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Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2023 Race Start. Yas Marina Circuit, Yas Marina, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Image credit to Mark Thompson/Getty Images. Verstappen Abu Dhabi GP Victory, 2023 Abu Dhabi GP Results, F1 Abu Dhabi GP Results. 2023 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Results. 2024 Abu Dhabi GP Preview, F1 Abu Dhabi GP Preview, Formula 1 Abu Dhabi GP Preview.
2024 Abu Dhabi GP Preview – After new-crowned four time World Champion Max Verstappen won a chaotic Qatar GP, which saw multiple crashes, punctures and penalties including for McLaren’s Lando Norris and has put the World Constructor’s Championship down to the wire between McLaren and Ferrari, the final round of the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship returns to 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship returns to the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates for the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2024. This will be the sixteenth edition of the Abu Dhabi GP and the sixteenth time that the event has been run as a World Championship round since the inaugural season in 1950. This also ends the final triple header of the season with the Las Vegas and Qatar Grands Prix.
2024 Abu Dhabi GP Preview – A look at the Yas Marina Circuit
The Yas Marina Circuit is a permanent racing circuit located on the stunning Yas Island, 30 minutes away from the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi. The circuit was designed by German designer Hermann Tilke. It is the second purposely built circuit for Formula One in the Middle East with the first being in Bahrain. The circuit twists through Yas Island off the Abu Dhabi coastline passing by the marina and through the iconic five-star, 499 room Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi Hotel designed by New York -based architects Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture of Asymptote Architecture, and winds its way through sand dunes, with several long straights and tight corners. The uniquely scenic waterfront marina-based development includes water and theme parks as well as residential areas, hotels, and beaches. The track has five grandstand areas (Main Grandstand, West Grandstand, North Grandstand, South Grandstand and Marina Grandstand (aka Support)) and part of the pit lane exit runs underneath the circuit. It also features a team building behind the pits, Media Centre, Dragster Track, VIP Tower, and the Ferrari World Theme Park. The circuit also features a powerful lighting system which ensures the transition from day to night racing action.
The cars hit top speeds of 320 kph and average speeds of 195 kph. As well as the waterside marina area, there are high-speed sections (including the longest straight on the F1 calendar), tight corners for overtaking, and sector three which resembles part of a twisty-style street circuit. Overall, its diverse elements come together to create one of the most demanding and longest circuits in the world.
The Yas Marina Circuit underwent redevelopment to shorten the track and the expected lap time in order to increase top speeds and overtaking opportunities. The turn five/six chicane was removed and the hairpin at turn seven was widened. Turns 11–14 have been replaced by one banked curve and the radius of turns 17–20 were increased, to allow the cars to carry more speed, changes to turn 20 allow cars to travel flat out through the corner.
The reconfigured Yas Marina Circuit is 5.281km (3.281 miles) in length with 16 corners and runs in an anti-clockwise direction.
Race distance is 306.183km (190.253 miles) in length with 58 laps in total.
Max Verstappen holds the fastest lap record at the Yas Marina Circuit with a 1:26.103 set at the 2021 event in his Red Bull Racing-Honda RB16B racer.
Lewis Hamilton holds the record for most Abu Dhabi Grand Prix victories with five victories to his name.
Red Bull Racing are the most successful constructors at the Yas Marina Circuit with seven victories.
2024 Abu Dhabi GP Preview – Onboard Pole Lap of the Yas Marina Circuit
Here is the onboard pole lap of the Yas Marina Circuit set at last year’s event by Max Verstappen in his Red Bull Racing Honda-RBPT RB19 with the Dutchman posting a 1:23.445. You can watch the video right here at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucLUqZhObMs.
2024 Abu Dhabi GP Preview – The Last Five Winners
2023: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing. 2022: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing. 2021: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing. 2020: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing. 2019: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1.
2024 Abu Dhabi GP Preview – Tyres
Pirelli will be bringing to the Yas Marina Circuit, the softest tyres in its range, the white side-walled C3 Hards, the yellow-branded C4 P-Zero Medium compounds and the C5 red-marked P-Zero Soft tyres along with the green-branded Intermediate and blue-marked Full Wet tyre compounds in case of rain.
Drivers will have two sets of the hards, three sets of the mediums and eight sets of the softs.
