Before the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend began, I posted five prediction polls on the Lights Out twitter account. How many of the questions did you get right? Find out below!
1. Where will Daniel Ricciardo finish in his last Red Bull race?
1. Where will Daniel Ricciardo finish in his final race for Red Bull? #AbuDhabiGP #f1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) November 22, 2018
YOUR PREDICTION: 4th, 5th or 6th
CORRECT ANSWER: 4th, 5th or 6th
Daniel Ricciardo out-qualified Max Verstappen on his final apperance with Red Bull. Just as half of you predicted, Ricciardo finished his last race of the team well within the points, but not on the podium. He came home fourth, just a few seconds behind his team-mate.
2. Who’ll finish third in the Drivers’ Championship?
2. Who’ll finish third in the Drivers’ Championship? #AbuDhabiGP #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) November 22, 2018
YOUR PREDICTION: KIMI RAIKKONEN
CORRECT ANSWER: KIMI RAIKKONEN
Despite not finishing the race, it was Kimi Raikkonen who finished third in the 2018 Drivers’ Championship. The Finn finished two points ahead of Max Verstappen in the final order, while Valtteri Bottas finished a further two points behind Verstappen.
3. Will McLaren or Williams make it out of Q1?
3. Will any McLaren or Williams driver make it out of Q1 this weekend? #AbuDhabiGP #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) November 22, 2018
YOUR PREDICTION: NO
CORRECT ANSWER: YES
It was a close poll but Fernando Alonso was the only one of the four drivers from Williams and McLaren to make it out of Q1 on Saturday. The Spaniard qualified 15th on his last F1 appearance.
4. Where will the best-placed Renault finish?
4. Where will the best-placed Renault driver finish the #AbuDhabiGP? #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) November 22, 2018
YOUR PREDICTION: 7th or 8th
CORRECT ANSWER: IN THE TOP SIX
While Nico Hulkenberg was flipped out of the race on the first lap, Carlos Sainz brought the points home for Renault in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Spaniard recorded his second-best result of the season, and of his time at Renault, with sixth place.
5. Where will Fernando Alonso finish his last F1 race?
5. Where will Fernando Alonso finish in his final #F1 race? #AbuDhabiGP
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) November 22, 2018
YOUR PREDICTION: DNF
CORRECT ANSWER: 11th, 12th or 13th
Expectations were low ahead of Fernando Alonso’s final F1 race, with 33% of you predicting he’d fail to finish the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In the end he did manage to reach the chequered flag, finishing just outside of the points in eleventh.
After graduating from the University of Hull in 2015 with a First Class honours degree in English Language and Literature, Nicky Haldenby, a lifelong fan of Formula 1, founded the Lights Out F1 Blog in 2016. Now in its fifth season, the blog has become a firm fan-favourite, delving deep into the sport’s history books and lifting the cover on unusual F1 statistics. Nicky also writes at F1Destinations and GPDestinations. In 2017 and 2018, he wrote for Badger GP. Nicky is also the host of the F1 Rewind Podcast and can be heard as the resident stats man on the 2 Soft Compounds Podcast.