F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: All you need to know

By Shyam A. Krishna, Senior Associate Editor; Matthew Smith, Sports Editor and
Vijith Pulikkal, Assistant Product Manager

The 13th edition of 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix takes place at the Yas Marina Circuit on Yas Island on Sunday, December 12.
Get up to speed on everything about the F1 season finale.

 

HOW THE TOP DRIVERS FARED SO FAR

Following Sunday’s inaugural thrilling F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah, we are all set for a fight to the finish between Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and reigning Drivers’ champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes. Here is a rundown on how the top 10 drivers have fared this season ahead of the finale in Abu Dhabi on December 12.

MERCEDES

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton

The Briton looked down and out midway through the season as title rival Verstappen racked up the wins and opened up a sizeable gap on the Mercedes man. However, a vastly improved car thanks to an engine replacement means Hamilton has come roaring back with three wins on the trot to sit level with the Dutchman on points with one race to go.


Valtteri Bottas

Valtteri Bottas

The flying Finn has had a tremendous season in his final run out with Mercedes before he moves on to Alpha Romeo from next season. Despite the dominance from Verstappen and Hamilton, Bottas has more than held his own as the best of the rest and still has plenty to offer.

RED BULL

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen

The young Dutchman — still only 24 — is something of a veteran on the F1 circuit already, with an astonishing seven seasons under his belt. While always offering plenty of promise, 2021 saw him came into his own as the true contender for Hamilton’s crown, albeit with some aggressive driving that has seen him penalised as Hamilton heaped on the pressure. If he finishes ahead of Hamilton on Sunday in Abu Dhabi he could really herald a new era for the sport and will be around for many years to come.


Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez

Perez has had a far more uncomfortable time in the second Red Bull as Verstappen has clearly made the No. 1 spot on the team his own. Perez has struggled with technical issues this season and no shortage of on-track errors sees him languishing a colossal 170-plus points behind the two leaders in fourth spot. He will be back for Red Bull next season hoping for more success.

MCLAREN

Daniel Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo

With more than 200 F1 races to his name, Ricciardo has vast experience, and he will be eager to show he is still at the top of the game with a strong performance in Abu Dhabi to take into next season in the improving McLaren car.


Lando Norris

Lando Norris

Alongside Ricciardo in the pit lane is the relative newcomer Norris, who already has five podiums in two short seasons. The Briton is earmarked as one for the future and should come into his own in 2022, with two years still to run on his McLaren contract.

FERRARI

Charles Leclerc

Charles Leclerc

The once great Ferrari team have had a few years playing catch-up as Mercedes and Red Bull roared ahead. But they have one of the most talented drivers in Monaco’s Leclerc. The famous marque have placed their faith in the young driver, securing him on a long-term contract. Now they only need to get their car up to scratch.


Carlos Sainz

Carlos Sainz

With Leclerc firmly in place, Sainz — much like Perez at Red Bull — has had to play second fiddle. That was a decision that made Sebastian Vettel opt to move on last season and now Perez is just trying to keep up, with the hope that new changes from next season will level the playing field and he can compete at the front of the grid.

ALPINE

Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso

The two-time world champion retired from the sport in 2019, but was lured back after a stint in IndyCar in the United States by the rebranded Renault outfit. While one of the oldest guys on the grid, Spaniard Alonso has shown flashes of brilliance to show he still has his competitive edge at the age of 40.


Esteban Ocon

Esteban Ocon

Frenchman Ocon has been a perfect foil for Alonso, encouraging a healthy rivalry in the Alpine paddock, with the young French driver keeping his elder on his toes and keeping the team in contention for podium spots — he narrowly missed out on third spot on the final lap to Bottas on Sunday in Saudi Arabia and won an eventful Hungarian GP back in August.

WILLIAMS

George Russell

George Russell

Mercedes have their eyes on the future with promising young Briton Russell, signing him up for 2022 as Hamilton’s teammate, where he will replace the outgoing Bottas. He has already shown plenty of promise when he took the step up from feeder team Williams and into the Mercedes cockpit as cover for a COVID-stricken Hamilton at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, where only a series of unfortunate events denied him a spot on the podium and even possible victory in a hectic race.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Honourable mentions go to AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly and Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, who have outperformed some of their rivals who are in stronger cars. While Vettel nears the end of his career, Gasly still has a bright future ahead of him.


AbuDhabiGP 2021 New Track Layout

A new era begins at Yas Marina Circuit. For the action. For the fans. For the sport.

 

The Race

The Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi F1 is the sport’s first twilight race and joined the calendar in 2009 at the newly built Yas Marina Circuit on Yas Island.

The event is now firmly established as the final race of the season. The organisers agreed a new multi-year agreement to keep Abu Dhabi on the Formula 1 calendar for the foreseeable future.

The 58-lap race will be held from December 10-12 this year.

The Circuit

Designed by Hermann Tilke, it’s one of the most technologically-advanced racing circuits. The construction cost $1.322 billion makes it the most expensive circuit ever built.

The circuit is equipped to hold races at night, and can accommodate up to 60,000 spectators. Tickets do sell out despite being the most expensive on the F1 calendar. The five grandstands are fully covered, making it the only covered seating in F1 circuit.

A 60-metre high VIP tower near at the start/finish line, called the Sun Tower, gives guests a panoramic view of the race track and surrounding areas.

A 12-storey five-star hotel, called the Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi Hotel, is the first hotel built over an F1 circuit and forms a bridge over the 18th and 19th turns.