2024 Abu Dhabi GP Preview – DRS Zones
As in 2023, there will be two DRS Zones at the Yas Marina Circuit. The first detection point will be 40 metres after turn seven with the first activation zone 390 metres after turn seven. The second detection point will be 50 metres after turn nine with the second activation zone at turn 10.
2024 Abu Dhabi GP Preview – Pitlane Speed Limits
Pitlane speed limits will be 80km/h during practice, qualifying and the race.
ICYMI: Verstappen takes victory in dramatic Qatar GP
Max Verstappen took his ninth victory of the season in a chaotic Qatar GP, which saw three safety cars, three punctures and multiple penalties handed out including to McLaren’s Lando Norris who received a ten-second stop-and-go penalty for speeding under yellow flags as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc came home second and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri completed the top three runners.
Verstappen lead every lap of the race to take his 63rd-career win as main threat Norris copped the ten-second stop-and-go and wounded up tenth.
The Constructor’s Championship is now down to the wire at the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix between McLaren and Ferrari with the gap at 21 points.
When the 57 lap Qatar GP began, pole-sitter Russell gets a great getaway along with second-placed Verstappen as the latter made the dive on the inside into the opening corner to jump into the lead as McLaren’s Lando Norris also squeezed through into second place.
Behind them Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc made his way in-front of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri to take fourth place.
Further behind, Haas F1 Team’s Nico Hulkenberg locked up on the inside into turn one and collided into both Williams’ Franco Colapinto and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon as the latter two retired and brought out the safety car.
The order under the safety car was Verstappen leading, Norris second, Russell third, Leclerc fourth, Piastri fifth, Sainz sixth, Perez seventh, Alonso eighth, Hamilton ninth as Tsunoda rounded out the top ten.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll also massive hit the other Williams FW46 entry of Alexander Albon which sent the Thai-Briton into a spin.
Hulkenberg came in for another set of the C1 white-marked harder tyre and was noted by the race stewards for causing a collision.
When the race resumed on lap five, Verstappen breezed away as the top three remained stable, behind them Piastri made the move on the inside of Leclerc into the opening corner to take fourth place.
At the beginning of the sixth lap, Verstappen’s lead was at 1.077 seconds over Norris with Russell third, Piastri fourth, Leclerc fifth, Sainz sixth, Perez seventh, Hamilton eighth, Tsunoda ninth as Magnussen rounded out the top ten.
The stewards have decided that the Hulkenberg crash was a racing incident and that there will be no further investigation – whilst Stroll and Albon’s is currently under investigation.
Meanwhile Verstappen is leading and is out of DRS range from Norris – DRS is enabled. The question was how long can Norris hang before the dirty air starts to cause the tyres on the McLaren to suffer?
Russell also had Piastri for company – the F1 Sprint winner looking very quick at this part of proceedings.
Bottas and Lawson’s incident was also noted by the race stewards as Hamilton’s start was also under investigation by the officials.
Stroll was the third retiree of the Grand Prix on the tenth lap and also served a 10-second penalty before doing so.
Stroll’s team-mate Alonso in 12th place, was also unhappy on his straight-line speed saying: “I cannot ***** believe it man, two ***** years the same problem.”
Verstappen’s lead out-front on lap 11 was nearly two seconds – as predicted, but it was a challenge for the drivers to stick it out in the dirty turbulent air. Russell was a further 1.857 seconds behind Norris, as Piastri was just out of DRS range from Russell’s Silver Arrow.
Lawson was hit with a five-second timed penalty for causing a collision with Bottas meanwhile the incident involving Tsunoda and Magnussen was noted.
Further back on the 13th tour, Gasly picked off Tsunoda to move up into the points as a lap later – Alonso also made his way ahead of the RB driver around the outside into turn one to move into 11th.
On the 15th lap, Verstappen’s lead over Norris was sitting at 2.021 seconds with Russell holding third, Piastri fourth, Leclerc fifth and a further three seconds behind the McLaren as Sainz completed the top six runners.
Eighth-placed Hamilton was given a five-second-timed-penalty for his false start and was currently in eighth place behind the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez.
Out-front, Verstappen was not building his lead – with the gap hanging at 1.6 seconds with the pit-loss time quite big in Lusail, and track position is everything in Qatar.
The top teams were very evenly matched, overtaking on-track even with DRS, was proving difficult for the drivers.
