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'Abu Double': Last roll of dice for some

LONDON, England - Mercedes has won the 2014 Formula 1 Drivers' and Constructors' titles already and Red Bull is certain of second place but the season-ending 2014 Abu Dhabi GP (Nov 23) will be a last roll of the dice for some teams.

With an unprecedented double points on offer, 'Abu Double' has the power to bring joy or despair in equal measure and not just for Mercedes team mates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

LAST HURRAH FOR CATERHAM

For tail-ender Caterham, under administration and facing closure unless it can find a buyer, the day-to-dusk race at Yas Marina could literally be a last blast before evening engulfs its hopes.

Caterham hopes, even if any sort of points look out of reach, to show it's a team that deserves to be saved from the scrapheap after the failure of Marussia in October. Neither team raced in the previous two grands prix (USA and Brazil), with Caterham returning only after a crowd-funding exercise to raise sufficient funds to get it back on thegrid.

Caterham's administrator, Finbarr O'Connell, said: "We knew the best way to keep this team alive and attract possible buyers was to show that it's still a racing team and be in Abu Dhabi for the finale. By racing in Abu Dhabi the team will be showcasing itself as a live and functioning team that deserves to continue into 2015 and beyond."


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Sauber, one of the sport's oldest teams after multiple champions Ferrari, McLaren and Williams, needs at least 10th place to stave off its first campaign without a scoring finish. The team that came second in the championship as recently as 2007 when owned by BMW has fallen on hard times but can still salvage some pride from a season of struggle on and off the track.

Sauber's team principal Monisha Kaltenborn said: "It's going to be extremely tough."

Drivers Esteban Gutierrez and Adrian Sutil, each without a seat in 2015, drew yet another blank in Brazil.

AND THIRD PLACE?

Ahead of Sauber, Lotus needs its best result of the 2014 season to overhaul Toro Rosso for eighth place while Force India needs something pretty spectacular to make up 34 points and get back in front of fifth-placed McLaren.

Williams is looking good for third, its highest overall placing since 2003, but Ferrari still has a chance of overtaking if it can repeat its Hungary haul of 26 regular points.

Stay with Wheels24 for the 2014 Abu Dhabi F1 GP

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