F1 Badger GP 2014

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There's good support for both Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in Abu Dhabi, with an atmosphere reminiscent of a football match on the start-finish straight as fans chant "Lewis, Lewis, Lewis,"

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Nice moment here as Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda helps Lewis Hamilton with his overalls ahead of today's race.

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Just noticed in that pic of the crowd:
Bunch of fat hairy blokes holding British flags for Hamilton.
Two good looking birds holding flags for Rosberg.

 

[BMBabe]

YES YES YES GET IN LEWIS!!!!!!

 

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What a start from Lewis Hamilton! The Briton powers away from P2 to take the lead into Turn One! Nico Rosberg fends of Felipe Massa to hold on to second, but are his title chances over already?

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David Coulthard
BBC F1 co-commentator
"It was a text book start and he launched off second place. You can feel that sinking feeling for Nico Rosberg."

• Lap One
  
  
  Jenson Button, whose could well be contending his final race, made a blistering start to rise up two places to fourth, he's ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alondo with Valtteri Bottas down to seventh.
  
  Lewis Hamilton leads Nico Rosberg by 1.2 seconds after just one lap.
  

"Right now Hamilton's got control of the race. Now he can control what Rosberg does rather than the other way around. Now Rosberg must pass Hamilton if he's got any chance of being world champion."
"That is a dream start for Lewis Hamilton. The situation is exactly as he would have wanted."

David Coulthard
BBC F1 co-commentator
"I wouldn't be surprised if there was a 'yee-ha' inside Lewis' crash helmet."

• Lap Four
  
  
  Lewis Hamilton extends his advantage to 1.7 seconds of Nico Rosberg, with Felipe Massa 3.1 seconds adrift.
  

 

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Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton pits from the lead. It's a good stop from Mercedes and he rejoins in third.

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From the Mercedes garage: "It all looked remarkably calm. That's what has really struck me about this garage. It's all under control in here."

Lap 12
Felipe Massa leads the race by 15.3 seconds, with Lewis Hamilton second and Nico Rosberg third. Massa, however, has yet to pit.

Lap 14
Felipe Massa pits from the lead and rejoins in third. Lewis Hamilton retakes the lead with Nico Rosberg second.

Lap 15
After a brilliant start to run fourth, Jenson Button finds himself 10th after a flurry of pit stops. Here's how they stand.

1) Ham 2) Ros 3) Mas 4) Hul 5) Ric 6) Per 7) Bot 8) Mag 9) Vet 10) But

• Team Radio
  Valtteri Bottas: "There is a pit board on the track!"
  

 

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Sauber: The sun is going down, time to put the lights on.

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David Coulthard
"Is this Hamilton playing the long game? Rosberg may have got more of the pace here this weekend."

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Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg are trading lap times at the moment, with the gap down to 2.5 seconds. There's still 37 laps to go.

 

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"The championship is slipping away here for Nico Rosberg."

Nico Rosberg is now 7.1 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton. His Mercedes team tells him that ERS has failed. "He's going to be in so much trouble now," says BBC co-commentator David Coulthard.

Nico Rosberg reports that he is losing engine power. Is it all over?

Nico Rosberg tells his engineer that it's not just ERS that is not working. "Can you investigate that now, please? And then tell me what to do."

Moments later, Felipe Massa passes Rosberg to take second. There was nothing the German could do.

"The Mercedes engineers are trying to work out what to do. Can they reboot this? It's like a broken computer."

Meanwhile, Pastor Maldonado's season ends in a plume of smoke as the Venezuelan pulls off track with the rear of his Lotus flaming.

"Pastor Maldonado looks very calm indeed, considering the back of his car is a barbecue."

"That will have given some great images for any photographer."

 

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"As long as Rosberg finishes in the top five, if Hamilton retires then Rosberg could still be world champion."

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• Team radio
  
  Nico Rosberg: "How am I looking for that position I need in case Lewis drops out?"
  
  Race engineer: "It's not good at the moment."
  
  Nico Rosberg: "What the hell does that mean? What can I do?"
  
  Race engineer: "Just drive flat out, Nico."
  
  
• Nigel Mansell: For all of us race fans it's so frustrating to have car problems in any race least of all this final race, so disappointing for Nico.
  
• Seems Lewis problem is sorted out, but shame Nico's is not. Shame we won't be entertained by wheel to wheel racing between the two.
  
• I'm not sure Rosberg would be in with a chance of winning this race even with a fully functional car. Lewis has the pace, clearly.
  
• Mercedes: To confirm - Nico Rosberg has lost ERS. No hybrid power and battling turbo lag. Doing a heroic job to even keep the car running.
  
• When Lewis Hamilton last won the title in 2008 in Brazil, it was Felipe Massa who won the race.....could exactly the same thing be about to happen again?
  
• Nico Rosberg has dropped down to eighth and is now lapping slower than everyone else on track. It's all gone wrong for the German.
  