On the 18th tour, Gasly was the only driver in DRS range as the Alpine driver got very close to MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen who was ninth.
Leclerc up in fifth place also told his team to “check the (tyre) pressures” as the Ferrari was slowly eating into Piastri’s gap.
On lap 20, Verstappen’s lead was 1.801 seconds over Norris with Russell third, Piastri fourth, and the two Ferrari’s of Leclerc and Sainz in fifth and sixth respectively as Perez and Hamilton rounded out the top eight.
The pit window was opened on lap 20 and the question was who would perform the undercut? Piastri potentially on Russell? It was all about free air, with two groups forming – the front eight then the gap to the rest of the field. The top drivers would want to be in the clear air.
Out-front both Verstappen and Norris dropped third-placed Russell – five seconds between Norris and his fellow-British-compatriot last time out. The Ferrari drivers were in a race of their own in fifth and sixth.
The race leaders Verstappen and Norris were given permission to use up their tyre life and would not be out there much longer on the mediums as on lap 24 – third-placed Russell was the first to stop. The Briton put on a set of the C1 harders – suffered a slow seven second stop due to a right-rear issue and fell down into 11th place behind Alonso.
The 25th lap saw Verstappen’s lead over Norris at two seconds with Piastri third, Leclerc fourth, Sainz fifth, Perez sixth, Hamilton seventh, Magnussen eighth, Gasly ninth as Alonso completed the top ten runners.
Russell’s slow stop opened the door for Ferrari to jump the Mercedes. No one has reacted to the stop as of yet. Bottas pitted further back as everyone is switching from the mediums to the hards.
With Russell out of the way, third-placed Piastri was running with fresh air and trying to make it count on his opening stint as the Australian was trying to build up a gap to not fall into the traffic of the midfield like Russell did.
Russell was right behind Alonso in 11th place.
On the 28th lap Haas’s Magnussen pitted from eighth and emerged in 16th behind Lawson as both Mercedes drivers complained that their F1 W15 entries would not turn in. Magnussen’s stop promoted Gasly up to eighth place behind Hamilton.
Lap 30 saw Verstappen’s lead at 1.117 seconds over Norris with Piastri third, Leclerc fourth, Sainz fifth, Perez sixth, Hamilton seventh, Gasly eighth, Alonso ninth as Russell completed the top ten.
The wing mirror from Albon’s FW46 entry flew off and was sitting on the main-straight – which will need a VSC to clear.
On the 31st tour, second-placed Norris was told by his race engineer: “I’m sure you’ll tell me where to go, but if you have any more pace…”
“Speak louder,” comes the droll response from Norris as the gap out-front came down to 1.2 seconds.
On the 34th tour, Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas ran over the mirror on the main straight as both Hamilton and Sainz suffered a puncture for running over the debris.
Meanwhile Piastri and Sainz pitted for a fresh set of hards and came out in fifth and tenth respectively as the safety car deployed four laps too late for the debris.
On the 36th lap, race leader Verstappen, Norris, Leclerc, Perez and Hamilton all pitted for hards and emerged in the same positions with Perez behind Piastri in fifth. Hamilton re-joined out in 16th.
Gasly was up into sixth as race control ordered the safety car to take the train of cars through the pits at the debris gets cleared on the pit-straight.
Russell also came in for another set of hards to which he furiously responded: “Why have we put hards on? Why have we put the ***** hards on again?”
The race order under the safety car on lap 38 was Verstappen leading, Norris second, Leclerc third, Piastri fourth, Perez fifth, Gasly sixth, Russell seventh, Sainz eighth, Zhou ninth, Alonso rounding out the top ten.
Perez lost drive, spun and parked it at turn 15. Replays did not whether he was hit from behind.
When the race went back to green, Verstappen was pressured by Norris as both went wheel-to-wheel into turn one as the former covered the latter to remain in the lead as Leclerc also battled with Piastri for third as the Ferrari kept the McLaren at bay.
Hulkenberg suffered a separate incident from Perez at turn ten after a spin into the gravel trap which brought out the safety car.
Second-placed Norris was also under investigation by the stewards for failing to slow under yellow flags.
When the race went back to green on the 43rd tour, race leader Verstappen got a solid getaway this time as Leclerc got into the slip-stream on Norris but could not find a way by into turn one and remained in third place behind the McLaren.
