While most of what is contemporary F1 would have appalled the late Dr Mike Lawrence, there are aspects that he would revelled in, or rather his good friend, Turk Thrust - he of the Formula One Script Unit (FOSU) - would have.
Almost every aspect of the sport is hyped to the limit these days, no opportunity missed, and F1's money hungry owners, along with the teams, would crave any little extra Turk might bring to the table. Let's face it, previously he had to work against many of those involved in the sport, those misguided fools who sought purity and tradition, now all would be fully on-board for any suggestion that might result in further stuffing the already bulging coffers.
While Mike would have probably turned away from the sport after Abu Dhabi 2021, Turk would have been standing right behind Michael Masi, yelling: "Keep the Safety Car out a bit longer, let those guys un-lap themselves..."
So, God alone knows what Turk would be planning for today.
For our part we only hope that whatever happens, it is good and clean, deserving of some of the many legendary drivers who have previously been crowned World Champion, that there are no repeats of '21, and that we have a champion to celebrate, a race to be remembered for all the right reasons.
There are endless permutations, but the reality is that Norris merely has to get through the first corner, the first lap, in the leading three and it's basically job done. That's assuming there are no strategic own goals, no ride height issues.
Despite the heroics of Verstappen's come back, the title was lost in the summer, while Piastri's recent dip in form was equally costly.
Yes, there is every reason to speculate about bias, or whatever, and while most are focussed today on the Woking team, one has to wonder what Red Bull might try. Using Tsunoda to assist his teammate is one thing, using the Racing Bulls quite another, then again McLaren is a customer team of Mercedes.
The Weather Gods won't be helping, they are probably anticipating it as much as us, but there are other factors that could play a part.
As ever, there's track limits, and several drivers paid the price yesterday. Then there is the little matter of the difficulty in overtaking, which, in actual fact, shouldn't be a problem, unless Norris fluffs his start again or there is a first corner mishap.
As we always say, the race cannot be won in the first corner but it can be lost, today read that as the title could be lost in the first corner.
Then there is the fact that today is about more than the title, a number of teams are still looking to improve their position in the constructor standings, the championship that decides the prize money.
Then there is the fact that racers want to win, and despite the fact that there are three drivers battling for the title, Antonelli would dearly love to go into the off-season with a maiden win in his pocket, while Leclerc would love to sign-off with a podium, then there's Alonso, who is always ready to be the Spaniard in the works.
These guys have their own races to run, and will not yield merely for a rival to bask in the glory.
'21 was triggered by Nicholas Latifi, and there are several drivers out there today just as capable of creating a Safety Car or Red Flag moment. Mercedes puts the chances of a Safety Car at 40%, though, surprisingly in the last couple of years there have been few incidents here, that said, last year the VSC was deployed on Lap 2 after Perez was hit by Bottas on the opening lap.
The two quickest strategies are one-stoppers. One option is to start on the medium and switch to the hard between laps 20 and 26, while the alternative is to start on the hard and then take advantage of the soft's extra performance by stopping between laps 39 and 45.
A two-stop strategy seems to be a bit less competitive, especially given the difficulty of overtaking here. The best way to do it is with a combination of medium and hard for the first two stints, followed by a final stint on the medium - which in theory would be quicker for the run to the flag than the hard or the soft under these circumstances.
Pirelli says it has not been possible to assess how graining has progressed from the short runs seen on Saturday, but there is no obvious evidence of it. Track evolution suggests that the situation will be better compared to Friday, especially thanks to the tyre management that we expect from the drivers during the race.
Piastri and Norris both has two sets of fresh hards, while the rest have just one. However, Verstappen has two sets of fresh mediums - as does Russell - while the papaya pair have one.
The pitlane opens and Hadjar leads the way, followed by Hulkenberg, Albon, Lawson and Sainz.
"What time is sunset, the sun is quite bright," enquires Russell.
Norris and Piastri takes their places on the grid, Verstappen being the last to take his place... the world champion milking the theatre of the event.
Ahead of the formation lap the air temperature is 27 degrees C, while the track temperature is 32 degrees. It is also quite windy.
All are starting on mediums bar Piastri, Tsunoda, Antonelli and Stroll, while Hamilton, Albon and Hulkenberg are on softs. Fresh rubber for all bar Alonso and Stroll.
Interesting to see McLaren splitting strategies, while Tsunoda, like Piastri, is starting on the white banded rubber.
They head off on the formation lap, Verstappen disappearing into the distance before slowing and allowing the field to catch up.
The grid forms, albeit somewhat slowly.
They're away! Verstappen pulls across to cover Norris as Piastri is slow off the line. Through Turn 1 Piastri runs a little wide as Leclerc follows ahead of Alonso and Russell who are side-by-side.
As Verstappen pulls away, Piastri all over Norris while Alonso, having left Russell for dead, is all over Leclerc.
Benefitting from the two, Piastri passes a hesitant Norris going around the outside in Turn 9 to claim second.
At the end of Lap 1, it's: Verstappen, Piastri, Norris, Leclerc, Alonso, Russell, Bortoleto, Hadjar, Ocon and Tsunoda.
After two laps Verstappen leads by 1.8s wile Norris is under attack from Leclerc and Alonso.
Colapinto has been noted for a start infringement, while Albon has been noted for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
Lap 3 sees a new fastest lap from Verstappen (29.117).
Russell passes Alonso for fifth, as Leclerc hassles Norris.
Further back, Bearman and Hamilton are battling for twelfth.
"Plan A, target lap," Norris is told.
Lawson and Hulkenberg have times deleted for track limit violations, while Antonelli and Stroll have been noted for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
Gasly and Hulkenberg have been noted for causing a collision.
"This is good for now," Verstappen is told, "but we may wish to go longer just in case."
Check out our Sunday gallery from Yas Marina here.
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