Part of the multi-billion dollar Yas Island development, the circuit includes a marina, the iconic Ferrari World theme park, Yas Water World and the Du Arena concert venue. Over time, shopping centres, golf courses and hotels have also been developed on the man-made island.

The Track

The track has now been reconfigured to 5.28km with 16 turns. Till last year, the circuit course length was 5.55km and included 21 turns. The average lap time was 1 minute and 40 seconds. Top speeds can reach 317 kmph with average speeds of 198 kmph.

The design incorporates four main acceleration periods, including the longest acceleration stretch of any F1 track in the world – at 1,173 metres.

The drivers are on full power for 69 per cent of a lap at Yas Marina, including over 14 seconds on the back straight (one of the longest straights in F1). Drivers used to make an average of 68 gear changes per lap or 3,740 gear changes when the race was 55 laps.

Drivers make an average of 68 gear changes per lap or 3,740 gear changes when the race was 55 laps.

The track can be sectioned into two tracks to run two races at the same time. The advanced track design offers six different configurations to suit different racing series.

The pit lane exit passes under the circuit through a tunnel, so a part of the pit lane is below ground. The two pit buildings house more than 70 garages for drivers.

Winners

Lewis Hamilton is the most successful driver at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with five wins. The most successful constructor is Mercedes, with six wins.

In three of the first four Abu Dhabi Grands Prix, the pole-sitter failed to finish the race. In the last six years, the pole-sitter has never failed to win.




2021 WINNERS

March 28: Bahrain Grand Prix — Lewis Hamilton

April 18: Imola Grand Prix — Max Verstappen

May 2: Portuguese Grand Prix — Lewis Hamilton

May 9: Spanish Grand Prix — Lewis Hamilton

May 23: Monaco Grand Prix — Max Verstappen

June 6: Azerbaijan Grand Prix — Sergio Perez

June 20: French Grand Prix — Max Verstappen

June 27: Styrian Grand Prix 2021 — Max Verstappen

July 4: Austrian Grand Prix — Max Verstappen

July 18: British Grand Prix 2021 — Lewis Hamilton

August 1: Hungarian Grand Prix — Esteban Ocon

August 29: Belgian Grand Prix — Max Verstappen

September 5: Dutch Grand Prix — Max Verstappen

September 12: Grand Premio DItalia 2021 — Daniel Ricciardo

September 26: Russian Grand Prix — Lewis Hamilton

October 10: Turkish Grand Prix 2021 — Valtteri Bottas

October 24: US Grand Prix — Max Verstappen

November 7: Mexican Grand Prix — Max Verstappen

November 14: Grande Premio do Brasil 2021 — Lewis Hamilton

November 21: Qatar Grand Prix — Lewis Hamilton

December 5: Saudi Arabian Grand Prix — Lewis Hamilton

December 12: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Abu Dhabi, UAE

F1 Milestones,
Facts and Stats

A win in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021 will fetch Lewis Hamilton a record eighth World Drivers' Championship title. This will be the 30th time a championship has been decided on the last race – Hamilton and Max Verstappen are tied on 369.5 points apiece. And there’s more…

Only five countries have won the Constructors’ Championship. The UK leads with 33, followed by Italy (16), Germany (6), Austria (4) and France (3). Ferrari of Italy with 16 championships are the top constructor to date.

Juan Pablo Montoya hit a top speed of 372.6kmph during the 2005 Italian Grand Prix while driving a McLaren-Mercedes car.

Sunday, October 24, 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix Sao Paulo
Image Credit: BMW Photo by John Townsend.


According to a change in rules for the 2021 season, a maximum of 26 cars will be allowed to compete. That would mean a maximum of 13 teams because each team is allowed to field two cars.

There have only been five woman drivers in F1 who competed between 1958 and the early 1990s. All of them drove incomparably bad cars. It started off with Maria Teresa de Filippis, then Divina Galcia, Lella Lombardi, Desire Wilson and Giovanna Amati.

Maria Teresa de Filippis at the International Trophy meeting at Silverstone, 1959.
Image Credit: Shutterstock


The first world championship race was held in 1950 at Silverstone in the UK with the Alfa Romeo’s Guiseppe Farina winning the first World Drivers’ Championship that year.

First world championship race was held in 1950


Juan Manuel Fangio, an Argentine driver and Farina’s teammate, narrowly missed the championship title in 1950. But Fangio came back strongly to win the championship titles in 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1957. Fangio’s record of five championship titles was surpassed a full 45 years later when Michael Schumacher won his sixth World Driver’s Championship in 2003.

In this July 1, 1951 file photo Juan Manuel Fangio comes out of a bend at speed during the race, driving a supercharged 1.5 Liter Alfa Romeo during the Grand Prix D'Europe at Rheims, France. Alfa Romeo has joined up with the Sauber team for a return to Formula One after an absence of more than 30 years. Sauber announced Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017 that it has reached a "multi-year technical and commercial partnership" with the Italian automaker, which is part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). From 2018, the team will be known as the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team. " (AP Photo/File)


A F1 car is made up of a total of 80,000 components.

Image Credit: Shutterstock


When an F1 driver hits the brakes on his car he experiences deceleration which is comparable to a regular car driving through a brick wall at 300kph.

Image Credit: Shutterstock


Normal car tyres last approximately 60,000 to 100,000kms, but F1 racing tyres are designed to last only 90 to 120kms.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

At top speed, F1 tyres rotate 50 times a second.