Replays showed Gasly lost a place to Russell after running wide into the opening corner.
The 44th tour saw Verstappen’s lead over Norris at 0.774 seconds with Leclerc third, Piastri fourth, Russell fifth, Gasly sixth, Sainz seventh as Alonso completed the top eight.
Second-placed Norris was hit with a ten second stop-go penalty for failing to slow under yellow flags, which he had to serve within two tours.
On the 45th tour, Norris came in to serve his ten second stop-go penalty and dropped him to the rear of the field in 15th.
Meanwhile Hamilton was given a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit-lane and the incident involving Magnussen and Albon at turn one was also under investigation by the stewards.
Hamilton came in to serve his penalty on lap 48 and came out behind Norris at the rear.
The 50th lap saw Verstappen’s lead over Leclerc at 4.177 seconds with Piastri holding third, Russell fourth, Gasly fifth, Sainz sixth, Alonso seventh, Zhou eighth, Magnussen ninth as Albon rounded out the top ten.
On the 52nd tour, in the battle for the final points place, Bottas ran wide into turn one after and fell behind the Albon’s Williams.
Meanwhile a lap later, Bottas managed to overtake Albon into turn one as Albon was hit with a ten-second timed penalty for causing a collision with Magnussen.
On lap 54, Norris made his way past Bottas to get back into the points and was also holding the fastest lap bonus point to make it two points.
With three tours remaining, the fight for fifth saw Sainz with DRS assistance of Gasly have a look on the Alpine, but the Frenchman covered the Spaniard to hold the place.
On the penultimate lap, Russell was noted by the race stewards for a safety car infringement earlier on.
Verstappen crossed the line to clinch the Qatar GP victory by 6.031 seconds over Leclerc with Piastri completing the final podium place in third.
Russell was given a five-second-timed-penalty for the safety car infringement but remained in fourth.
Gasly came home a solid fifth place for Alpine and in-front of Sainz who survived a puncture to finish seventh and Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu who scored Sauber’s first points of the season to take eighth.
Haas’s Magnussen was ninth as Norris rounded out the top ten and also scored the fastest lap bonus point to make it two points for the McLaren driver.
Bottas finished outside the top ten in 11th place and ahead of Hamilton who reached the chequered flag 12th and RB’s Tsunoda and Lawson who were 13th and 14th respectively whilst Albon finished a lap down at the rear.
2024 Abu Dhabi GP Preview – The Situation
The Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2024 will bring the 2024 Formula 1 campaign to an end this weekend, with the World Constructor’s Championship still up for grabs.
McLaren lead Ferrari by 21 points with a possible 44 still on the line in Sunday’s GP at the Yas Marina Circuit.
It’s been 26 years since McLaren last won the constructor’s title and Ferrari have not won the crown since 2008, so both teams are desperate to end their championship-winning droughts for success.
Further down the field, Alpine are five points in-front of Haas sixth, where millions of prize money is at stake.
The runner’s up spot in the World Driver’s Championship still hangs in the balance as McLaren’s Lando Norris is only eight points clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in the fight to finish behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the standings.
Elsewhere, Mercedes will bid adieu to Sir Lewis Hamilton after spending 12 years with the Brackley based-outfit before the seven-time world champion joins Ferrari.
Aussie Jack Doohan will replace Esteban Ocon at Alpine for the finale after the Frenchman was allowed to vacate his A524 seat to drive for Haas in the post-season test with the former now to make his Formula 1 debut at the Yas Marina Circuit. Ocon parted ways with the Enstone based-squad after the Qatar Grand Prix.
The FIA F2 Championship also draws to a close this weekend, where 2025 Sauber driver to be Gabriel Bortoleto is half-a-point ahead of Isack Hadjar.
The F1 Academy finale also takes place, where Briton Abbi Pulling will be looking to end the campaign on an even bigger high. There is an additional race in Abu Dhabi due to the cancellation of the second round at the Lusail International Circuit last Sunday.
During the opening practice session in Abu Dhabi, six teams will put in alternate drivers who have not raced in two Grands Prix, as required by the Formula 1 rules and regulations:
- F2 title contender Isack Hadjar takes the place of newly-crowned four-time world champion Verstappen for Red Bull.
- Luke Browning steps in for Alexander Albon at Williams Racing.
- Felipe Drugovich goes in for Lance Stroll at Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 Team.
