosso -2.4 seconds/Force India -2.4 seconds]
S2P1: Team - [Red Bull/Ferrari/Force India]. Driver - X.
S2P2: [Driver]
S2P3: Yes/No
S3P1: Team - [Toro Rosso/Force India/Lotus]. Driver - X.
S3P2: Hamilton/Rosberg/Other
S3P3: Hamilton/Rosberg/Other
S3P4: Yes/No

Category 2
1) Button/Magnussen
2) 1st: [Vettel/Alonso/Bottas], 2nd: [X], 3rd: [X]
3) [Constructor]

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Special championship Stats and Information

 

Key differences in Season and Midseason which may swing

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As always picks are due before Free Practice 1 which is 0900 GMT/1300 Local time on the 21st November 2014.

Good luck everyone!