Why Abu Dhabi is the wrong place for F1's season finale

Suppose the Formula 1 season was already over. We'd head into the off-season with a dramatic Brazilian Grand Prix fresh in the memory, full of storylines, drama and excitement that prove even a 'dead rubber' finale can deliver a great grand prix.

Instead, we head to Abu Dhabi this weekend. Every GP is a big occasion, although the ever-growing calendar is doing its best to dilute that big-day feel, so Sunday's race isn't irrelevant. But the chances of it providing a race to rival what we saw at Interlagos are slender. It's just not that kind of chaotic track - and therefore hardly the ideal place for F1 to sign off every year.

As a circuit, nobody can dispute the level of commitment and investment. It's a magnificent edifice, with a unique look and feel thanks to the Viceroy Hotel in the centre and adjacent marina. But this is part of its problem - the track seems to exist more in thrall to the visual demands than those of driver challenge or racing.

The two back straights do create overtaking opportunities and the chance for drivers to pass and repass, but few would argue it's a modern classic. Perhaps that will change if the 2021 regulations deliver on their objective of improving 'raceability', but based on the 10 editions staged so far it's likely to be a fairly straightforward race.

Abu Dhabi will host its eighth F1 season finale this weekend, but only three of those have been world championship deciders. The famous four-way 2010 showdown was remarkable for the circumstances of the race and Ferrari's disastrous strategy with Fernando Alonso, but as a race it was flat.

In 2014, F1 avoided an own goal in its one and only double-points finale, with Lewis Hamilton sealing the title after Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg was slowed by an ERS failure. Had it been the other way round, the race would live in infamy, so Abu Dhabi and F1 dodged a bullet.

Suzuka produced the two iconic Prost/Senna clashes, while Adelaide delivered a similar moment for Hill and Schumacher, and the incredible 1986 three-way showdown

The 2016 finale was the tensest, with leader Hamilton backing up the field in the hope Rosberg would drop back from second place, but the blue touch paper was never quite lit.

From F1's perspective, Abu Dhabi is a great place to end the season because it pays big for that privilege. That's fantastic for the great god balance sheet, but perhaps not so much for the overall composition of the calendar. It's simply a track that doesn't seem to invite many memorable races.

To be fair to Yas Marina, it has perhaps been unfortunate. Were one of its three finales to have produced a more memorable flashpoint, perhaps we would feel differently. Let's say Alonso had cleared the Renaults, then passed Nico Rosberg's Mercedes late on to beat Sebastian Vettel to the 2010 title - that would represent one of the most dramatic finales ever. But it didn't happen. It stands in history as an amazing mistake, but there was no climax built to, no 'is that Glock' (2008, Hamilton beating Felipe Massa) moment, no clash between title rivals.

Unfortunately for Abu Dhabi, the other venues that have hosted the last race over the past three decades all have their calling-card finales. Interlagos produced one of the defining title deciders in 2008 and a dramatic end in '12.

Suzuka produced the two iconic Alain Prost/Ayrton Senna clashes, while Adelaide delivered a similar moment for Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher in 1994, and the incredible '86 three-way showdown, Prost victorious after Mansell's infamous tyre blow-out. Those are circuits that have had regular finales and entered legend. Even Jerez, which only had one shot in '97, proved to be the scene for another dramatic title-deciding collision, between Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve.

Seventeen different venues have held world championship finales over the years. It says a lot that Interlagos, which feels right for the finale, has actually only staged the last race on seven occasions - but four of those were deciders. Hence its privileged position in recent history.

Season-ending venues

That said, it does offer a few characters Abu Dhabi is missing. Firstly, the tendency for the rain to strike. There's not much Yas Marina can do about rainfall, but it does offer a chaotic factor that has created many a dramatic race in Brazil.

Secondly, Interlagos is a circuit that has arguably the best corner for racing anywhere on the calendar. The Senna S, with the long straight before it, is a corner where it's impossible to shut off an attack entirely. As Carlos Sainz showed in this year's race, you can squeeze up the inside of a defending car, while a heroic Alex Albon-style move can take you around the outside of an illustrious driver such as Vettel.

Given a cut-and-thrust title battle with a dramatic denouement is what F1 is gunning for, it's worth considering for future calendars what the ideal place to finish would be. There are many constraints dictating the calendar and you can't simply select a favourite race and declare that should be the finale.

None of this means Abu Dhabi isn't a very worth presence on the calendar. It's a committed and laudable host for F1, one that will continue to build a history over time and, another decade down the line, will probably feel like F1 couldn't exist without it.

Perhaps the team that most needs to end on a high is Ferrari after a season that promised much and has delivered just three victories - and too many missed opportunities

But, equally, none of this means there's nothing at stake in Abu Dhabi and it won't feel like a dead rubber to many of those involved. For Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, third in the world championship is still at stake, while Vettel would love to win and have a shot at jumping his team-mate in the standings.

Further down, there's a three-driver battle for sixth place in the drivers' championship. Carlos Sainz Jr has made this his target and is level on points with Pierre Gasly. Alex Albon lies 11 points further behind with a good chance of taking it. While ultimately few will care or remember who finishes sixth, it's still an important personal target for all three.

The highest-stakes battle is for fifth in the constructors' championship. For Renault to miss out on fourth is a blow, but to slip to sixth behind Toro Rosso would be a catastrophe. Renault holds an eight-point advantage, so should hold on. But as the previous race at Interlagos proved, strange things can happen and, when the pressure is on, things can unravel quickly. After all, regardless of whether the overall titles are decided, this is still one equal 21st part of the season and points mean prizes - and cash.

There's also the old cliche that the end of a season is effectively the start of the next, with Nico Rosberg's run of late-2015 form famously laying the foundations for a strong start to the following year. Hamilton remembers that, and last year proved his determination to finish strongly after clinching the title, so he will be keen to sign off on a high - as will team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

But perhaps the team that most needs to end on a high is Ferrari after a season that promised much and has delivered just three victories - 11 less than Mercedes despite holding the same number of pole positions (nine) - and too many missed opportunities. Above all, this campaign has shown just how big the gap is between Mercedes and Ferrari, not in terms of lap time, but the execution.

So those hoping for a dramatic title decider in Abu Dhabi next year have good reason to hope for a marker to be laid down this weekend. Next season really does start here, even if the current one isn't finishing spectacularly.