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Team Radio
Nico Rosberg: "Hey guys what's going on? The car switched off and now the throttle's all over the place. Get my brake pedal back now please!"

Team Radio
Lewis Hamilton: "Please don't turn up the car! Leave it alone, it's all working perfectly."

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• Lap 46
  
  
  
  Felipe Massa sets the fastest lap of the race to cut the gap to Lewis Hamilton to 10.3 seconds. Meanwhile, Nico Hulkenberg cruises past Nico Rosberg in a wounded Mercedes to snatch seventh. It was all too easy.
  
  
• • Lap 47
    Another fastest lap from Felipe Massa and the Brazilian is now just 8.3 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton! Eight laps to go.
    

 

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It's going to be a grandstand finish as Felipe Massa closes to within 4.6 seconds of Lewis Hamilton in the battle for the lead. Meanwhile, Nico Rosberg has slowed dramatically and is down to 13th.

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Mercedes: He's giving it all he's got, but Nico Rosberg is powerless (literally) to resist overtakes.
Not like this - not like this...

Team Radio
Nico Rosberg's race engineer: "Box, box, box, too many problems with the car.
Nico Rosberg: "I'd like to go to the end.
Nico Rosberg's race engineer: "Standby, standby ... continue."

 

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Chequered flag
Posted just now.

LEWIS HAMILTON IS THE 2014 FORMULA 1 WORLD CHAMPION.​

 

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Lewis Hamilton becomes only the fourth British driver to win more than one Formula 1 world title. He joins Sir Jackie Stewart, Jim Clark and Graham Hill. He is also the 16th driver ever to achieve the feat.

• Team radio
  
  
  
  
  Prince Harry: "Thank you very much Lewis for not letting the British public down.
  
  Lewis Hamilton: "Woooooaaahh world champion, oh my god, can't believe it, thanks everyone."
  
  Prince Harry: "Well done Lewis you are a legend."
  

 

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Prince Harry congratulates Lewis Hamilton on the team radio as the Briton does a couple of donuts to celebrate before stopping to pick up a British flag from a marshal.

 

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Lewis Hamilton's 11th win of the season, making him the first non-German driver ever to win that many races in one year. Michael Schumacher (2002, 2004) and Sebastian Vettel (2011, 2013) were those who had previously achieved the feat.

Lewis Hamilton's victory in Abu Dhabi today is the 33rd of his career, moving into fifth on the all-time list and ahead of Ferrari's double world champion Fernando Alonso.

 

[GazHyde]

I can't like the above post enough! Well done Lewis!

 

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David Coulthard
"Lewis is so gently spoken, reserved and a lot of people were looking for chinks in the armour

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Eddie Jordan
"The first corner was a huge moment. It lifted all the pressure off Lewis."
"No-one wanted to see the demise of Nico. It was a shame. But he accepted it as a true sportsman."

The final word goes to Lewis Hamilton. What happens now?
"I don't know what will happen," he says. "This is the greatest day of my life and that's due to people around me.

"2008 was special but the feeling I have now is above and beyond. It's the greatest feeling I've ever had. Thanks so much everyone."

 

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@GazHyde , @NeRo , @Aceman , @board ,

OK, Lady's & gentlemen, that has wrapped up the 2014 F1 Season for the Zorg 2014 Badger Fantasy GP Friends League.
I will post up the standings and final score card when it has been updated.
Look forward to seeing all you people, and more, join up for the 2015 season.
I would expect we should be able to set the team up around February 2015.

Season calendar
The following twenty Grands Prix are currently scheduled to take place in 2015.

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Formula One racing’s governing body, the FIA, has published the calendar for the 2015 world

championship following a meeting of its World Motor Sport Council in Beijing.

It features 20 rounds, including the return of Mexico in November. The Mexican race will take place at

the same venue which staged the country’s last Grand Prix in 1992 -

Mexico City’s Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

The expanded calendar means the 2015 season will finish one week later than in 2014,

with the Abu Dhabi finale taking place on the final weekend in November.
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FORMULA 1 ISN'T BORING.
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FINAL RESULTS
The final Fantasy Grand Prix scores, including the Abu Double Dhabi points too!

Oh, and @NeRo did a Rosberg.......

FORMULA 1 ISN'T BORING.

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Badger GP

It's officially December, so time to start getting festive!

To celebrate, we have a very special Grand Prix Advent Calendar for you all!

Check our door No.1, featuring McLaren here -->>http://badgergp.com/advent

...See More

 

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Badger GP

Driving the Nürburgring Nordschleife. In a single seater racing car. In the SNOW.

Yes, snow. Nuts.
Impressive stuff.​

View: http://youtu.be/QohDmo4gqQE
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Formel Race Car by Ice and Snow - Full Lap
Andy Gülden, the Chief Instructor of the Nürburgring Driving Academy, drives a Nürburgring Formula Race Car along the icy and snowy Nürburgring Nordschleife....