#Formula1 Etihad Airways #AbuDhabiGP 2021 Preview. #F1

2021 Abu Dhabi GP Preview – After Lewis Hamilton won a dramatic inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to go on equal points with title-rival Max Verstappen to set up a climactic duel in the desert, the final round of the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship returns to the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates for the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021. This will be the thirteenth edition of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the thirteenth time that the event has been run as a World Championship round since the inaugural season in 1950.

 

 

2021 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.

 

Lewis Hamilton holds the fastest lap record at the Yas Marina Circuit with a 1:39.283 set at last year’s event in his Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport F1 W10 EQ Power+ racer.

 

Lewis Hamilton holds the record for most Abu Dhabi Grand Prix victories with five victories to his name.

 

Mercedes are the most successful constructors at the Yas Marina Circuit with six victories.

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2021 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 Aston Martin Red Bull Racing-Honda RB16 with the Dutchman posting a 1:35.246. You can watch the video right here at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdf-7a4tPRk.

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2021 Abu Dhabi GP Preview – The Last Five Winners

 

 

2020: Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing. 2019: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1. 2018: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1. 2017: Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes AMG F1. 2016: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1.

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2021 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.

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2021 Abu Dhabi GP Preview – DRS Zones

 

As in 2020, 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.

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2021 Abu Dhabi GP Preview – Pitlane Speeds

 

Pitlane speed limits will be 80km/h during practice, qualifying and the race.

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ICYMI: Lewis Hamilton claims dramatic inaugural Saudi Arabian GP victory

 

 

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton clinched victory over Max Verstappen in a chaotic inaugural Saudi Arabian GP in a race where it was red flagged twice and the two title-rivals tangled twice in crazy and near farcical scenes.

 

The race featured three different pole-sitters for three standing starts, two of which followed heavy crashes that left the long Jeddah Corniche Circuit fluttered with debris.

 

There were four virtual safety cars deployed across the Grand Prix where Hamilton and Verstappen went wheel-to-wheel alongside each other three times at turn one – with Verstappen twice being told to hand the position back to Hamilton after completing moves off circuit.

 

When he slowed to allowed the Mercedes by for the latest controversy at that corner, they collided into each other as Verstappen attempted to let Hamilton past on the approach to the last turn in an incident, which is being investigated after the intense fight has ended.

 

When the 50-lap Saudi Arabian GP began, pole-sitter Hamilton got a solid run off the line, but Bottas was alongside Verstappen who started on the cleaner side.

 

Bottas managed to hold the racing line and Verstappen had to yield, behind them Red Bull’s Sergio Perez was so close to pipping Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for fourth place, but the Mexican gets so close and almost runs into the back of his Red Bull team-mate Verstappen – and sensibly pulled out of the move.

 

The top three were able to lap in the low 1:34’s in the early stages, with Leclerc and those behind lapping in the 1:35’s bracket and slower, which meant there was quickly a gap behind Verstappen.

 

As Bottas was able to hold the Dutchman at just over one second as the leaders increased their pace into the 1:33’s as the opening ten tours drew to a close, Hamilton was ordered to increase the gap to his team-mate to avoid the Finn running in dirty, turbulent air and damaging his tyres.

 

Hamilton’s lead over Bottas increased to two seconds – and a further 3.4 seconds over Verstappen – when the race was stabilised by the deployment of the safety car after Haas F1 Team’s Mick Schumacher lost the rear of his Ferrari-powered VF-21 racer running through the rapid turn 22 left-hand kick (where Leclerc crashed in FP2 in a very similar incident) on the 10^th lap.

 

Mercedes brought in Hamilton to switch the C3 yellow side-walled medium compounds for hards, with Bottas following suit, but only after he fell seven seconds behind the Briton, which made Verstappen and Red Bull furious.

 

Verstappen remained out on track, whilst both Mercedes pitted and therefore lead the pack in-front of Hamilton, Bottas and non-pitters Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo, who was the lead runner to have started the race on hards.

 

But after four tours behind the safety car, the Grand Prix was red flagged, which gave Red Bull the chance to switch Verstappen’s tyres to the hards and not lose position, which annoyed Hamilton, who repeatedly questioned the need to halt the race before his climbed out of his F1 W12 EQ Performance racer in the pit-lane.

 

After an almost 20-minute stoppage, the race resumed with a second standing start – after Hamilton complained about Verstappen appearing to do a practice start, he left the pit-lane, and the latter was complaining that the Mercedes driver was dropping back ten car lengths on the approach to the grid.

 

At the second start, Hamilton launched alongside Verstappen and passed the Red Bull immediately, but the Dutchman shot-back to the outside of the W12 as they braked and turned in for the opening corner, then cut the second corner to get back ahead of Hamilton as they both moved wide.

 

With Hamilton losing momentum moving back left as Verstappen rejoined in-front, Ocon sneaked by into second place as he overtook Bottas when the Finn locked up at turn one.

 

In the pack behind, Leclerc spun Perez into the wall as they ran alongside each other on the exit of the second corner, with the Red Bull having been narrowly in-front as they raced around the turn three right, and that set off a chain reaction, which lead to Haas F1 Team’s Nikita Mazepin ploughing into the back of Williams Racing’s George Russell.

 

Perez, Mazepin and Russell were out immediately, with the race red flagged again for another 20 minutes as the wreckage was removed.

 

During the stoppage, Red Bull and Mercedes had a series of radio calls with Formula One Race Director Michael Masi about Verstappen having to be moved behind Ocon and Hamilton for the third standing start or he would refer the opening corner incident to the race stewards.

 

Red Bull accepted the decision and the grid reformed, with the top three runners split on tyre strategy – Ocon and Hamilton still on the harder rubber and Verstappen on a fresh set of mediums, along with Bottas and Ricciardo behind him.

