This is it! The final race of the year. The big showdown with four championship contenders ready to duke it out for the title. The scene of this epic battle? Abu Dhabi. Now, last year's debut race around Yas Marina wasn't exactly a spectacular hit, but hopefully this year the story of the season will make up for any shortcomings in the race itself. We are strapped in and ready to go for the final five sessions of the 2010 season.

Event schedule

The Brazilian race saw Button officially knocked out of the running, but it's made things even tighter at the top. Red Bull are causing controversy by not issuing team orders, whilst Alonso needs to finish more than seven points ahead if he wants his title to remain untainted by those very same team orders. We've got the constructors championship sewn up at the top, but there are still several battles being waged further down the order - the higher up you can finish, the more money you can get, the better position you'll be in for next year.

This is the final chance for drivers without a confirmed race drive for next season to impress the bosses. Think Nick Heidfeld at Sauber, and Christian Klien at HRT. The rotating doors at Hispania have settled on Klien and Senna for this race, with both eager to do well.

Lotus continue to dominate the headlines with discussions of their future - will they be able to take the Team Lotus name, will they have to race under a different brand? They announced they will be running in black and gold livery, but that does not answer any of the fundamental questions. For now, though, they need to get their heads down and concentrate on beating their rival new teams.

Back at the top, Alonso has a proven number two driver in Felipe Massa, although it's been a while since the Brazilian was in a position to help the championship leader. Meanwhile, the Red Bull boys are free to race each other until the very end, and something tells me that is exactly what they are going to do.

Support racing for this event includes GP2 Asia and the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge.

The weather

Surprisingly, the early weather forecasts for this event show rain and showers for the first two days. Rain in Free Practice will not be so bad, but another wet qualifying could mess up the order quite considerably. Things are supposed to dry up by the time the race arrives, which is important, as running at twilight is hard enough as it is.

The circuit

The Yas Marina circuit was shiny and new last year, and remains untainted by too much racing as the paddock descends for the end of the season. The event is a sell-out, but as noted by several people in the comments this week, that's because they have a lower capacity than most other circuits.

Designed by Hermann Tilke, look out for those trademark long straights and tight corners. 2009 wasn't exactly a highlight for overtaking opportunities, so qualifying will be super important. There are several heavy braking spots around the track, though, so look out for drivers who are good at outbraking their rivals, and can control the change from high to low speeds without ending up in a spin.

The pit lane caused a few complaints last year, as the exit is pretty tight and travels underneath another part of the track. There were no incidents in 2009, but it did look like a worrying place to be travelling through at speed.

Also, watch out for that hotel! It's tricksy.

Circuit map

Press conference schedule

Official press conferences are organised by the FIA and happen four times during the weekend. The qualifying and post race press conferences will take place after the television unilateral interviews.

Race stewards

Four stewards oversee a Formula 1 race weekend, two FIA stewards, together with one experienced former F1 driver and a steward representing the National Sporting Authority.

Following live

A thread will be created on Sidepodcast.com for every session and every thread is live enabled, meaning you can follow along and contribute to the conversation without refreshing the page.