Sebastian Vettel value to show early pace in desert dead rubber

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix practice
Channel 4 & Sky Sports F1, 9am Friday

Formula One's focus has switched almost entirely to 2019, but there’s still this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to be completed before the off-season begins.

Sebastian Vettel was well and truly beaten in his championship battle with Lewis Hamilton, but the Ferrari driver is favourite to round off the year with victory in the desert.

Vettel and Hamilton have three wins apiece at the Yas Marina circuit and while Vettel hasn’t scored a victory since Belgium six races ago, his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen took the spoils in Texas a month ago.

Max Verstappen is the man in form having finished no lower than second in the last three races.

The young Dutchman would be going for a hat-trick of wins this weekend had he not tripped over backmarker Esteban Ocon while well in control in Brazil last time.

However, the ultra-modern Abu Dhabi track is not likely to suit his Red Bull as well as it will the Ferrari and Mercedes, so a podium might be the most he can hope for this weekend.

Hamilton heads the market to go fastest in today’s opening practice session, but Vettel appears to offer better value to draw first blood.

The German topped the times in first practice in Russia on a similar track layout and he missed out by just 0.049 seconds to Verstappen in the corresponding session in Brazil.

Recommendation
S Vettel fastest in P1
1pt 11-4 general

Track facts

Venue Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi
Number of laps 55
Lap length 5.554km
Lap record 1.40.279 S Vettel (Red Bull) 2009
Schedule – practice one 9am; ­practice two 1pm; practice three 10am tomorrow; qualifying 1pm tomorrow; race 1.10pm Sunday.
TV All live on Channel 4 & Sky Sports F1
Circuit characteristics The track is largely made up of long straights and tight corners, but overtaking has been made possible only by the advent of DRS. The race begins in daylight before the floodlights kick in midway through
DRS zones The two long back straights
Tyre allocation Soft (yellow), ­supersoft (red) & ultrasoft (purple)
Last five years winners (grid) V Bottas (1), L Hamilton (1), N Rosberg (1), ­L Hamilton (2), S Vettel (2)
Last year Pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas controlled the race from the front as an uneventful Grand Prix unfolded behind him.
2017 pole V Bottas, 1.36.231
2017 fastest lap V Bottas, 1.40.650 on lap 52
2017 classified finishers 18/20
Reason for retirements ­Mechanical (2)
Weather Hot and dry. 30C

Read every day for no-nonsense previews and expert sports betting tips

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport

Like us on Facebook RacingPostSport