 

When the Grand Prix went green for a third time, pole-sitter immediately found Hamilton alongside him as they charged away from the front-row, but Verstappen swerved from the outside line and cut off Ricciardo and then made a late dive down the inside of both leaders into the first corner.

 

Hamilton touched Ocon after a brief touch as Verstappen shot down the inside, with the Alpine cutting the second corner after running deep into turn one following the light tap with the Mercedes and the Frenchman rejoining in-front of Verstappen before quickly handing the place back to the Red Bull.

 

Verstappen pulled to a 1.7 second gap by the end of the 17^th tour, the third restart lap, with Hamilton then charging by Ocon on the rundown to turn one at the beginning of the following tour.

 

This setup the latest battle between the two championship rivals at the front of the field, as they rapidly moved clear of Ocon, who was five seconds behind by the start of the 20^th lap, trading fastest lap times as the only two drivers lapping in the 1:32 range.

 

On lap 23, the race was disrupted again – this time for the deployment of the virtual safety car after AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda and Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel tangling together at turn two and the AlphaTauri’s front wing needed to be recovered out of the run-off area.

 

The caution was short and at the very end of the following tour the race went green again and Hamilton’s pursuit of Verstappen continued – their pace reaching the 1:31’s.

 

But second and third deployments of the virtual safety car were needed to clear move debris approaching the 30-lap mark – following Vettel having a collision with Alfa Romeo Racing’s Kimi Raikkonen at the fourth corner after his clash with Tsunoda, for which the Japanese driver was hit with a five-second time penalty and relegated him down the order.

 

The third virtual safety car was much longer and lasted from the 29^th tour until a few corners of lap 33, at the end of which Verstappen held a 1.2 second lead, but the full speed conditions lasted just three more laps as another piece of debris had to be cleared under a fourth VSC from the entry of turn 14.

 

But that interruption last only a few moments, with Hamilton getting a close run behind race-leader Verstappen at the beginning of lap 37 – passing the Red Bull with DRS assistance on the run-down into the opening corner.

 

But Verstappen remained again on the inside and both ran deep, much like turn four at Interlagos, with the Red Bull then sliding wide and cutting the second corner and staying in-front as both went off the circuit.

 

Red Bull ordered Verstappen to let Hamilton by on lap 37 and he slowed down on the approach to the last corner – where the Mercedes went into the back of the RB16B in confusing scenes for both drivers, which broke off the right-side of his front wing.

 

After a few tours with Verstappen still in-front, during which Mercedes and Masi argued over what happened on the rundown to turn 27, the Dutchman again slowed to let Hamilton by at the same corner – but this time, once the Mercedes went through Verstappen snuck back ahead to retake the lead as they went through the left-hand hairpin.

 

In the aftermath of that incident as they 43^rd tour began, Verstappen was slapped in a five-second time penalty and appeared to slow again to let Hamilton by at the final turn.

 

This time, Verstappen attacked back on the outside, with Hamilton getting a warning for pushing him into the run-off area as the Mercedes driver remained in-front.

 

Hamilton pulled clear from there as Verstappen’s mediums began to fall and he backed off to make the finish, 11.825 seconds off, as Hamilton claimed his 103^rd-career victory at the Saudi Arabian GP and also took the crucial fastest lap bonus point despite damage to his front wing.

 

Both drivers are now equal on 369.5 points in the World Driver’s Championship standings setting the stage for a huge battle at the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix next weekend.

 

Ocon lost the final podium place to Bottas at the finish line as the other Mercedes used the DRS to get ahead of the Alpine – having fought by Ricciardo a few tours earlier and started a late push to rescue a third-placed finish.

 

AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly finished ahead of Ferrari duo Leclerc and Carlos Sainz – the former losing ground after the third restart – with Alfa Romeo Racing’s Antonio Giovinazzi and McLaren’s Lando Norris completing the top ten.

 

Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll ended the Grand Prix in 11^th and ahead of Williams Racing’s Nicholas Latifi who was 12^th and Alpine’s Fernando Alonso who settled for 13^th.

 

The aforementioned Tsunoda and Raikkonen finished 14^th and 15^th respectively and a lap down from the leaders.

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2021 Abu Dhabi GP Preview – The Situation

 

 

Max Verstappen returns to the Yas Marina Circuit on top of the World Driver’s Championship standings on 369.5 points and tied with championship-rival Lewis Hamilton who is second and also on 369.5 points as both contenders enter the final round level on points in the last round for the first time since the 1974 World Championship season and for the second time in the sport’s history. The Driver’s Championship will be decided in the final round the 30^th time and for the first time since 2016. Valtteri Bottas is a further 151.5 points behind the pairing in third on 218 points.

 

 

Whoever scores the most points between Verstappen or Hamilton will win the Championship; if both drivers score an equal amount of points—which is only possible if neither driver finish in the points, or if one finishes ninth and the other finishes tenth with the fastest lap scored)—Verstappen will win his maiden World Driver’s Championship due to having won more races (nine to Hamilton’s eight).

 

Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport comes into the final Grand Prix of the year, on top of the World Constructors Championship standings with 587.5 points and a 28-point advantage over nearest rivals Red Bull Racing who are second on 559.5 points. For the first time since the 2008 World Championship season, the Constructor’s Championship will be decided in the last round. Scuderia Ferrari are a further 280 points behind the Silver Arrows in third place on 307.5 points.

 

Click here for the 2020 Formula 1 World Driver’s (Top 10) and Constructors Championship Standings.

 

The Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021 race weekend begins Friday December 10 with Free Practice 1 and 2, followed by Free Practice 3 and Qualifying Saturday December 11 and the 55 lap Race Sunday December 12.