- Ryo Hirakawa pilots the MCL38 in place of Oscar Piastri at McLaren.
- Ayumu Iwasa will drive the VCARB01 at RB in place of fellow Japanese-compatriot Yuki Tsunoda.
- Arthur Leclerc will pilot the Ferrari SF-24 in place of Carlos Sainz.
Browning, Hirakawa and Leclerc will be making their Formula 1 practice debuts in Abu Dhabi.
Verstappen returns to Abu Dhabi as a newly-crowned four-time World Driver’s Champion, sitting on top with 429 points and an 80-point lead over Norris who is second on 349 points whilst Leclerc is a further 88 behind the Dutchman in third on 341 points.
McLaren Formula 1 Team comes to the Yas Marina Circuit as leaders of World Constructor’s Championship, sitting on 640 points and a 21-point advantage over nearest rivals Scuderia Ferrari who are second on 619 points whilst Oracle Red Bull Racing are third and a further 59 behind the Woking based-outfit on 581 points.
2024 Abu Dhabi GP Preview – Formula 1 extends contract for one year with Circuit Zandvoort to celebrate final year
Formula 1 and the Dutch GP promoter have announced a one-year contract extension, which will see the Circuit Zandvoort remain on the F1 calendar through the 2026 campaign. After much consideration and discussion, the decision was made by the promoter not to remain on the Formula 1 calendar after 2026.
The past few seasons have seen such great action in the Dutch GP after the sport’s long break from racing in the Netherlands.
The event has become well-known for its fan experience, with Dutch fans and international visitors gathering to the famous Circuit Zandvoort to watch the excitement of Formula 1, FIA Formula 2, FIA Formula 3 and the F1 Academy and more battling on the track’s iconic banked corners.
It also established itself as a leading sustainable sporting event, pioneering technologies that are now used across the Formula 1 Championship Calendar.
The return of the Dutch GP in 2021 coincided with a period of domination from home favourite Verstappen, who has won the Grand Prix three times, and been crowned world champion in each of the four years the event has run ever-since.
In 2025, the Dutch Grand Prix will run from Friday August 29 to Sunday August 31. The date for the final event in 2026 is yet-to-be-announced and will feature a 100km Sprint race for the first time.
CEO and President of Stefano Domenicali explained: “I am incredibly grateful for the work that the team at the Dutch Grand Prix have done in recent years. They raised the bar for European Grands Prix in terms of event spectacle and entertainment, supported the development of young talent by hosting F2, F3 and our F1 ACADEMY series, and have also pioneered sustainable solutions that have inspired our events around the world as we drive towards being Net Zero by 2030. All parties positively collaborated to find a solution to extend the race, with many options, including alternation or annual events on the table, and we respect the decision from the promoter to finish its amazing run in 2026. I want to thank all the team at the Dutch Grand Prix and the Municipality of Zandvoort who have been fantastic partners to Formula 1.” Domenicali concluded. Credit to F1 for the quote.
Dutch Grand Prix Director, Robert van Overdijk added: “The Dutch Grand Prix is the result of a unique collaboration between SportVibes, TIG Sports, and Circuit Zandvoort, who shared the ambition of bringing the race back to the Netherlands. What we have achieved so far is undoubtedly a huge success. The appreciation from our visitors, drivers, and teams has been unprecedented, and we are incredibly proud of that. While today’s announcement signals the end of a monumental era, we are confident there is plenty more for fans to look forward to at the Dutch Grand Prix in 2025 and 2026, including the Sprint in 2026. We are a privately owned and operated business, and we must balance the opportunities presented by continuing to host the event, against other risks and responsibilities. We have decided to go out on a high with two more incredible Dutch Grands Prix in 2025 and 2026. We wanted to take this step, while our event is adored and supported by passionate fans, residents, and the Formula 1 community. I want to thank Stefano Domenicali and all the team at Formula 1 for the hard work that has seen multiple contract extensions realised and the Dutch Grand Prix be such a success.” van Overdijk concluded. Credit to F1 for the quote.
Click here for the 2024 Formula 1 World Driver’s (Top 10) and Constructors Championship Standings.
The Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2024 race weekend begins Friday December 6 with Free Practice 1 and 2, followed by Free Practice 3 and Qualifying Saturday December 7 and the 58 lap Race Sunday December 8.
